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Camp 2024
Camp 2024
Day 6: Tuesday, August 6
Day 6: Tuesday, August 6
Day 6: Scavenger Hunt, Water Fun, and "Rest"
Day 6: Scavenger Hunt, Water Fun, and "Rest"
After 5 days of running at Camp the girls are due for a rest and recovery day on Day 6. We start the day off with our Scavenger Hunt. Some of the older girls (Lily, Emerson, and Sienna) got up extra early to set up the hunt. They scattered candy, toys, stuffed animals, and horrendous clothing items that I got at a free rummage "sale" in Parsons 15 years ago around the lake in front of our house (1.25 miles). The grand prize worth 50 points (think "the Golden Snitch" of the Scavenger Hunt) is a doll called "Baby Katie". This year they hid her in the mud under a boardwalk so her face was pressed up between the slats--creepy!
The girls were split into 3 teams and each given a bag to collect their loot in. They had exactly 50 minutes to search and gather as much as they could, knowing that they had to be back on time or risk losing points for lateness. The other rule is that anything that can be worn must be worn by the time they got back to the house.
When all was said and done, the team of Lark, Lauren and Cameron won (even with the 30 point deduction for having an extra person). After the last candy was counted, I walked around the lake to collect anything that had been missed. I found 2 stuffed animales, a bathrobe, and a Barbie doll that was floating face down on the edge of the lake...a pretty good haul!
SUP?
SUP?
After breakfast we headed to Blackwater Outdoor Adventures for a few hours of stand up paddle boarding! We had several Olympic caliber races as on the water. The first was true SUP (each girl had to be actually standing on her board), and the second was a "anything goes" race (you could stand, sit, be on your stomach and paddle with your arms, etc.). The gold medal in water sports went to South Africa as Anja won both races, narrowly out stomach-paddling a late surge from Emerson in the "anything goes" race.
Servants Lark and Anja
Servants Lark and Anja
Our Servants of the day, Lark and Anja, cooked up a delicious meal of "make your own pasta salad". They put a tangy but light dressing on the noodles and had a variety of toppings to choose from. One of my favorite meals!
A visit from my parents
A visit from my parents
My parents (avid hikers and frequent visitors to Canaan Valley) are currently staying in a cabin at Blackwater Falls SP. They came, with their poodle Libby, for a visit to the house and a lake walk!
Day 5: Monday, August 5
Day 5: Monday, August 5
Blackwater Canyon Downhill Long Run
Blackwater Canyon Downhill Long Run
Back in 2020 when everything was closed due to COVID, my family, like many, escaped more and more to the outdoors. I grew up coming to Canaan Valley with my parents to cross country ski at Whitegrass and hike at places like Dolly Sods, and of course I came to Cross Country Camp as well in my teens. I thought I knew the area pretty well, but during COVID I discovered a wonderful trail that I had missed in my previous trips. There is a rails-trail that starts in Thomas, WV (3 miles past Davis) and travels through the Blackwater Canyon to Hendricks. It is almost exactly 8 miles long and is single track with decent footing the whole way. The trail starts at 2,785 ft and descends down to 1,720 ft with a gentle decline the whole way, making you feel like you are flying almost effortlessly. After running it myself in 2020, I realized it would be a great addition to our Camp routine! This is year 4 of our team running down it, and each time has been a wonderful adventure. It is also a easy trail to differentiate mileage as the trail continues anouther 30 miles (becoming paved, however) all the way to Elkins. Yesterday I had 3 groups: the first did the 8 mile trail run and stopped at the cars, the second added on a mile, and the third group (Lily and Sienna) ran all the way to Parsons for a total of 11 miles. The rest of us moved the cars the extra 3 miles to meet them and play in the cute little park there. Perhaps the highlight for some of the girls, however, was the stop at McDonalds in Parsons afterwards for Cokes and other treats. If you want to read more about the trail, here is a link (focused on mountain biking) that can give you a feel for what the trail is like. The rest of my family biked it, and loved seeing the trail that way as well. If you are ever in the area, check out this trail!
One of the few viewpoints (when the leaves are on the trees) along the trail. This would be a fantastic trail to do in the late fall / winter with no leaves as you would have unobstructed views the entired route. To the left you can see the single-track trail and one of several waterfalls along the descent.
At the end of the trail in Hendricks
At the end of the trail in Hendricks
Playing in Parsons
Playing in Parsons
Dinner with the Boys Team
Dinner with the Boys Team
The rest of the day seemed to be geared towards the excitement of having the boys team over for dinner. The girls spent a long time creating a poster to welcome them to "Family Dinner"!
The finished product!
My personal favorite: Coach Bain on a bike.
Enjoying a pasta dinner (there is a ban on any kind of outdoor grilling this year)
Amago seems to like the poster...
After dinner activities included fishing (fail), spikeball, frisbee, and badminton until it got dark. Then they all retreated inside and played a few rounds of Telestrations with partners.
Day 4: Saturday, August 4
Day 4: Saturday, August 4
Mid-Week Fatigue
Mid-Week Fatigue
The 8:00am wake-up was a lot harder on Day 4.
It adds up
It adds up
The girls are starting to feel the effects of 3 days of all that XC Camp entails at this point in the week.
Recovery Run + Bands
Recovery Run + Bands
Despite their fatigue, the girls all said that they felt better on this run than they had on any of the previous ones. Sometimes it takes a little while to get adjusted, and they are now there. After their recovery run, we did a long session with bands. It is amazing how many different activities and muscle groups you can target with the bands--they are wonderful to have when we don't have access to the weight room.
Breakfast was a simpler affairs this morning: blueberry muffins, cereal, bagels, eggs and fruit. We took a day off from pancakes!
After breakfast it was time to start crafting. Our crafts for the day were tie-dying shirts and decorating spike bags.
Blackwater Falls State Park
Blackwater Falls State Park
After a leisurely morning of Olympics and bracelets, we set off towards Davis to go to Blackwater Falls State Park. This park is a gem and one well worth a visit any time of year. My family comes often in the winter for cross country skiing. It also has the longest sled run in the eastern US--over a 1/4 mile long. It has a conveyor belt that you sit in your sled and ride back up on! There are really great old cabins you can rent as well.
We drove to parking lot to walk down to see the big waterfall, but hadn't gotten very far before the girls spotted something they couldn't ignore...
Lauren interrogating the gnome-guy!
Lauren is not timid!
Lauren is not timid!
They spotted a man in a funny gnome hat, and were immediately intrigued. Lauren, who has come out of her shell completely since last XC season, went right up to him and asked what his deal was. He told us a great story about how he travels around to parks hiking everywhere he can wearing that hat and "spreading joy". He described himself as the "The Workout Gnome: Happy Hiker, Personal Trainer and Joy Spreader". Anyway, he was very nice, did a pretty incredible back flip for us, and was all up for a photo session. You never know what you will find in West Virginia!
We did make it to the falls
We did make it to the falls
This is the lowest the water has been in my memory, but it is still a beautiful place.
The swing wasn't quite big enough for all of them!
Blackwater Blackberry Ice Cream
Blackwater Blackberry Ice Cream
After climbing back up from the falls we stopped to get locally made ice cream--the flavor of choice was the Blackwater Blackberry!
Looking into the canyon we will run down the next day
Servants of the Day: Cameron and SJ were our excellent servants! They made a creative dinner of "Make Your Own Flatbread Pizza" that everyone enjoyed. It was fun to pile on the toppings of your choice and have the servants cook them up for you.
Pool Time
Pool Time
We have never used this pool table!
Learning Curve
Learning Curve
I'm not sure how well it went, but they had fun.
SJ made everyone cookies for dessert.
Day 3: Saturday August 3
Day 3: Saturday August 3
TEMPO RUN 2024!
TEMPO RUN 2024!
The third day of Camp the girls run the Camp Tempo Run, which is a 1.5 mile time trial on a rolling road. This is the first real pace work we do for the season, and it is always a jolt to the system in more ways than one. All summer the girls have been doing base mileage building at a moderate pace, and many of them have been doing other activities such as swimming. The Tempo Run is always stressful, but these girls handled it with no drama. They had a job to do, they were focused, and they all pushed themselves. I am very pleased with how this year's Tempo Run went!
Before the run the girls put on temporary tatooes while listening to pump up music! They also wrote down their predictions for what time they would run the Tempo Run in.
A Wet Warm-Up
A Wet Warm-Up
As soon as I finished talking about what to expect and how to run the Tempo Run as we were stretching, there was an ominous roll of thunder. I had checked the radar and the storm wasn't going to hit us, but the girls did have a light rain as they did their warm-up. It broke the heat, though!
After some good stretching, drills, and strides, the girls were ready for their first TEAM CHEER of the season. Our newbie, Zoey, learned the rather strange cheer quicker than ever, and the girls belted it out twice before heading to the starting line. The rain had stopped, but there was still a good cloud cover and no wind. Emerson took it out smart and ran a fantastic time of 9:14, running alone and pushing herself the whole way. Zoey and Lily had excellent runs, finishing in 9:52 and 9:58 respectively. After that, there were two girls just over the 10:00 mark: Abbie in 10:02 and Cameron in 10:06. Anja ran right under 7 min pace, coming in at 10:27. She was followed by Daisy in 11:03, SJ in 11:07, Lark in 11:38, and Lauren at 12:00. Many of these runners haven't even run for a full year yet, and have come so far in that short time.
As soon as they finished the sun peaked out from the clouds as they did their celebratory jump!
Servants of the Day: Abbie and Daisy
Servants of the Day: Abbie and Daisy
After a long cool down, our marvelous servants made the girls a great breakfast while I set out for my long run. It is so nice to know that I can trust all of these girls to be responsible while I am gone for a little while.
A Quiet Day
A Quiet Day
The girls were mentally and physically tired after the Tempo Run, so spent a good bit of the day watching more of the Descendant movies and making bracelets. Our servants made a delicious vegetarian chili dinner, and then the girls made a cake and snacks and settled down for Scary Movie Night followed by the Night Walk...So much for the peace and quiet!
Scary Movie: "It Follows"
Scary Movie: "It Follows"
The screams that came from this group were truly unearthly. The movie itself was terrible--the girls spent 1/2 their time screaming and the other 1/2 making fun of the movie!
Em is a true scary movie fan
Em is a true scary movie fan
She looks forward to this event every year! It might be her favorite activity at Camp.
They huddled together on their walk and nobody wanted to be "on the outside" of the group.
Night Walk
Night Walk
After the Scary Movie the girls were given glow sticks and sent out into the dark for the Night Walk. They did a long loop through woods that are actually dark and scary during the daytime! Their screams could be heard for miles around. After they all survived and made it home, they settled down to watch a Disney movie to recover. As SJ put it, "I think my heart rate was higher on the walk than the Tempo Run!"
Day 2: Friday, August 2
Day 2: Friday, August 2
My mornings at Camp before I wake the girls up. I would say it is peaceful, but there are about 200 Canada geese on that pond having an early morning party. Every day.
A much needed Recovery Run, Abs, Flexibility and Strength Morning
A much needed Recovery Run, Abs, Flexibility and Strength Morning
I woke the girls up at 8am with the traditional blaring of an annoying song. They all got ready quickly and soon we were warming up out front of the house for our morning run. Happily, it was much cooler than the day before (about 70 degrees) but still very humid. After a nice recovery run, we all met on the back deck / yard and Lily guided us in her daily ab routine. That was followed by some band work and stretching. Some of the older girls followed that up with a free weight arm workout.
SJ and Lauren doing Lily abs
SJ and Lauren doing Lily abs
Cousin It (Zoey) and Anja
Cousin It (Zoey) and Anja
Emerson loves the table top abs
Emerson loves the table top abs
"Monster Walk" is more fun with a friend!
Servants of the Day
Servants of the Day
Lily and Lauren were our Day 2 Servants, and they did a fantastic job! They started our day off with a big breakfast of pancakes, eggs, and a fruit salad.
Relaxing Through the Morning: Olympics, Bracelets, SLIME, and Decorating Running Logs
Relaxing Through the Morning: Olympics, Bracelets, SLIME, and Decorating Running Logs
After breakfast and showers, the girls spent a few hours enjoying the house. They started their week-long intensive jewelry making while watching the Olympics, engaged in the truly disgusting activity of making SLIME on the back deck, and decorated their Running Log Books.
Making bracelets
SLIME TIME!
Lark and SJ were the first (of few) to successfully brew the SLIME.
Decorating Running Logs: our first competition here at Camp.
Chair Lift and Hike to Bald Knob
Chair Lift and Hike to Bald Knob
This is one of the highlights of Camp! Riding the chairlift at Canaan Valley State Park to the top of Dolly Sods Natural Area, and then walking a mile to Bald Knob for a truly stunning view. We take our first series of class pictures before heading down. It was a steamy 82 degrees for the hike, but it was worth it!
Starting the hike to Bald Knob after a stop at the hanggliding take-off point!
Freshmen Cameron & Zoey
Freshmen Cameron & Zoey
I could not be more excited for these two young runners.
Getting Goofy
Getting Goofy
They focus hard when running and play hard when not!
Sophomores Daisy, Lauren, & SJ
Sophomores Daisy, Lauren, & SJ
These three bring the fun! They are working hard at Camp and getting it done.
Coming out of their Shells
Coming out of their Shells
In addition to working hard, our sophomores have become much more vocal since last XC Season. I have loved watching (and hearing) the crazy things they say!
Juniors Abbie, Emerson, Anja, and Lark
Juniors Abbie, Emerson, Anja, and Lark
What a fantastic group of Juniors I have this year. They now have the experience and strength as 3rd or 4th year runners and it is showing in their running. I'm excited to see what they can accomplish this season.
Budding Team Leaders
Budding Team Leaders
This crew is also growing into being wonderful team leaders for our younger runners. Seeing their confidence increase daily is fun to watch. Our younger runners are lucky to have them!
Senior Lily
Senior Lily
Lily Smith is our guiding light here at Camp this year. As our lone senior, she is missing her friends that graduated this past spring. Nonetheless, she is beacon of insight, patience, witty humor, and experience for the whole team.
She is so appreciated
She is so appreciated
I always take a picture with the Seniors, and each year it is poignant as I know it is the beginning of the end (a year-long end, but still) of my time with them. With Lily, I plan to cherish all of the remaining time I get to spend with her this year!
Camp Counselors Sienna and Jordan
Camp Counselors Sienna and Jordan
These two college students and former WAHS distance runners are the best counselors I could ask for!
"Grandmas"
"Grandmas"
I nicknamed them "Grandmas" for no other reason than that they are older than the rest of the girls. Here they are living up to their name!
Another Delicious Dinner
Another Delicious Dinner
Lily and Lauren made yummy tacos and we were able to dine outside again.
Hot Tub Time
Hot Tub Time
The girls sure are roughing it here at Camp! An after dinner soak was in store.
Sunset Lake Walk
Sunset Lake Walk
The girls took a group sunset walk to the lake before settling down to watch Descendants. I snuck off to bed...
Day 1: Thursday, August 1
Day 1: Thursday, August 1
20 Year Campiversary for Coach Katie
20 Year Campiversary for Coach Katie
This is a special XC Camp for me as it is my 20th year in a row of bringing girls to this magical place! I'm so happy to be able to share this Campiversary with such a wonderful, fun, and dedicated group of young athletes. Let me be clear, this is not just the 20th year of this camp, however. I attended this camp as a WAHS runner myself back in the the very early 90s, and it had been going on for at least a decade by that point. I'll have to reach out to the older generation of coaches to find out exactly when it started...
Packing Light!
Packing Light!
Every year I ask the girls to "pack light", meaning bring just one medium suitcase or duffle bag. This year, for the first time, they listened. WOW! Also, for the first time in many years, we had 4 vehicles plus my trailer, so space wasn't an issue. Go figure!
We met at Crozet Park, loaded up the vehicles, and got on our way. We couldn't leave without our first photo session, though!
Coach Katie, Camp Counselor Sienna Collier, Camp Counselor Jordan Stone, Daisy McCown, SJ Broadbent, Lauren Luna, Cameron Huynh, Lily Smith, Emerson Ritter, Anja Lehmensiek, Abbie Apicella, Lark Steinberg Zoey Downer
Coach Katie, Camp Counselor Sienna Collier, Camp Counselor Jordan Stone, Daisy McCown, SJ Broadbent, Lauren Luna, Cameron Huynh, Lily Smith, Emerson Ritter, Anja Lehmensiek, Abbie Apicella, Lark Steinberg Zoey Downer
We're Ready!
We're Ready!
We were all so excited to finally be on our way. Several of the girls in my vehicle commented on how they had been looking forward to Camp for so long that it almost didn't feel real at first to be actually going. Talk about truly living in the moment!
Stop 1: Mr. J's Bagels, Walmart, and Decorating Cars
Stop 1: Mr. J's Bagels, Walmart, and Decorating Cars
We don't make it very far on our journey to Canaan Valley, West Virginia before our first stop: Harrisonburg. We always stop for an early lunch at a great bagel place called Mr. J's Bagels, and follow that up with a romp around Walmart next door. I usually scramble to buy the things I somehow forgot to pack (this year, it was the game Telestrations and sponges for dishes, go figure), and the girls search the depths of the exotic Walmart clothing department to find the classiest oversized shirts that they can. After the shopping spree, the girls decorate the cars for the trip over the mountains.
Mr. J's Bagels
Walmart Fun!
Walmart Shirts
Decorating Cars
Hottest Day 1 in 20 Years...
Hottest Day 1 in 20 Years...
After another 2 hours and a quick grocery store stop in Davis, WV, we arrived at our beautiful house in Old Timberline. The girls spent an hour unpacking and settling in, and then at 5pm we met up for our first run. At Camp we have 4 longer / more intense runs: Day 1= Distance, Day 3 = Tempo Run, Day 5 = Downhill Blackwater Canyon Run, and Day 7= Mountain Run. The girls understandably get more nervous for runs like the Tempo and Mountain. Nevertheless, historically the Day 1 Distance Run has been one of the more difficult endeavours here at Camp. There are a lot of reasons for this: the girls have been sitting in a car most of the day, they don't hydrate and eat as well they normally would (ie, Walmart candy!), they are running in a location with an average elevation of 3, 200ft (Crozet= 720ft), and they are very used to running in the mornings not the afternoon. This year, however, Mother Nature added a new, exciting twist. Normally for our Day 1 run the temps are around 70 or so. Yesterday, it was 83 and incredibly humid, making this the hottest run I can ever remember here. All of the girls handled it so well, and everyone got in a good run. We normally attack the Upper Lake Loop on our first day, but with the weather being what it was, we stuck to the Lower Lake Loop and added on some flatter miles out towards the Guard House. When we got back to the house we were all dripping and relieved that it was over!
Servants For the Day
Servants For the Day
One of the best traditions we have here at Camp is the Servants for The Day. Each day a pair of girls are the designated Servants, and for that day only they are responsible for pretty much all cooking and cleaning tasks for the house. Their main responsibilities are to help with breakfast, make dinner, do all of the dishes, clean the kitchen, tidy the main floor of the house, and take out the trash. Our first Servants were Emerson and Zoey, and they did a fantastic job! They made a most excellent dinner of chicken pasta salad, feta and veggie pasta salad, and yummy rolls. We were all pleasantly stuffed, and have lots of leftovers for lunches. Thank you, Em and Zoey, for starting off our week perfectly!
Look at this spread!
Loading up
Digging in
Our counselors relaxing
Running and Activities
Running and Activities
In a (somewhat vain) attempt to stay organized, I put up posters with an outline of the week ahead. It never quite pans out as planned, but that is part of the adventure of XC Camp!
Servants and Duties
Servants and Duties
These posters help our Servants remember their duties. As you can see, some of our older / more experienced runners get the joy of helping out more than once. Thanks Abbie, Lily, and Emerson.
Evenings are the Best
Evenings are the Best
Our first night after-dinner fun was the game Telestrations! I snuck off to bed with the sound of raucous laugher filtering down the hallway...
Celebrating a perfect Day 1
Celebrating a perfect Day 1
We couldn't have asked for a better first day of Camp (except, perhaps, less heat!).
A few more images of Day 1...
Camp 2023
Camp 2023
Day 7-Sunday, August 6
Day 7-Sunday, August 6
The Mountain Run
The Mountain Run
This is one of the most feared runs of the season. It is only a 2 mile climb, but the issue is that there are several sections that are over 13 percent grade. It is both mentally and physically challenging after a long week. The girls were put in three groups so that they would all finish close together. Emerson was first up the mountain, but Hailey had the fastest time. Everyone was relieved once it was over.
The Dance
The Dance
The girls worked all week to choreograph a dance for our annual Shop N Save performance. The girls were first distracted by these two free kittens for sale. We all decided that Coach Chuck needed a new kitten. The orange Tabby was ideal and we decided we would name him "Davis". It was all so perfect, except Coach Chuck was not ready for a new kitten. Oh, well. On with the Dance.
Then there was Pizza in the Park followed by Ice Cream. The Crafts of the day were spike bags and calendars. Then it was time to tidy up and pack so we'd be ready to leave first thing in the morning.
Day 6-Saturday, August 5
Day 6-Saturday, August 5
Saturday is our true rest day at Camp! Our three seniors got up super early to set up our annual Scavenger Hunt around the lake in front of our house. They divided the girls into 2 teams and, after a short warm-up, the girls had 50 minutes to collect as many items as they good. When time was up the girls had to be back at the house. wearing anything that can be worn. The grand prize is Baby Katie, a doll that has seen better days at this point! For the past 2 years, Emma has found Baby Katie--this year she had to "borrow" a kayak and paddle out to the goose-poop covered island to retrieve her.
Tubing
Tubing
After a big breakfast, we loaded up the cars and headed back to Parsons to go tubing. The water was crystal clear, not too cold, but not moving too quickly after the first 2 fun little rapids. The girls relaxed, soaked up some sun, and a few of them competed in the Stand-On-Your-Tube Challenge. The clear winner was Grace, who stood on her tube over 10 minutes, just chillin'. Emerson was runner-up, with Kinley giving some valiant attempts!
Napping...
Napping...
Grace took advantage of the lull before dinner to rest up!
Beautiful Evening
Beautiful Evening
The girls had a great dinner (made by Hazel and Hailey) of Sloppy Joes, chicken, and salad. They ate outside, enjoying our most gorgeous evening so far this year.
After dinner the girls washed out their tie-dye, practiced their big dance, and took a walk to see the sunset. Tomorrow, our final day, will start with the Mountain Run...
Day 5-Friday, August 4
Day 5-Friday, August 4
Downhill Trail Run
Downhill Trail Run
The 8 mile downhill trail run is always a favorite. After all the hills at camp, it's nice to go an entire 8 miles without hitting a single hill. Even better is that it is at a slight downhill the entire way. Some of the girls ran up for 2 or 3 miles to meet the other girls and then down to keep their mileage low.
Abbie Takes a Fall
Abbie Takes a Fall
Abbie was 3 miles in when she took a fall and got scraped up in several places. She was such a trooper though. After a little walking, she ran carefully the rest of the way and got cleaned up without complaint at the end of the run. A true Warrior!
After the run the girls played at this sweet playground. It had all the old time things that you don't see anymore, like see-saws and merry go rounds as well as lots of fun play structures.
Tie-Dye
Tie-Dye
What would a camp be without tie-dye? Because we all need more tie-dye, right? It is always so much fun to see what we create.
Gorgeous Views
Gorgeous Views
We just can't capture how beautiful the views are. The girls are getting some great quality time together and that is probably the best part of camp. They are teaching each other bracelet making techniques, and sharing their personal lives. So many things that give them the bond necessary to build lasting friendships.
Servants of the Day!
Servants of the Day!
Emerson & Kinley
Emerson & Kinley
Speaking of bonding experiences. Cooking and cleaning together can really test a relationship. The girls have done a great job of working together to create amazing meals and then clean up after each other. Some come with all the skills in the kitchen and well, to be completely honest, some come with almost no cooking skills. Kinley might be one of the more experienced cooks and it is really neat that even though she is younger, the older girls respect that about her. Camp really allows them all to shine in different areas.
SCREAM!
SCREAM!
The movie lived up to it's title. The girls screamed for over an hour solid. Not sure if you have ever heard what it is like to hear 11 teenage girls scream. I'm just thankful that no one came to investigate the noise. I'm sure it could be heard from across the lake.
Earlier in the evening the graduated seniors, Sienna & Jordan arrived, bearing gifts of food!!!! We are so happy to have them here. All summer the girls were saying that camp would not be the same without them so it is so awesome to have them come. Tomorrow will be a fun day with the scavenger hunt and tubing. Perfect timing for a visit.
Day 4 - Thursday August 3
Day 4 - Thursday August 3
The beginning of Day 4 was marked by another failed attempt at a traditional Camp activity: TUBING! As there wasn't enough water in the river this year for White Water Rafting, we signed up for tubing instead. When we left our house to drive the 45 minutes to the outfitters, it was somewhat sunny. By 20 minutes into the drive, there was a steady drizzle and it was still only in the 60s. Luckily, we were able to reschedule our trip to Saturday.
Making the Most of Any Situation
Making the Most of Any Situation
We stopped by Blackwater Falls State Park on the way home and hiked part of the way down to see the falls in the rain. Then we looked for, and found, the Murder Car, which we have seen for the past few years. It is covered with references to Scary Movies. This year, we actually met the owner of the car. She turns out to work at the country store at the start of the falls hike.
The rest of the afternoon was spent making Trucker Hats and watching The Summer I Turned Pretty. At 5:30, the boys came over for our annual Cookout. There was good food, lawn games, fishing, and lots of hot tub time!
Day 3 - Wednesday August 2
Day 3 - Wednesday August 2
Tempo Run
Tempo Run
The morning of the tempo run the girls were up and picking out tattoos for the annual tempo run. The 1.5 mile tempo run is just a stepping stone to get the girls ready to race. It is also a point of measurement to see where we are. Since we went to NB Nationals this past spring, we knew we'd be a bit behind last year's tempo, but the girls did a great job and some were still ahead of where they were last year. Grace won the predicted time competition. She was only eight seconds off of her predicted time. We had a couple of others who were within ten seconds, so the girls have a pretty good idea of where they are right now.
It always feels good to be finished with the tempo.
A successful post tempo jump picture. This was probably our 8th attemp. Like anything, it takes practice.
Successful Chairlift Ride, Hike, but no Blueberries this Year
Successful Chairlift Ride, Hike, but no Blueberries this Year
After a little down time, we all drove over to the Canaan Valley Ski Lodge to ride the chairlift, hike, and pick blueberries. This time we were able to find ONE living person in the creepy lodge and rode the lift up. After a short (but tough) little hike, we took some pictures at Bald Knob.
Bald Knob
Bald Knob
After a short (but tough) little hike, we took some pictures at Bald Knob.
Servants of the Day: Grace and Abbie
Servants of the Day: Grace and Abbie
Grace and Abbie prepared an excellent Baked Potato Bar with some truly fantastic homemade chilli.
Day 2-Tuesday August 1
Day 2-Tuesday August 1
Day 2 dawned misty and downright COLD! At about 6:30am the coaches got a text from Emerson that she wasn't feeling well and that her mother was already OUTSIDE the house to pick her up. She has a bad cold and didn't want to infect the rest of the team. Hopefully, after a few days of rest and recovery, she'll be back with us here at Camp.
Servants of the Day: Lily and Emma
Servants of the Day: Lily and Emma
After a nice, easy recovery run, our Servants of the Day, Lily and Emma, made a delicious breakfast of fruit salad, protein pancakes, and eggs. Each day a different pair of campers is in charge of cooking and cleaning for the entire day.
Failed Attempt at Chairlift and Blueberry Picking
Failed Attempt at Chairlift and Blueberry Picking
After a little down time, we all drove over to the Canaan Valley Ski Lodge to ride the chairlift, hike, and pick blueberries. We wandered around outside for a while, not seeing anyone. Right before loading back into the cars, Abbie tried the front door of the lodge, which was unlocked. Of course, we all decided to roam around the abandoned, creepy old lodge until Katie mentioned the movie The Shining and Cherie said, "Why did you have to go there?" and we all hurried out. We will try again tomorrow!
Week Long Secret Messages at Camp this Year
Week Long Secret Messages at Camp this Year
This year at Camp each girl has a jar with their name on it. Throughout the week, girls can write positive messages to each other and put them in the jars. At the end of the week once they get home, the girls can open the jars and have fun re-living Camp.
The afternoon was spent making bracelets and watching Titanic until dinner. Meanwhile, Kinley spent hours making an incredible, professional-grade birthday cake for Grace, who would be arriving after dinner. Around sunset, the girls decided to try their hand at fishing, and Hailey even caught (and released) one!
We all celebrated Grace's 17th Birthday and ate the fantastic Kinley-Cake. The only other event of note today was that Chester the Mouse is no more. Enough said!
Day 1 - Monday, July 31st
Day 1 - Monday, July 31st
The first run at camp tends to be a little fast. The air is cooler, 68 degrees to be exact, and the girls are just excited to be here. So we decided to send some out ahead to avoid some of the younger runners being swept up in the excitement. It was a good thing because the run went on the upper lake loop and there is a nasty 13 percent grade which comes right after a hill coming up from the lake. It is a brutal first run, but the girls did a great job on it. The end of the run has a nice long decent and you finally get to enjoy the sights a little. No one got terribly lost. Hailey and Emma took a wrong turn and ended back at the lake, but at least they knew how to get back, even if it caused them to run an extra mile. Happily they got to deduct a mile from the next days run so that their total mileage would not be excessive.
Car Decoration Requires a Theme
Car Decoration Requires a Theme
The obvious theme for this year's car decoration was Barbie. No doubt that theme will pop up on other camp activities. "Honk if you love Barbie".
The first run at camp tends to be a little fast. The air is cooler, 68 degrees to be exact, and the girls are just excited to be here. So we decided to send some out ahead to avoid some of the younger runners being swept up in the excitement. It was a good thing because the run went on the upper lake loop and there is a nasty 13 percent grade which comes right after a hill coming up from the lake. It is a brutal first run, but the girls did a great job on it. The end of the run has a nice long decent and you finally get to enjoy the sights a little. No one got terribly lost. Hailey and Emma took a wrong turn and ended back at the lake, but at least they knew how to get back, even if it caused them to run an extra mile. Happily they got to deduct a mile from the next days run so that their total mileage would not be excessive.
Welcome Boys Team
Welcome Boys Team
Last year the girls made a sign for the boys that was so amazing and so appreciated that it has become a new tradition. The girls managed to capture the gist of each runner although sadly the skin toned marker emptied before Morgan was drawn, thus the well tanned appearance.
All the Boys Drawn by different People
All the Boys Drawn by different People
The girls can't wait to deliver the welcome sign to the boys cabin which is a 1.5 mile walk away.
The cooks for the evening were Lark and Hailey. They made an impressive meal of salad, chicken, and pasta with two types of sauce. The girls who make the meal are in charge of clean up. Lark and Hailey hand washed most of the dishes before realizing there was a dishwasher. The perils of going first, I suppose, but at least they are done for the week.
There's a Mouse in this House
There's a Mouse in this House
Screams and laughter are not uncommon at camp, but this evening the screams were a little more intense. As it turns out, there was a very small mouse in the house. The girls were standing on chairs watching it peak out from the dishwasher. Emma & Emerson decided to build a bread crumb trail to entice the mouse out of the house. The bread crumbs turned out to be large pieces of bread, some of them larger than the mouse itself. The plan backfired when the cute little mouse grabbed a very large piece of bread, and with great effort, squeezed it back into his hole. Later the mouse was seen running through the living room. Again the screams erupted from the living room as the girls evaded the mouse. First on the TO DO list. Mouse traps.
2022 Camp
2022 Camp
Mountain Run!
Mountain Run!
Day 7, August 1st: The mountain run is one of the most feared runs all week. Once you start it is a relentless ascent for 2 miles. The girls got up and were determined to beat their times from the prior year. On top of all this, it was Sadie's 15th birthday. She obviously had the birthday magic as she ended up running one of the fastest female times recorded.
We typically get 3-4 girls who run under 20 minutes up the mountain. This year we doubled that statistic. We had 8 girls under 20 minutes this year with three more in the low to mid 20's. To say we are excited about this year is clearly an understatement. They've done the work and we can't wait for them to show off what they've accomplished.
Welcoming the boys
Welcoming the boys
The girls were so excited about the boys team joining us for dinner on our last night. There was a lot of preparation. They made a welcome sign.
Invading their Cabin
Invading their Cabin
They managed to befriend the cleaning staff so that they could post their sign. Then they came back to get ready. There was much to do.
Birthday Photo Shoot
Birthday Photo Shoot
The girls got dressed in their finest for the birthday photo shoot. They spent a good part of the day getting dressed and taking photos. Then there was a lot of cleaning that took place in the cottage. The girls had some strange belief that the boys might notice if the cabin was messy. Secretly Coach Katie and I counted out blessings and did not let on that boys do not notice such things.
Goodie
Goodie
Lily's younger siblings made birthday goodie bags, because, what's a party without goodie bags?
Bags
Bags
Surprisingly, the boys were enamored to received the bags. It was just such a nice gesture that they couldn't help but feel surprised and grateful.
Just as the boys arrived, a beautiful rainbow appeared as if it was a sign of approval from above. Then the girls proceeded to treat the boys to their "Shop N Save performance". It was magical with the beautiful backdrop. I think the rest of the week will be a bit of a downgrade after starting their week off with the girls.
Final Dinner
Final Dinner
The girls did such a nice job not only cleaning themselves up for the boys, but also the cabin. They were amazing hosts and the boys were truly grateful. They were especially grateful for all the birthday cake, complements of Dana Adams. Yes, it was a ridiculous amount of cake, but those boys will no doubt burn the calories to justify the expense.
On the trip home the girls talked about how sad they were to see the week end. They couldn't believe they'd have to wait a whole year to have the experience again. Their wrists were loaded with all the bracelets from the week. Their bags were filled with crafts and their heads with incredible memories. These girls truly are a special group who will accomplish incredible things. They are leaders, they enjoy a challenge, they are not afraid of hard work, and they know how to make things happen. The coaches are so excited to see them show off this season.
Day Six: Sweet 16, Scavenger Hunt, and Rafting
The highlight of the morning was the annual Scavenger Hunt. The seniors got up very early to set it up, and the rest of the girls were divided into 3 teams to compete. They had 45 minutes to run around the lake and find as many items as they could. Anything that could be "worn" in any way had to be on their bodies by the time they got back. Lily running the whole 45 minutes in a pink shower cap was a memorable sight...
Grace turns 16!
Grace turns 16!
Our sixth day was action packed, despite the fact that it was a recovery day before the Mountain Run. Our fantastic Grace turned Sweet 16!
Decorated for Breakfast
Decorated for Breakfast
The girls started the celebration early by setting up decorations the night before.
Servants of the Day: Sadie and Lily
Servants of the Day: Sadie and Lily
Our fantastic sophomores cooked a great breakfast.
Birthday Breakfast!
Birthday Breakfast!
"Sweet 16" Pancakes!
White Water Rafting
After breakfast, the girls headed to Parson, West Virginia to Blackwater Outdoor Adventures for white water rafting. This is the first time in several years that the water has been high enough for us to raft, so this was treat! The trip was a 5 mile section of the Cheat River called "The Narrows", and had Class 2-3 rapids. The girls and coaches were divided into 2 rafts for the trip. Some of the rafting highlights:
--Overboard: Carter, Grace and Sadie were the fortunate 3 that fell out of the the rafts in the middle of rapids!
--The "Spinning Competition": Two people stood on top of the gunnels on either end of the raft and the rest paddled in opposite directions to spin the raft as fast as possible to knock them off. Lily was the clear champion of this activity.
--Two Rock Jumps: AJ's dramatic jumps left the coaches terrified.
--"Surfing": This involved paddling the raft upstream into a back-wave and then "surfing" the wave...
Here is a link to all of the pictures from both of our boats.
Heading into the first Class 3 Rapids!
Heading into the first Class 3 Rapids!
Spinning off a rock!
Spinning off a rock!
All were a bit tired after rafting, but the Servants cooked a great vegetarian burritos with quinoa and wild rice. After dinner the girls made a welcome poster for the boy's team (arriving Monday afternoon), painted letters for a photo craft, and ate cake in a final celebration of Grace's birthday. Hopefully all turned in at a reasonable hour, as the coaches are about to wake them up for the Mountain Run...
Day Five: Downhill Trail Run
Day Five: Downhill Trail Run
One of their favorite runs is the downhill trail run. This is an 8-10 mile trail with about a 1000 feet of decent. It has beautiful waterfall views along the way, however everyone was running way too fast to snap a picture of one of them.
After the run, the girls marveled at their amazing pace and the fact it was for some their longest run to date. They were treated to muffins made by Coach Katie before heading off to one of our favorite pastimes, shopping in Davis. The girls got cooking supplies for the next day, while the seniors raided The Dollar General for scavenger hunt supplies.
While Coach Cherie made a huge pot of Curry Lentil Soup, the girls busied themselves with decorating spike bags. The day of crafting continued as the girls decorated sunglasses and crafted their dance for the traditional Shop N Save Parking lot performance. This dance is always hilarious as onlookers are unsure as to what they are being treated to.
Pizza Dinner
Pizza Dinner
Usually this is a last night sort of things, but things have been falling in a different order this year.
In Davis
In Davis
It doesn't matter which night you have pizza, because it is always delicious in Davis.
Meeting Flora Jean
Meeting Flora Jean
While eating pizza, an adorable young girl decided she had to meet these amazing girls. Her name was Flora-Jean and she had a little brother.
Playground Fun
Playground Fun
The girls quickly became bestie's and they played on the playground for a good 30 minutes before we had to say our good-byes. The mom could not get over how sweet this crew of girls were. It was like she got free baby-sitting x 11.
Emma!
Emma!
This picture just had to make the story as it pretty much says it all. The girls have been amped up all week. I'm expecting a big crash to come because they can only stay in hyper over drive so long, right?
Ice Cream!
Ice Cream!
The Davis Pizza Night always ends with Ice Cream.
You Scream!
You Scream!
The ice cream parfaits were enormous!
The drive back to the cabin was one of the most upbeat car trips ever. Both cars were blasting music with girls singing at the top of their lungs. Coach Katie's crew, exploding out of the sun roof as they rolled in, singing so loudly they could be heard from across the lake.
It was then decided that they needed to go for a walk around the lake to burn off this ice cream over load of energy. The coaches sat on the balcony deck watching in amazement as they sung their way around the one mile lake loop. I'm not sure what happened that night as I went to bed early. More detail might be added later, but maybe not. Time to get on with a new day.
Day Four: A Brief Calm
After the intense Tempo Run/ Scary Movie day, the coaches let the girls sleep in an extra half hour on day four. This day turned out to be a much needed recovery day, both in training and free time. The highlights of the day were a field trip to Blackwater Falls State Park, practicing the team dance, Hailey's exciting interlude after dinner, and Telestrations before bed.
Early Morning at the House
Early Morning at the House
Only the coaches witness the foggy early morning beauty of the area surrounding the house. We are regularly visited by deer, Canada Geese, and, unfortunately, a stray skunk.
Coach Chuck is Here to Stay!
Coach Chuck is Here to Stay!
The girls were thrilled to have Coach Chuck back on the scene. Here he is driving part of the crew to Blackwater Falls. I'm sure he was regaling them with truly fascinating stories...
Cat Nap in the Car
Cat Nap in the Car
Despite his best efforts at storytelling, it wasn't enough to keep Grace awake for the 15 minute car ride.
Hiking to Blackwater Falls
Blackwater Falls
Blackwater Falls
Being silly on the way back up
The "Murder Car"...
The "Murder Car"...
We saw this rather terrifying car both last year and this year in different places in Davis. It is covered with drawings the reference horror movies. Both times it was the day after Scary Movie Night. Coincidence?
Designing the Dance
Designing the Dance
Each year the girls pick a song and developing a dance to perform in front of the Stop-n-Save in Davis.
"Servants" Making Dinner
"Servants" Making Dinner
Our servants cooked a tasty vegetarian pasta meal followed by Oreo Milkshakes
Hailey Shakes Things Up
Hailey Shakes Things Up
Hailey decided that the day had been entirely too calm, so decided to run smack into the screen door hard enough to completely knock it down.
Day Three: Tempo Run!
Day Three: Tempo Run!
Thursday, July 28th: The girls were up and nervously applying pre-tempo tattoos when coach Cherie returned from measuring the camp tempo run. They had to make predictions and this is always a scary prospect. Do you dare write what you hope you run, putting yourself out on a limb? The girls bravely made their predictions and headed out into the misty morning. The warm-up was extremely quiet.
After a complete warm-up of drills, strides, stretching, the girls made their first attempt to teach Hazel the pre-race cheer. After all, this was sort of a practice race. "Mooses, meeses, Reece's Pieces, Dogface mumble in a banana patch, Whoo! Move your . . .huh!"
They were then ready to begin. Sadie set a blistering pace, going out in under 80 seconds for the first quarter. Hailey, who decided to up her game by wearing one of the latest Nike Alpha shoes, hung close. The rest of the girls ran on the fast course, (The flattest you can find in this area).
Once they finished everyone was congratulating everyone and the post run jump picture was taken, Cherie broke the news to the older girls . . . "You've got one more thing to do." The lead balloon floated over and the girl's exuberance was deflated into looks of despair. It was explained to them that we are on a different level this year and if we want to race on a different level it will require more challenging workouts. They then accepted their fate and went on to run one mile fast before warming down. Editors Note: When comparing this year's team to last year's team, each position on the team, 1-9, improved by over 16 seconds over last year's team. Hailey Hodson had the biggest time drop from last year, 49 seconds followed by Lily Smith, who dropped 37 seconds.
The Predict Your Time Award goes to AJ Torrence who was a mere two seconds off of her prediction. This is amazing when you consider that AJ has never done this tempo run. Second place was Jordan Stone who was just three seconds off of her prediction.
Macrame Water Bottle Holders
Macrame Water Bottle Holders
A big part of the day was working on macrame water bottle holders. The girls, needing some down time, sat and tackled what looked like a difficult project. Most were pleasantly surprised how easy it was, until they got to the daunting task of forming the strap. At this point it was decided we had been sitting too long and we will tackle that another time.
The Blow Up Kayak is Discovered
The Blow Up Kayak is Discovered
The girls found a bag with what they thought was a blow up paddle board, which turned out to be a kayak. They hauled it down to the lake and proceeded to take turns putting two girls at a time in a one person kayak. Grace was convinced there were alligators in the lake and smacked the water with her oar to fight them off. Of course the best part was watching their lack of paddling skills. Can't wait to see them white water rafting.
Back to Crafting
Back to Crafting
Then Coach Chuck arrived with more crafting supplies and back to crafting they went.
Em & Em were in charge of dinner. They made "Chipotle bowl" which is always a hit. It may have been a mistake to pair these two young girls, based on what was found in the dishwasher the next morning.
The night ended with "Scary Movie Night". "The Ring" was the feature presentation as it was seen as the least gross and scary and the only trailer they were able to get through.
In the end it may have proved to be too much for them as there may have been some tears and fear of going to bed after that.
Day Two
Day Two
Wednesday, July 27th: The rain of the previous day had moved on by the second day of Camp. Coach Katie woke the girls up at 8am by marching through their rooms with music blaring from a portable speaker. Many girls, like Emerson and Hailey, were already up and ready to go. A few, however, needed a bit more prodding…
After a nice recovery run around the lower lake loop, the girls did some strength and flexibility exercises out on the back deck. The wonderful Servants-of-the-Day, AJ and Jordan, prepared an excellent breakfast of pancakes and eggs.
The Team Meets “Wiggles” the Snapping Turtle
For our first outing, we usually ride the Canaan Valley chair lift to Dolly Sods, take a short hike, and pick blueberries…So we loaded up the cars and headed out, only to discover the lift is closed Wednesdays and Thursdays! So, we quickly regrouped and headed to a nearby short trail that Coach Katie had cross-country skied this past winter…but on the way…
We spotted a large snapping turtle and pulled over. AJ promptly named the turtle “Wiggles” and all 11 girls piled out of the cars and converged on the poor reptile. Wiggles was having none of it, and scurried quite quickly into the muddy stream nearby as the girls squealed and howled behind him. I suspect poor Wiggles has buried himself in the mud and is still cowering there now…
The team then took a very short but pretty stroll down to view the Blackwater River as it meanders through the valley. There was a fantastic beaver dam about halfway along, as well as some quite interesting rock formations. And no outing is complete without a field trip to exciting Davis, WV to explore the Dollar General and Shop-n-Save…
The Blackwater River is very calm at this point
Sporting the Wal-Mart shirts
Posing on rock formations
Getting serious in Davis
Afternoon Crafting
Our first real craft of Camp this year was decorating calendars. They decorated each month and added all of meets and team birthdays.
Slime Time!
Crafting was followed by the movie McFarland USA, a Slime Session, and bracelet making before dinner.
Oops, Dinner, and Evening Glow Walk
At about 5:30, Jordan and AJ decided it was time to start making dinner, but soon realized that the groceries we had purchased 4 hours earlier in Davis had never been unloaded from the back of the Stone-Mobile! OOOOOPS! Luckily, due to the chilly Canaan Valley weather, all of the food was just fine, and even the 2 tubs of ice cream re-freezed and were great. Phew! The servants made a wonderful “make-your-own-breakfast-burrito” dinner, and the girls ate their first meal outside on the deck. After dinner they decided to take a walk around the lake while the coaches relaxed in the deck chairs. The coaches’ peaceful time was punctuated by periodic shrieks from the group of girls as they made their way around the lake. Later they learned that Grace had managed to pick up a leech on her foot. As the girls finished their walk the sky turned an impossibly stunning pink…a beautiful sight that juxtaposed perfectly with the girls’ truly hideous matching wolf Wal-Mart shirts. The girls turned in early in anticipation of Thursday morning's Tempo Run.
Camp 2022 Day 1
Camp 2022 Day 1
Tuesday, July 26th: Eleven well trained girls met at Crozet Park and right away everyone was talking all at once trying to catch up on all the summers activities. So many had recently travelled to exciting places or to camps. There was a lot to talk about. The moms were all reconnecting or meeting for the first time. There was so much excitement that it took a half hour to actually load up all the gear necessary to survive a week in West Virginia.
The day was drizzly, but that did not dampen anyone's spirits. The girls made their first stop at Mr. J's Bagels so the girls could get some lunch. Then of course we had to go to Wal-Mart which is always the highlight of day one. The girls always manage to find the tackiest shirts to wear. More about this later. After extending the time they all made it back to the vans to finish the journey. Grace tried to convince us that she and a few others got nose piercings at Claire's in Wal-Mart. They momentarily fooled a few, but the savvy Coach Cherie wasn't buying. I must admit, it did look impressively real.
After we road and sang along to many songs, discussed boys, whether anyone's kissed one, and other important matters, we made a quick convenient store drive by as "Princess Tiny Bladder" needed to stop.
After the long rainy ride, we finally arrived at our destination. It always amazes me how we can take 5 hours for a trip that google claims is 2:47 minutes. The unpacking of the vehicles happened in record time with all the girls helping. After an hour to decide on who had which room and settling in, the girls went on their first run. The 8 mile lake loop ended up being more like 9 miles. Thankfully half the girls went back so that they would run 6-7 miles and no one got lost, at least not for long. Sadie tried real hard to get lost, but Coach Cherie was on the bike and was able to ride back and forth to keep the top pack from taking wrong turns. Coach Katie ran the loop backwards to direct the girls back to the house.
Looking Cute in Log Shirts
Looking Cute in Log Shirts
The girls showered up and had the most amazing dinner cooked by Day One Cooks, Hazel and Hailey.
Dinner was Spaghetti and Chicken with red sauce, white sauce or pesto. There was also salad and a mixed berry crumble for dessert. These girls will not go hungry
Delicious Spaghetti Dinner
Delicious Spaghetti Dinner
Somehow they manage to squeeze around the table as they devoured the delicious meal.
Games, Games, Games
Games, Games, Games
Telestrations, Brain Freeze, lot's of screaming, lots of laughing. makes for a great first night.
A New Day Ahead
A New Day Ahead
Can't say enough about the view from this house. Even in dreary weather it is beautiful.
Camp Log Summer 2021
Monday: August 2: Camp, day one highlights.
After stuffing 9 girls and the amount of stuff they find necessary to survive a week in West Virginia into two vehicles The Crozet Crew was off. We stopped at the Harrisonburg Walmart for the traditional Tee shirt purchase. There may or may not have been candy purchases, I was distracted by the shirts. Then off to Mr. J's Bagels for a small lunch followed by two hours of great music queued up by DJ HayHod. Grace kept us entertained with the fat filter. Never knew that was a thing. We all have resigned to never quit running as a result of those pictures.
Once at the cabin, nine long legged elves, helped unload the cars in record time. After a bit of time, (less than what was initially advertised), the LLE's went for a jaunt over hill and dale and around a lake. (What is a dale anyway?). The LLE's became ravenous and ate half a bowl of clementines, then carrots, sugar snap peas, and peppers smothered in black bean hummus. The main course was fish tacos with mango & avocado salsa and quinoa. Then a watermelon was cut and devoured. Jenna apparently likes to "knife" things. Her words. I'll be sleeping with one eye open tonight.
The crew sat and took care of important matters like, doing their nails with fancy glitter while others took to putting tinsel in hair, because one must look your absolute best when hidden in the hills of West Virginia. Whilst all this embellishment was going on, the Olympic Track and Field was on the tv. It was unanimously decided that Willis, from the Netherlands, must make it to the finals of the 1500. I think they took pity on him due to his advanced age, (38 years old).
The girls all headed off to bed surprisingly at 10:15. They must have believed that thing I said about lights out at 11:00. Shh! Tomorrow . . . Let the crafts begin.
Tuesday: The girls were awaken at 8:00 am to the the most annoying song available, Macarena. It seemed to work as the girls were out and ready to run in just minutes. The girls took part in a buddy run where they discussed goals, funny stories, and what they are looking forward to. After a bit of strength and stretching, pancakes were served up by Eleanor and Hailey. The Crew set out to decorate log books. Later it was revealed that Emma's log book was deemed most creative and Jordan's was touted as Most Aesthetically Pleasing.
The girls headed to the ski lift where there was a hike where Grace carefully stepped through the mud to avoid dirtying her white shoes. Once at the top of the mountain there was a stiff blueberry picking competition. Jordan, Jenna and Emma won the competition for most blueberries picked in a 20 minute period. Hailey almost got disqualified for not returning on time, but she claimed to have been boxed in coming up the trail.
Back at the cabin the girls made various bracelets while "Devil Wears Prada" played in the background. Make your own pizza night was presented by Eleanor and Hailey. The days servants did a great job preparing dinner which included salad. After a quick and thorough clean up the girls began a vicious game of spoons. The house shuddered with the sounds of 9 shrieking girls. Finally, and thankfully, the TV announced the Finals of the 800. The room went silent as Athing Mu ran start to finish in the lead and blew away the field to set an American Record. Yay! What a powerful thing to witness with this special group. As of this writing the girls are headed to the hot tub. More photos to come.
Wednesday: Wednesday morning the girls were woken up by the electrifying drums of the song "Matador," and spent a few minutes getting pumped up for the annual Tempo Run. They put on tattoos and predicted their finishing times. Soon, they were ready to set off on their warm up.
The Camp Tempo Run is actually a 1.5 mile time trial, and is the first of the season. It is a good way to see where the girls are before any of the interval training starts. After the warm up, they did some good strides and practiced the team cheer: "Dog Face Mumble in a Banana Patch". And....they were off! The team was led the whole way by Jenna and Sadie, followed by the trio of Hailey, Grace and Emma. Jordan, Sienna, Eleanor and Lily stayed close to the pack, and everyone finished well under 11 minutes. Jenna finished in 8:43, followed closely by Sadie in 8:49. These two times are up there as the fastest times in camp history, (only two runners, Mattie Webb and Zoe Clay, were faster). Cherie and I are very excited about this group: they push each other in the right ways, and are so incredibly supportive of each other. They have the work ethic and the talent to really have another fantastic XC season.
Ironically, the Tempo Run prediction competition was won by none other than rising 8th Grader Emma, our youngest member of the team! Go figure!
After a long cool down, the girls stretched and our "Servants of the Day", Jenna and Emma, started making breakfast. Lucky for us, Coach Cherie got back early and made everyone blueberry scones with the berries we had picked the day before. They were "epic", as my kids would say!
Our first main craft of the day was Tie Dye. The girls tie-dyed T-Shirts for their partners from the Buddy Run, and then tie-dyed Spike Bags. Then it was "quiet time" as the girls were pretty tired--they stretched out in the living room and watched Grease.
After lunch, a group of girls took a field trip to Davis to go grocery shopping and fill up The Tank (the Suburban)! The girls valiantly tried to sneak industrial sized tubs of ice cream into the shopping cart, but ultimately agreed to downsize into regular gallon size.
After the shopping trip the girls learned metal stamping for bracelets and the rest of the evening the house reverberated with the sound of hammer blows on metal washers. The girls stamped their goals on their bracelets and they turned out really well.
Dinner was fettuccine alfredo prepared by Jenna and Emma, which was quite delicious! The meal prep was quite eventful, and included an exploded pint of heavy whipping cream on the floor. Jenna also made an incredible strawberry pie which we enjoyed at 9pm while watching the Olympic 400 meter prelims. Before heading to bed the girls played a raucous game of Brain Freeze.
So, another excellent day at Camp with this fun, talented, and dedicated group of young runners!
Thursday: Thursday's wake up song was another classic song designed to annoy: "Who Let the Dogs Out"---But this time the young ones were ready for us and tried to scare us as we came to wake them up! We did an easy run and then our Servants of the Day, Sienna and Lily, prepared a feast of blueberry pancakes and eggs. Our main craft of the day yesterday was acrylic pour painting, and they turned out fantastic. This is a new craft for camp, and is destined to become a tradition.
Once Coach Chuck arrived after lunch, we loaded up the vehicles and took a field trip to Blackwater Falls State Park to see the big waterfall. The girls enjoyed some locally-made ice-cream and then ran wild in the Family Dollar. Dinner was a Make-Your-Own-Potato Bar, another crowd-favorite.
After dinner, the real excitement began...We have a tradition at XC Camp of watching a scary movie and then taking a night walk. As we have a relatively young group of campers this year, many of them had never really watched a scary movie. Sadie, Emma, Hailey, Lily and Grace were truly terrified of the prospect, and suggested many alternative movies. Hailey proposed we terrify the troops with a sing-a-long to Mama Mia, while Lily insisted that the Muppet Movie was sure to get the most screams. Our senior duo of Eleanor and Jenna prevailed, however, and chose the movie Lights Out, and gore-less movie full of jump-scares. I confiscated all phones so that the girls couldn't escape into them during the viewing, and we all settled down to watch. Emma, Sadie, Lily and Grace huddled together in abject terror for the full length of the viewing, with Lily periodically disappearing into her sweatshirt. Hailey, of course, researched the movie and discovered there were exactly 19 jump-scares, so was determined to count them during the viewing. That endeavor failed as she too disappeared into a blanket. The house reverberated with screams for the full length of the movie.
They all survived, however, and afterwards were each given a glow-stick for the night walk. Grace tried to escape, and Emma professed to have lost her shoes and couldn't go, but after a few minutes Eleanor led them out into the night. The coaches watched from the porch as they progressed in a whimpering huddle up the driveway. Little did they know that Eleanor and Jenna had set a trap for them just down the road from the house: they had taken sheets and pillows and created a ghost figure, and Jenna was waiting in the bushes to jump out and scare the girls with it. It must have worked as the Witts and I soon heard howls and screeches of terror echoing through the night. After a few more minutes of terrified walking, the huddle turned around and progressed back towards the house. I decided they hadn't quite had enough terror, so I hid in the bushes along the driveway and jumped out to scare them as they walked past. Hailey was in the front and took the brunt of the scare, actually falling over backwards as she tried to escape.
Once they all made it home safely, they continued the scare-fest by playing hide and seek in the dark in the house for a while. This was loud but short-lived and soon they settled down to watch cartoons and eat ice cream to shake off the scares. Little did they know, they had one more surprise waiting for them in their separate carriage house: the coaches had put up two posters in their bedrooms written by the scary ghost in the movie. The young ones came screaming back into the main house when they found them, and it took a while to get them back into their rooms...
So, yesterday ended with the girls sleeping with the lights on in the carriage house, wrapping up another truly epic day at XC Camp.
Friday: The girls woke up to "Barbie Girl". Katie's knack for finding annoying songs is a talent like none other. She must have a play list already set up. The girls had a half hour to load the vans by 7:30 for a fun filled morning of gravel/trail running from Thomas, followed by Tubing on The Blackwater River. The Blackwater Trail goes along the river and gently descends the entire way. It made for a fast 8-12 miles. There were walk breaks for the younger girls, but Jenna's Garmin was not getting good reception in the canyon and we are unsure how far she ran during her one and a half hour run. (Mental Note to self: Garmin's don't work in the Canyon). Needless to say she had her longest run to date and probably won't run farther till her junior year in college when her coach decides to move her up to the 10K.
The girls ate a breakfast of blueberry breakfast cookies, trail mix, granola bars and fruit and they were off to catch the 10:30 van for Tubing. The Van driver remembered the girls from previous years, "Yeah, were famous that way", and seemed to enjoy their banter. He clearly got a kick out of Grace's accent, once he could decipher her pronunciation of bear, "Bar".
The girls enjoyed a leisurely trip down the river. Eleanor's trip was far more leisurely than the others. It took the first half hour to catch the group, which was crazy since we were traveling at about 1 mile per hour. Towards the end, the girls found a way to make it competitive, and Emma reigned as Queen of Balance, as she could stand like a flamingo on her tube forever.
The girls finished the afternoon back at the cabin with some reverse tie dye, painting spike bags, and Heishe bracelets. Grace made it her mission to win the cleaning competition and "The Hoover" was out multiple times as she did her best to "Tidy up" after the girls. This in and of itself is very ironic, in the sense that Grace leaves a little mess everywhere she goes. No judgement though, because I have the same problem, which Chuck can attest to.
We sadly said our good-bye's to Lily as she is off on another adventure. She will be missed these next few days, but she is going to have so much fun with her awesome family. The girls had a much quieter evening as Hailey finished her OCD obsession with sorting all the alphabet letter beads.
Saturday: The girls awoke to another annoying song which remains elusive. That's the thing about camp, by this time we are all deliriously exhausted, and yet, we don't want to miss anything so most refuse to nap or go to bed early. On tap for Saturday was the scavenger hunt. The seniors set it up on the trails around the lake. The girls formed two teams and were off to gather as much stuff as possible. The rule is that you must be wearing the stuff in order for it to count. The thing is, you don't have to wear it till the end, but Emma must have missed that key point and managed to wear her floral robe throughout much of the hunt. The robe was found earlier by a husband and wife, who while out hiking, found the robe and thought there had been some "hanky panky" going on the night before. Luckily the wife reminded him about our group. Most of the residents are well aware of this group as we have been coming here for over 30 years. Emma also found an unopened bottle of seltzer, but had to put that back as it was not a part of the hunt. "Baby Katie" is the prized possession in this hunt and after getting some clues from the seniors, Sadie found her face down in the mud, under a wooden walkway.
The rest of the day was meant to be a down day and some actually napped. They made daisy chain bracelets, "Dinky" bracelets, among many other types. Dinky is a chipmunk who visits us daily on the back porch. It was decided we must all have "Dinky" bracelets. Even Coach Chuck will have to have one.
The evening ended with the viewing of more Olympic events, most notably the women's 4 x 400. We all couldn't wait to see the all star team of Sydney McLaughlin, Allison Felix, Delilah Muhamad, and Athing Mu. Of course the network must torture us first with random events like diving before they play the marque events. Everyone was impressed at how fit and gorgeous the relay team was. We watched in awe as the team ran to victory. After much celebration things wound down quickly and off to bed they went. The most challenging run of the week, "The Mountain Run", looms in the morning.
Sunday: The day of the annual Mountain Run dawned with cool weather and the top of the mountain shrouded in clouds. The girls got psyched up by once again putting on tattoos while listening to music. The Mountain Run is a two mile climb that is staggered with the goal that the girls reach the summit fairly close together. This year there were 3 groups of girls leaving at different times. Sienna, Jordan and Eleanor took off first, followed a few minutes later by Hailey, Grace and Emma. A short time later Jenna and Sadie started the ascent. I ran ahead of the girls (WAY ahead so they wouldn't catch me), Chuck biked up behind the girls, and Cherie started them off and then drove up with all of the water bottles to take pictures. This year, the girls ran so fast we barely had time to whip out our cameras before they were sprinting down the road towards us!
First to the top this year was Jordan--she had an incredible Mountain Run this year, taking minutes off her time from the previous year. She was definitely the most improved mountain runner this year--she looked strong and in control the entire climb. Right on her heels was Sadie, who ran the second fastest Mountain Run of all time, right behind Zoe Clay. These are the only two runners that have ever broken 17 minutes on the Mountain Run. Eleanor also had a fantastic run, taking well over a minute off her time from last year. The rest came in soon after, with Grace breaking 19 and several others right around the 20 minute mark. This was one of the strongest Mountain Runs we have ever had at Camp, and we are very excited and optimistic about the upcoming season.
Once their legs had recovered for a few minutes, we hiked the steep trail to the rocky overlook and took some group pictures. The clouds broke just enough that we got a great view of our house and the road we had just run. After the pictures, the girls had fun flying down the Mountain and back to the house for breakfast. Jenna and Eleanor made a huge batch of blueberry pancakes for everyone. A few hours of down time were followed by a "Great Camp Bake Off" in which Cherie guided the participants in a pretzel making session--yum! I awoke from a long nap to piping hot pretzels (both savory and sweet styles)--pretty good way to wake up!
Mid-afternoon we decided it would be a good idea to take the entire week's trash to the nearby dumpster, so Emma and Sadie did the rather unpleasant job of loading all of the smelly bags into the back of the Tank. They got in the back seat and got the windows rolled down, and Cherie turned the key in the ignition...Click Click Click... UH-OH! The Tank had a dead battery! Never fear, I had brought my jumper cables (which, by the way, I have only used on XC team vehicles in the past year!), and we tried for a while to get the Tank up and running. No joy! So, Emma, Sadie and Grace moved all the trash into Clifford (my red 4-Runner) and we made a run to the dump station. Cherie bit the bullet and called George Hodson for advice, and he guided us through the tricky connection point for the battery on the Tank. It worked! Crisis averted. A few of the girls were disappointed that we got it running again, claiming that we should just spend another week at Camp...
The last night Camp tradition is to create a team dance, don face-paint, and perform the dance in the Shop-N-Save parking lot in "downtown" Davis (think mini-flash-mob in the most unlikely of places). This year the girls went with an Olympic theme--they each chose a country and the song was "Wavin' Flag". They spent days creating and practicing their dance in the grass behind our house, and they also tie-dyed T-shirts in their country's colors. For about an hour before we left for Davis, the girls braided hair and painted faces, and did one last run-through of their dance. We loaded up the cars and made our way to Davis, and the girls lined up in the parking lot. We blared the song at full volume from the back of Clifford (no way we were going to stress the battery on the Tank again so soon), and the girls performed their dance to the rather bemused local shoppers of the Dollar Store and Stop-N-Save. As Hailey put it afterwards, "It would totally make my Sunday if I went to do the week's shopping and saw a group like us!"
After the performance, we paraded through town to Siriani's, the long-standing local pizza joint, to pick up our to-go order. We ate in the pavilion of the local park, and after dinner the seniors presented the girls with their creative superlatives for the week. To wind up our visit to town we made our way back down the road to get some delicious ice cream.
On a side note, this is by far the most polite and grateful group I have ever encountered. After every event, craft, meal, etc. there has been a chorus of "Thank You" from everyone. They are always effusive in their gratitude and ready to lend a hand with whatever is needed. This year I made a competition out of the Servant of the Day, and while all were excellent on their given day (Grace was so enthusiastic with her "hoovering"), there is one clear winner. Every single day of the week Eleanor could be seen cooking, cleaning, and guiding the others in tasks that needed to be done. Granted, as a senior, she had extra duties assigned to her, but she went above and beyond that in the Servant duties. Both Eleanor and Jenna are shaping up to be excellent team-leaders this year. Their quiet but steady leadership is just what this group of young, enthusiastic runners needs. I know they will continue to grow into their leadership roles as the season progresses, and continue to guide the young ones to success.
When we got back to the house the final craft of the week began: the Painting of the Trailer. This year I brought my utility trailer that Eric built a few years ago, and I thought it would be fun for the girls to spice it up a bit. Earlier in the week I painted it a base color of red, and the girls then used Cherie's left-over acrylic paints to decorate it. Jordan painted "High Five if you Like to Run" on the back, and Jenna highlighted the letters expertly. The rest of the girls painted their hands and put hand prints all over it. Emma and Grace painted an adorable monster on the front, cleverly incorporating a rather large hole into the mouth of the creature. The trailer is unrecognizable now, and I can't wait to see Eric's reaction when I pull up with it later today.
The rest of the evening was spent organizing belongings and doing some preliminary packing for our departure. After I went to bed, the party continued for a few hours and the girls made some brownies. I fell asleep to the sounds of laughter from the girls and honking from the geese, with the knowledge that this was perhaps the best week of camp we have ever had.
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