DAILY DOSE OF DOUG-
It was HOT today. So what did we do? We hiked up Sugarbush and across the Long trail and down! We did it in teams of 8 carrying slosh pipes, rocks, gallons of water, and food. I am not going to lie, there was some complaining. But that complaining quickly turned to motivation and every team hammered up 2400 vertical feet in 2 hours. Along the way they did tough and fun challenges, like building a cairn, or getting tied together. The reward? A chairlift ride down! And it was worth it. Plus we went and sat in the river for a while. I am very proud of the group for Jumping out of their Comfort Zones today with addition of the heat.
After a short nap break, the energy returned (I don’t know how, as I was still tired…) and so we did more Burpees and had a Dodgeball Tourney followed by dancing. As I write this, the dorm is quiet and we turned out the lights BEFORE 9pm with no complaints. Let’s hope the heat breaks tomorrow!
TOTAL Burpee Count to Date: 92,995
MEMORABLE MOMENTS from the Staff-
Coach Molly:
– Livi being splashed by all the campers in the river.
– Our slosh tube named “Cosmo”
– “Hey! There’s the river! What if it’s high tide?” -Reed Cole
– “Carry, Carry, Carry Cosmo gently up the hill. Carry, carry, carry Cosmo and throw him off the chair!” -The Cosmo Crew
– “Hey, my hat is all wet now!” -Mad Max at the Summit
Coach Foreste:
– While the kids were tied together on the last climb to the top, Charlie breaks the silence by saying, “I’ve never been more excited for a ham sandwich!” With that, everyone picked up the pace a bit and worked together to get to those sandwiches.
– Before heading down to the lift, Ben and I asked who was willing to take the slosh pipe. No one said anything. Suddenly Cole came out of nowhere and enthusiastically asked, “Can I take the slosh pipe? I want to hold it!” I then asked him on our way down how he was doing and if he wanted a break from it. With a sweaty, grinning smile, his response was, “I got it! After all, this is a hard camp! It’s supposed to be tough!”
Coach AJ:
– Towards the end of our hike all of the campers were starting to fade and it was evident that fatigue had taken over. Our last ‘challenge’ for the campers was stringing them all along a rope, forcing them to work as a group. When we started our last ascent up the steepest and slickest part of the hike all the campers, strung together by the rope, started feeding off of each other’s energy and began charging up the final part of our hike. Fatigue was soon replaced by excitement and motivation to get to the top.
– At the beginning of the hike, it felt like Lydia was attached to the slosh pipe. She carried it for 10 minutes straight. Concerned that she’d get too tired too early I told her that she could switch off carrying the slosh pipe with one of her fellow campers. Amused, with a smile across her face, she responded “I’m just trying to embrace the burn.”
Coach Conor:
– It was awesome seeing the “Contash” (Conor and Tasha) Team making their way up Castlerock and then over to Lincoln. Everyone was pulling their weight. Cody asked me if he could carry the slosh pipe on his own across the Long Trail and convinced the team that he could do it. We all cheered him on as he did it with ease. I loved to see him challenge himself, push his limits, and break through his comfort zone.
Coach Devon:
– We could see the top of the chairlift at one part of the hike and Cha told us, “If we can see it, we can make it there!”
– Even while carrying the sloshpipes and a couple gallons of water, when Uptown Funk started playing on the hike, my group jumped right into practicing their Olympic dance. Very dedicated campers!
Coach Zack:
– When asked about the hike, Ben said it “hurt in a good way.” Reed called it “legendary.”
Coach Tasha:
– “Wanna shave my head like Doug. Too hot for hair.”- Abby C.
– “We’re being tied together like a dog to a tree?” Ten steps later… “Wow being tied together actually made us walk faster… I Love it!” – Group “ConTash”
– Alli Mes – “My Legs Burn” – yet she still walked up the hill with a purpose (:
Coach Dan:
– The last 20 minutes of the hike were very intense as it was steep, hot, and the entire group was tied together. Part way up the last climb one of the campers dropped a gallon of water and it rolled down the hill. My group lead by Reed, Carly, and Abi rallied, walked all the way back down the last pitch, dug deep and hiked back up it again! I was very proud of them.
– Part way up the hike I told my group of campers that I would poor water out of their slosh pipe for 3 seconds to lighten their load. I accidentally tripped and poured out the entire pipe! Needless to say my group was psyched. Alex A. Quickly volunteered to carry the lighter version of the slosh pipe.
CAMPER QUOTES
What did you think of the adventure hike today?
Grace- I thought it was really fun and pushed my limits a lot.
Alex B- It was a great way to push our limits.
Alice- I liked it a lot.
Lydia- It was fun. The slosh pipes were “interesting”. It was really satisfying when we got to the top. It was also very tiring.
Caroline- Tiring but fun.
What was your favorite part of the hike?
Grace- My favorite part was the ridge because you got to see everything and it was really pretty!
Alex B- When we got to the top and looked out over the amazing view I had worked so hard for.
Alice- Hiking the Long Trail. The challenges were fun as well, minus the slosh pipe.
Lydia- Hiking across the long trail. Downloading was fun too.
Caroline- When we were traversing because I like the rocks
What does it mean to Jump out of your Comfort Zone?
Cole – To do things you are not comfortable with and make you scared.
Cody – To Push yourself further than normal or to take part in something that makes you uncomfortable.
Reed – It means you should try something new and Dig Deep when you think you cannot go further.
List three words that described your day.
Cole – Tired, Hard, Fun
Cody – Hot, Challenging, Sweaty
Reed – Chafing, Sweat, Sweet!!!
Kyle H – Awesome, Pushing, Digging Deep
Kyle R – Long, Fun, Noodling
Colter – Hard, Tiring, Satisfying
Describe the Hike.
Cole – Really long and fun. I had to dig deep to be able to finish.
Cody – Very Challenging to carry the pipes and water. Our shoulders hurt a lot but we kept going and it was rewarding at the end.
Reed – Sweaty. You had to jump out of your comfort zone to make it through.
Kyle H – Carrying the slosh pipe made me stronger.
Kyle R – The hike was long and rough, but the view was sweet!