CAMPERS BRAVE THE HEAT; WARM UP TO THE SUMMER

     With temperatures in the nineties and a full agenda of activities, the 200 Pok-O-MacCready campers had a busy day of games, swim tests and a trip through the “Activity Fair”.  Campers also signed up for their summer classes, which commence Wednesday morning. For a first hand look at the days’ events, we turned to couple of veteran campers.

Mike Ryba is starting his 10th and final season as a camper. The 16-year old Ryba hails from Queensbury, NY.

     Excitement hung in the air over Pok-O as heavy as the hot haze that ushered in the first full day of yet another summer at the “greatest camp in the universe.”

     The morning began after a hearty breakfast with the 101st annual activity fair, where the boys camp assembled at Intermediate Point and then dispersed into cabin groups to learn about the plethora of classes available to them; from archery to windsurfing.  New campers were amazed at the variety of activities available and anxiously anticipte starting them.

     After a quick swim in the lake and a cheeseburger lunch engaged in a variety of activities from building campfires to using the new water trampoline to playing the much-storied capture-the-flag derivative “Hamer of the Gods”. The day was rounded out with the traditional hike up Bare mountain, the “Black Line” game, and the Senior Hockey League (SHL) draft.  Thus, another “grand and glorious” day at Camp Pok-O-MacCready was complete.

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For the past three summers, 12 year-old Maggie Belshe has traveled to camp from San Rafael, CA.  This summer she is in MacCready’s senior section. She enlisted help from her friends for this article.

     Cereal and a bagel, our first breakfast of the Pok-O-MacCready year.  The first day still holds the same excitement and anticipation and I look around to see the other campers with the same expression of joy and happiness.

     First, my section goes to the medical center for checkups.  We sit on the grass waiting and talking, mainly about how hot it is. Next, our riding tests.  This is our chance to show how much we have improved. The non-riders and everyone who is waiting for their turn are all talking and playing cards. We can’t wait for our swim tests, when we finally get the chance to cool off in Long Pond.

     Finally, we go to the lake for our swim tests.  We swim for awhile and then we heave our way to the dining hall for a lunch of hamburgers. After lunch, we have the ACTIVITY FAIR.  We walk around camp to learn about all the fun activities we will be enjoying.  Unfortunately, it is thundering from the heat and we don’t get to have free swim today. Instead, we just hung out in our cabins for awhile before dinner.

     Dinner was fabulous chicken and here I am writing this, full and happy, and ready for evening activity and lights out. We had a great first day of camp and we are looking forward to a fabulous summer.