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With just over 36 hours left in 2008, I thought I'd show you a picture of the celebration we had here at Camp last New Year's Eve. Probably over a million people in that picture right? Camp was crowded as it has ever been! Alright...so that's not a picture of Camp, but you believed me for a few moments right?
Of course as I am writing that Camp has finally dug ourselves out from the snow storm of last weekend it's snowing again!! The final total of inches here at Camp is just under two feet of snow. We've had a good time digging ourselves out. On Monday we went snow shoeing around Camp to see which part got hit the hardest. Most of the picnic table in the Junior Boy and Junior Girl units are completely under snow. Josh and I did stop to play a game of tetherball. I'm not gonna tell you who won...but I'm sure it's pretty obvious. Below are pictures of the dining hall and health lodge. The mountainous snow banks are actually taller then I am!!
With the forecast calling for more snow and Camp already under several inches, if not feet of snow, I thought it would be nice to show you what the Waterfront looked like before the lake freezes. So what is the progress on the lake freezing? Well, the water is extremely cold, I can tell you that much. Not sure how you voted, but it's looking like the middle of January!!
Tubing is back at Camp! Here is our very own Robin Zitter taking one of the very first runs down the refurbished tubing hill at Baxter Park. Camp, much like the rest of the area, received several inches of snow and some of us took a few minutes from the busy Camp schedule to play a little. 
Countdown to Camp....
Yearbooks are here!! Josh and I spent a lot of time looking through the yearbook near the fire yesterday. I guess the big question is when will you get yours?? We hope that in the next two weeks every camper and staff member from this summer will have their very own copy of the yearbook to look through! Stay tuned and look in the mail starting next week!
It looks as if Camp Chingachgook is having an impact on the world. A couple of summer staff from last summer, did some investigating and located another Tent City outside of our tennis courts. Thanks to the hard work of Katt Ryan, Joe Kennedy, Mary McAfee, and Zach Martin, we can be sure that the Chingachgook way is alive and well in Boston.
Looking back at this past summer, everyone involved took away something very special. What am I talking about? Memories of course. Memories of friends, activities, counselors, and much more. There are somethings that can only been seen or accomplished while at Camp though, perhaps these pictures tell the true story of the beauty of Camp during a sunset. These pictures were taken by our yearbook photographer Kat Gandy (yearbook will be sent home in a few weeks) and she was gracious enough to allow me to post them online. Actually I didnt ask, but she would have let me anyway. 
Hey Guys, not sure if you are aware but...
As you can clearly see our pavilion is packed tighter then on any summer closing day. That is because it is the winter home to the Capris, Rainbows, Martins, and power boats. The picture below also helps tell the story about the waterfront. The aluminum docks are gone, floats have been taken out, the ropes that lined the swimming area are packed away and even the mouring balls are out until next spring. The only two boats left in the water will be gone before too much longer and the only recognizable feature at the waterfront will be the rope swing. Don't get any ideas though, the water is much to cold to jump into...unless of course you're planning on a Polar Bear swim sometime in January
This weekend at Camp it's volunteer work weekend. Today (Saturday) over 100 volunteers came and have helped us rake, clean, and throw stuff away. What do they get in return? Well, besides three great meals from the kitchen, the Chingachgook Staff (Brian, Heather, Robin, Pat, Dan, Carlos, Rosa, Kat, and me) all put on a wonderful Campfire for around a dozen girl scouts and a large group of students from the Waldorf School. The picture above is Robin doing her best swimming moves in Rotary Lodge during a skit. Is she any good? Tomorrow (Sunday), we'll head out there again completing some more work projects around Camp. Interested in coming up for the next work weekend? It'll be in April, so stay tuned for more information and I hope to see you at Camp soon! 
Thanks to everyone who voted for me. The final tally, 34 votes for me, 19 for Obama, 5 for McCain, and 2 for Nader. Thanks again and remember to vote for me again in four years.
Well, October came and went pretty fast. Did anyone throw together a Chingachgook Halloween party? I speak for everyone when I say it would be great to post some pictures of staff or campers dressed up in costumes for the scary night. Send them my way! Also make sure you've registered for Camp for next summer. Space is still available in all sessions in all units, but it won't stay that way for long. With that, only 238 days until session one starts :)
Look carefully otherwise you might not see it...but yes, Buck Mountain has snow! I'm sure some of you have already seen snow, but this is a historic day at Chingachgook. The first Buck snowfall/accumulation of the year. Which brings us to the next question. When will Lake George freeze? Post your guess in the comments section, anyone who guesses correctly will win a free Chingachgook Sweatshirt!
Hey gang! This morning, about 10 (maybe more) Camp staff jumped into the waters of Lake George keeping the Polar Bear tradition at Camp alive. The water was a brisk fifty degrees and the air temperature was much colder, only thirty-five degrees. Why did we do it? For the t-shirt of course and the joy being a member of this very exclusive Camp club! Are you a Polar Bear? If not, there's always next summer!
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Front row: Works of art by Summer Camp Director Aaron (left) and Executive Assistant Aimee (right):
Amazing pumpkin carvings by outdoor educators:
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Hey everyone, above is your 2008 Chingachgook OE Staff! These are the brave souls who teach the thousands of school children who visit Chingachgook in the months after Camp has ended and helps them learn and play in the outdoors. Activities like canoeing, high ropes, climbing tower, hiking, and archery are combined with educational classes like stream & wetlands, lake study, nature hikes, and an animal instincts class. Several of these folk were around this summer both as adventure trip leaders and summer staff. Who do you recognize?
This past weekend at Camp over 125 girl scouts came and took part in many different activities all in an effort to get one of many badges available to them. Girl Scouts participated in Camp related activities that included sailing, kayaking, canoeing, climbing, outdoor cooking, orienteering, outdoor art, and much more. Interested in bringing a troop here? We have several days scheduled in the spring. March 8 and April 4 are the next two available days. Call Camp for more information! See you there :)
Another Chingachgook staff member took some time to travel the world recently. Erica Schlachter in all her awesomeness traveled throughout France this summer before stopping by and acting as a counselor for a few weeks. This is a picture of her in front of a building in the Castle of Edinbough. Where have you guys traveled? Anyone been to Germany?
Next up was a trip to New York City. Arriving in Brooklyn, I met a camp alumnus who had sorted out a bike for me to borrow. The two of us spent the afternoon biking nearly 20 miles! We biked all the way to Coney Island to ride the Cyclone and Wonderwheel.
That weekend I headed out to Boston for another round of alumni networking, meeting up with several alums now residing in the greater Boston area. We all had a fun weekend of talking about camp (all had been Chingachgook directors in the past!) and seeing some sights in the city. Did You Know: you can sail on a river? The Charles River offers a great community sailing program that I’ve taken advantage of. Any Chingachgook campers living in the Boston area who learned how to sail at camp this summer might want to check it out: Community Boating
It’s nice to know so many campers, CIT’s, and staff are still enthusiastically glowing from their camp experience. Just this weekend in Saratoga, I ran into over 25 alums who stopped me to say hi and talk about camp. As always, we invite you and your families to visit. Remember, there’s a reunion on October 5th. It’s a great chance to hike Buck Mountain! See the top of this page for details.
Well, maybe all is not lost with searching for staff out in California. I mean Heather Siegel, skill class director and year round coordinator at Camp did come from this state. Trying to think outside of the box, I visited the Exploratorium, a science museum, to secure a scientist for Camp, but was wildly unsucessful. Additionally, I attended a Giants and Dodgers game, an aquarium and Universal Studios Hollywood all in the attempt to begin construction on the summer staff of 2009. What do you think? Who would be the best celebrity (human or animation) to be at Chingachgook next summer? Let us know!
Sure it might sound like an adventure, but the task of finding staff, campers, and even alumni is much harder then you might think. I decided this September to try and look in some unconventional places to build a winner for next summer. After Josh and I tried unsucessfully to find anyone at the Philadelphia Phillies game, I thought hmmm, maybe we have exhausted our options on the east coast. Let me head out to California to try my luck. So far I have met one person who had a sister that went to Chingachgook in the early 80's. Where did I meet this person? Alcatraz of course! Don't worry parents, I asked, Alcatraz's counselor release program ended when the prison closed in 1963. But it would have been a great addition to our program right? In the last couple of days I have searched at an Oakland Athletic's Game, near the Golden State Bridge, Alcatraz, and in the California Redwoods. Any place I'm forgetting? Pretty soon I'll head south a little more and look around Anaheim and Los Angeles...
Did you know that there is an adventure trip that does the unthinkable? They hike all 46 adirondack high peaks! I love sitting a top a mountain, looking out at the vast wilderness, quite proud of what I've just done. But these kids/staff are serious, they did all that 46 times while backpacking outside in the adirondacks for five straight weeks! What an accomplishment. A belated congratulations to all 46'ers for their amazing achievement.
How on earth did these summer campers return do you ask? Well, they're one of the lucky students whose school attends Chingachgook when summer camp and adventure trips are not in session. These particular campers are here just for the day, schools do stay overnight, partaking in some teambuilding and recreation! You too can come to Chingachgook even if your school doesn't. We have tons of family programs throughout the fall and in the spring, including our SUMMER CAMP REUNION on October 5, it's not too late to RSVP. Just call Camp and reserve your spot as well all hike Buck Mountain together for the final tim in 2008. Josh and I can't wait to see you there :)
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