Win Territories (aka Save the Sage)

Tonight's program asks each cabin group to work together in order to help their entire Kingdom win territories. Stations are set-up all around Camp, moving as a unit, cabin groups must complete challenges in order to win points that ultimately will be tallied together to decide an overall winner for the program. Many cabin groups use this program as an opportunity to dress alike or in a general theme as you can tell from the picture above.

Good morning!

So what exactly happens every morning at Camp? Well, each village reports to our center green and takes their stance occupying one of the four sides. One of the staff directors will venture out to the center, quiet everyone down and ask them to place their attention at the flag pole as we raise the flag for the day. The video below is of some junior boys trying their hands at raising the flag. After the flag is up, that same summer director will say some great words of encouragement about the day, camp in general, or maybe a funny quote. Then...we head to breakfast!

Canoe Races

Canoe Races...three teams...Blue (Camptoria), Red (Buckslavic Territories), and Green (Ratlin Bog Empire) all came together in the Senior Unit where the oldest boys reside. It was a great battle of cheering, yelling, creative skits, but ultimately it had to be settled on the water. There were still two races, a juniors and seniors. In the juniors race, the green team took home victory and in the seniors race, the red team took both first and second place. Both races were extremely exciting and very close, and zero canoes capsized! We followed the entire event up with a fabulous cookout with hot dogs, hamburgers, and pasta salad. Worry not, there was of course an excellent vegetarian option!

Fun at Lunch

Today's lunch was our great Taco Feast. Campers from all over Camp assemble in the dining hall during lunch to eat...but then what? This time we all sang our Johnny Appleseed song and this video below shows you all you need to know! Also posted are some random photos of your children enjoying their meal. Just a quick snapshot for the program tonight...TRIPLE GAME SWITCH (soccer, capture the flag, and relay races). If you write any letters or emails to your campers, definitely mention it!

Girls Night Out!

Here we are completing the first full day at Camp. The evening programs are village specific and .each village ends with a nice campfire, s'mores included. The junior boys and senior boys started seperately, but ended together on tall pines playing field for some massive new games. The senior girls had their own bonding experience and were most recently on the center green learning some great cheers. Here are some photos from the Junior Girls and their girls only extraveganza.

Adventure Send-Off

There's a long standing tradition at Camp that many of you may not be aware of. At 6:55am, resident campers from many cabins have the option of walking down to the parking lot and waiting...at 7:00, out of the corner of the parking lot, several adventure trip vans emerge for their dramatic send-off from the overnight campers! Here they are doing the "wave" very early in the morning!

Opening Day Third Session

Welcome to the "Kingdoms" session at Camp. We have three different territories that Camp is currently being divided into. Those kingdoms are the Ratlin Bog Empire, Camptoria, and the Buckslovic Territories. Starting tomorrow, campers will be competing in session long events to help their kingdom reign supreme. The weather held up just fine for swim checks today. Campers journeyed down to the waterfront and spent their time until swim checks getting to know each other and learning some new games. Opening campfire started just in time for everyone to witness a truely great Camp Chingachgook sunset on Lake George.

August CIT's Celebrate

It's been a fast past 48 hours for the August CITs. They arrived at Camp, saw Session two end, the staff depart, and then had Camp to themselves as they prepared for their first session as CITs. Today brought several different sessions that included a swim check and a speech from George Painter, as well as time to plan for their first opening campfire song tomorrow night. What will they sing? I have no idea, but if they sing anything like they dance, then we are in some serious trouble...just kidding. Here are some photos from tonight, the celebration party for making it through CIT training!

Session Three starts tomorrow!

We hope you are as excited to kick-off this SessionTwo on Sunday as we are. I wanted to pass along a few reminders that will help simplify your opening day experience at Camp.

· Junior campers (ages 7-12) and adventure trippers may start arriving at 1pm
· Senior campers (ages 13-16) may start arriving at 2:30pm
· Once you have arrived, you will walk to the dining hall for check-in (balances that may be due on your account, camper skill class schedules, health forms and questions for the medical staff, if needed)
· After check-in you will be able to drive your child to their cabin to help them move in and meet their counselors. We do ask that parents leave Camp shortly after meeting the counselor, as campers have a busy schedule and long goodbyes can be difficult
· There will be an optional Welcome Parents session in Rotary Lodge with Summer Camp Director, Aaron Cantor @ 2:30pm
· Save time on opening day by adding money to your child’s store account online before you arrive.

Don’t forget to register with “Parent Communicator”, the one-way email communication software Camp uses that allows your parents to send one-way email to you at camp and view photos that are uploaded several times throughout the session. The website is www.parentcommunicator.com/CampChingachgook. The access code for registration is "Chingachgook"Drive safe and see you Sunday!

Aaron :)

How'd we do Session Two?

We would love to hear from all the first session families about their Chingachgook experience. Here is the link to our online survey, we look forward to seeing you all next summer!

http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/?p=WEB227UECNJGCR

Closing Day Reminders

I know the last thing we are thinking about is Session Two ending, but I still wanted to pass along some reminders about Closing Day at Camp.

• Junior Campers pick-up is from 4:30-5:30
• Senior Campers pick-up is from 5:00-6:00
• Adventure Trip pick-up is from 5:30-6:00
• The amazing Family BBQ starts at 5:00
• Don't forget about the incredible slideshows (Adventure @ 6:00, Camp @ 6:30)

When you return home from Camp make sure you fill out our online survey! Your thoughts and feedback will help us make changes for future summers AND help us for the remainder of the summer!

http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/?p=WEB227UECNJGCR

Closing Campfire

So the rain did change our plans a little and forced us to have our closing campfire inside. But that was the only difference. The speakers were great, each village and unit put on fabulous shows. The campers were especially good speakers, articulating quite well how they feel about Camp and the things Camp has taught them this summer and in summers past.

After the campfire, the winning cabins (for cleanest cabin) joined a few directors in the dining hall for a wonderful pizza party! Mmmm, that pizza was good, and these kids definitely earned it with their hard cleaning work all session.

August CITs!

Hip Hip Hooray! The CITs for the next three sessions (August CITs) have arrived for their training and boy is it great to see them. These folks will be injecting the Camp staff with fresh energy, enthusiasm and ideas for the next three sessions. They will go through training for the next couple of days and be ready to step up to the plate when third session begins on Sunday. As far as today is going, it's quite wet, but that hasn't stopped anyone from enjoying themselves. As I type right now, the rain as subsided and campers and staff are flocking outside to make the best of the momentary, but hopefully permanent, lapse in the rain.

Camp Dance (Prom)

So with the Buck Mountain High School theme, it was only natural that we called it our "prom". The weather at Camp currently is rain, but that hasn't stopped our campers from dancing their hearts out while waiting to hear who won the vote for Prom King and Queen. Hike presentations were also a hit this session. Several songs, skits, and stories were told and who could forget the amazing rap...you'll have to ask your kids about that one!

Hikes are going great!

Our hikers are waking up this morning preparing to return to the fun that is Camp. Once a hike group has arrived back at Camp, they spend some time cleaning their gear and themselves. Eventually, the entire Camp meets for hike presentations. During hike presentationss, each hike will perform a skit, song, story that in a few minutes, explains their entire hike experience to the rest of Camp. There is some added incentive as the winning hikes (one junior and senior) gets a prize to share. Afterward we have a pavilion cookout dinner followed by another Camp tradition, the dance. Cabin groups often come dressed alike, ready to dance the night away. There is even snack food and beverages available as a reward for a hike well done! Stay tuned for pictures from the dance!

Hikes are off and hiking!

Hey Everyone! Sorry for the delay in posting, had some minor technical difficulties. Anyway, hikes departed from Camp with complete success this morning. Here are some photos for everyone that documents Hikes departing this morning!

Hike Prep Sunday!

A little rain never hurt anyone right? That's certainly how Camp is operating right now. We had some morning showers, but hike prep sunday is underway and our campers are preparing to head out into the Adirondacks starting tomorrow morning for their hike adventures. This afternoon each hike group is meeting to discuss the plans for the next several days. What mountains are we hiking? Where are we sleeping? What are we eating? Where do I go to the bathroom? These are all questions that our trained hike leaders will answer in addition to making sure each and every camper has the appropriate equipment and clothing for the hike.

Tonight is Chingachgook's Chapel program. Each village will be putting on a little show for the rest of Camp. We will divide Camp into four total groups, with each group being located at one place around the property. After 15-20 minutes the camper groups will rotate to another village area for their next show and they mentally get ready for a life-changing experience!

Before the rain came...

Today's carnival included over 20 different stations, and not to mention an amazing freakshow put on by the July CITs. Campers came to the "pep rally" before the big game at Buck Mountain High School, they showed up in force and participated in many carnival style games like potato sack racing. Campers could also have their face painted, compete in dance contests and other hilarious tag games (blob tag for example). Enjoy the pictures! Also, tonight is expected to be a fabulous night at Camp...because it is the talent show! As a reward for all the hard working acts, tomorrow will be a late reveille for the entire Camp.

Great day to go Sailing

One of the largest classes at Chingachgook is our Sailing skill class. Every morning and afternoon fifty campers head out onto the waters of Lake George to experience the thrill of using wind power to manuever around. Campers learn to sail different types of boats, from Sunfish to Capri's and even a Flying Scott. Campers also practice the fine art of capsizing their boat and then attempting to "right" it, as seen below!

The fun is continuous

Last night was epic. Two teams (black and red), two games, and a big switch in the middle. They pushed back and forth, but one team did come out victorious...which team won? I'm gonna make you ask your kids, that's how good the program was. Here are some photos of the tremendous event and more...

Junior Girls bring home the trophy!

In a "no-doubter" the Junior Girls were triumphant in the canoe races today, defeating the Junior Boys quite handely. In the other race, the Senior Boys did defeat the Senior Girls, but boy was it close. The themes were certainly creative. The Senior Girls did a fabulous job as "Thanksgiving", the Junior Girls were "Lady Bug Estates", the Senior Boys were "Protesters of Canoe Races", and the Junior Boys dressed like "Glamrock".

Save The Sage

Another night, another great evening program at Chingachgook. Tonight it was a form of our famous, "Save the Sage", generally the program pits each cabin group against each other. Tonight, each cabin tried to complete the most homework assignments around Camp. It fits in really well with the overall theme of Buck Mountain High School. The campers don't know who won yet, neither do I. But tomorrow at breakfast or lunch, the entire Camp will know forever which cabin was able to do the most homework while at Camp. Many of the cabins dressed up to match each other throughout the program, you might notice that in some of the pictures!

Village Nights!

Last night, each village put on their own program for it's campers. The junior girls put on quite a show in Rotary lodge with music, the junior and senior boys started off seperate, but before the night was over, were together playing games and causing trouble (It's only assumed that they caused trouble, no trouble was actually seen last night). The senior girls started off at the tennis courts but finished the night off with some rope swinging at the waterfront. We were lucky enough to catch a glimpse of them in action, and oh, it was fun!

Lunchtime Mayhem

So our first lunch at Buck Mountain High went off without any problems. There was more then enough grilled cheese for every student. The captain of our varisty football team even claimed victory over our rivals in the big upcoming game! Go Squirrels! This afternoon calls for excellent weather and tonight each village will be participating in a village only activity. Stay tuned for more information from Buck Mountain High School.