Rockin' Girl Scout Weekend

We had a rock'n good time this past weekend as over 100 girl scouts rushed to Camp to attend our Girl Scout Badge weekend. These girls earned actual badges for their efforts on Saturday or Sunday. The girls did activities all over Camp including but not limited to; Outdoor Exploration, Climbing Tower, Canoeing, High Ropes, Nature Art, Navigation, Fort Building, Outdoor Survival, Kayaking, Sailing, and much more...

I hope you can tell how much fun we had from all these photos, because it was a GREAT weekend. Which activity would you want to do?

Camp's in bloom plus Summer Updates!

Camp is in full bloom! Flowers, trees, and even the freshly cut grass are all at their springtime peak at Camp. Here's a couple of great shots from outside the dining hall and near the health lodge. It's really nice to have all these colors around, especially since Camp has been without leaves and colors since sometime in November. I'm in the giving mood today, perhaps the weather has something to do with it, but I'm about to list all of the Village Heads for the upcoming summer (WOW!!!!!)....

Junior Boys - Pat Sharkey!

Junior Girls - Lori Seal!

Senior Boys - Phil Holden!

Senior Girls - Erika Miszewski!

That's a solid lineup. CIT's, are you wondering who your directors are??? Well, you're gonna have to wait another couple of days for that juicy information. Until then, you'll have to settle for a Camp countdown! Session 1: 52 Days, Session 2: 66 Days, Session 3: 80 Days, Session 4: 87 Days, Session 5: 94 Days, and Session 6: 101 Days

Canoe Races in May?!?!

Well, they're not exactly here for Canoe Races, but they are canoeing on the Lake in the War Canoes! Today Hoosic Valley braved the elements and took out five of our canoes for a little adventure. Sure there were no themes, but each canoe still had a skilled staff member sterning the boat clear of obstacles. I helped put the canoes in the water, and stepped in upto my ankle...yeah the water is still pretty cold!!!

Fun pictures from last summer

We just had our volunteer work weekend at Camp. I saw lots of people looking through our Camper Yearbook, so naturally, I started looking through as well. I could probably spend an hour everyday looking through last summer's yearbook. So, I have decided to put some fun pictures on this site for us to look at and enjoy!

Ah...Session 6 fort building. That was a lot of fun. Pretty good fort eh?

Who can forget about Canoe Races?!? Was this the session the junior girls won?

Of course, the awesome senior girls from last summer at evening program. Talk about awesome energy, these girls kick butt!

School Groups Galore!

Who are these great looking people? They're the famous Outdoor Education staff for this spring at Camp Chingachgook! This picture was taken just seconds before Wood Road Elementary School arrived for a day of educational fun at Camp. Does your school take field trips during the year? If so, maybe Chingachgook is a destination in the future. We have had grades 3 through 12 here and many different colleges/universities all visit Camp.

During the week (in non-summer weeks), we offer outdoor education programs. Kids come on school field trips and take classes like team building (including the low and high-ropes courses,) nature hikes, forest ecology and even stream and wetlands study. Some schools come and hike to the top of Buck Mountain! On the weekends, we have a full slate of group and retreat programming. Programs range from sailing regattas to women’s weekends, family camps, volunteer work weeekends, and more. Have you been to a weekend program at Camp before? It's all the fun of summer camp, just in different months!

Session 1: 69 Days

Session 2: 83 Days

Session 3: 97 Days

Session 4: 104 Days

Session 5: 111 Days

Session 6: 118 Days

On top of Buck Mountain

The weather turned nice for just a few minutes Sunday, so I took a chance and attempted to reach the summitt of Buck Moutain. The hike was exactly as I remembered it, although I could have been a better navigator. Getting "lost" or "off trail" only three times isn't bad right? Perhaps I'll sit in on some Hike Prep Day activities and improve my navigation skills. The temperature on top was COLD, but the view was tremendous. Seeing the entire Lake George area from above, without trees, was special. It's a completely different view when compared to the green colors of Summer (Side note: the trees should start growing their leaves anytime now at Camp!). The picture on the right is looking in the general direction of Camp, and the one on the left is facing the Tongue Mountain range. The picture below suggests that their is some repair needed before the state trail is 100% ready for people to use!

Earth Service Awards

Tonight at Camp, we are hosting the 3rd annual Earth Service Awards which recognize students, from schools surrounding Camp, for their excellent dedication and stewardship of our environment. The evening will include a gourmet dinner; Editor Tony Hall will be the Master of Ceremonies; and Commissioner Pete Grannis (from the DEC) will recognize each of the student nominees. Students who have been involved with activities such as recycling in their school or community; roadside, stream or lake clean-up; trail maintenance; tree planting; community gardening; air quality improvement; delivery of environmental conservation programs; increased public awareness through letter writing; contributions to newsletters or newspapers; artwork; or an environmental internship are invited to apply at this time each year. Interested in attending? The banquet starts at 6pm, here at Camp. If you are interested in coming, call Camp to RSVP!