Buried in Snow Again!

After a good stretch without any snow, Camp got hit with another large snow storm. How many inches do you ask? This Camp Director estimates somewhere between 12-16 inches fell at Camp. Time to dig out again!

The Countdown Continues

Maybe I have already posted this picture, but it is a great one and deserves multiple posts! Each time I fly down our tubing hill on the Chinga-tubes, I can picture Baxter Park full of campers for our carnival days. Hurry up summer, get here fast!

Countdown to Camp....
Staff Arrival: 145 Days
Session 1: 156 Days
Session 2: 170 Days
Session 3: 184 Days
Session 4: 198 Days
Session 5: 205 Days
Session 6: 212 Days
Who's ready???

Snow Blast 2009

What a great Sunday it was at Camp. Temperatures were at their warmest in over a week and we had almost 100 people here to play in the snow. The Southern Saratoga Adventure Princesses and their fathers journeyed up to Camp yesterday to take part in some tubing, hiking, ice skating, arts & crafts, and the famous Chingachgook egg drop! The pictures you see are first of the girls preparing and planning the construction of their egg vault. The second picture is most of the group waiting outside the dining hall as the girls dropped their eggs from the second floor hoping and praying that it wouldnt break. There were several, unique, structures built by the girls to protect their eggs and for the most part, the eggs survived. There were only two broken eggs that I am aware of!

Is it time?

Sometimes it is hard to picture the summer ever getting here when the lake looks like this (see above). When that happens, I turn to my faithful yearbook to remind me of great times from 2008 and look forward to memories that are forthcoming for 2009. With a little over 50% of the staff hired for 2009, the summer is finally taking shape. Which session will color wars take place this year? What will the session themes be? Who will win canoe races? It's easy to think about the answers, but we really won't know until it happens!

The Lake has Frozen!

It has happened, the lake has finally frozen. We'll call the official freeze date (unofficially of course) January 9, 2008. I do have some pictures for all of you to enjoy of different parts of our waterfront and the view of the frozen lake. So what's next? Well, in about five or six weeks, Camp will host a fishing derby. Over a hundred fisherman will journey out, onto the ice, drill a hole, sit, and fish all day.

**Please do not walk on the ice at all right now. Although the lake is frozen, it cannot support your weight just yet**

Leap In Point

Tree House

Wooden Docks

Polar Bear Jumpers

If you saw this at the waterfront would you jump in? I didn't think so, neither would I. But 11 brave Chingachgook Staff from past summers decided to give it a try and jump in! I was very impressed as the lake is as close to freezing as it can possibly be without being completly frozen. On some parts of Lake George there are ice fisherman already! Soon enough I'll be able to walk to Dome Island or snowshoe where we usually sail and waterski. Below are the famous 11 who did what I thought was impossible. Note, please do not jump in any lake unless you are properly supervised by lifeguards and people with a medical background, it can be very dangerous. The jumpers at Camp were supervised by many and were immediately warmed up!

Staff Reunion

On Saturday, over sixty staff from summers past, gathered at Chingachgook for the largest staff reunion ever! Everyone involved had a great time. We had a homerun derby at Baxter Park, two homeruns were hit, I'll let you guess who hit them, (ahem, it was me). We also had a polar bear session in the near frozen lake (more on that soon) where 11 people jumped in!! Afterwards there was a reception in the dining hall followed by a dinner with a presentation by George Painter on the future of Camp. Also, below, you'll see the fabulous cake we had. For those staff who we did not see, we'll see you next year at the reunion!