Camp Memories by Abigail Springer
The freshmen class took a trip up to Y camp for our Interim Week trip. We really didn’t know what to expect as we were told the plans and loaded our stuff up onto the bus. To be honest, I actually was pretty nervous about going back to camp: I had been there over the summer and let’s just say it was not my cup of tea. Everyone who knows me understands that I am a city girl and totally hate to be out in the woods or even have the door open. Y Camp was the complete opposite of a Marriott and there really were no totally enclosed rooms. Everything was screened in, instead of closed or actually sealed
All of our teachers were really enthusiastic and that rubbed off on all of us. They were taking pictures on the bus and telling us all of the fun things that we would be doing. So all in all, the teachers made the trip sound like it would be great. The bus ride to camp was probably one of my favorite times of the whole week. I photo bombed so many selfies and even got in one that our advisor, Mrs. Adams, was trying to take. And I must have gotten the most snapchats ever. My score went from around 2,000 to over 5,000 in just over an hour and a half. Life goals, right there.
When we arrived at Y camp, I had expected to see sunlight shining down on the lake, and to hear all of the birds singing in the trees. Boy, was I in for a rude awakening. We pulled up and all I saw was grey. No sun, no cool green water, and definitely no song birds. I got to chill with the crows instead. It wasn’t too bad though. The hardest part was that I didn’t pack any warm clothes. I have never missed the sun or yoga pants so much!
After we all got unpacked, we were told to head down to the big meeting hall. That was the dreaded time when we met him. McGinnis. He said he was to be our “best friend and best advisor” for the rest of the week. Really though, he was the best example of how not to treat a bunch of tired freshmen. On the hike, all we wanted was to sit down when he gave us our jobs to do and sent us off.
I loved hanging out with my advisory. I’ve known most of them since pre-k or fourth grade so we all already knew a lot about each other. We worked together and combined all of our strengths to earn -- drum-roll please -- FOURTH PLACE OVERALL in the “eco challenge.” At least I think we got fourth. Might have been fifth.
We all had fun just wandering around the camp and hanging out with our friends. Meals were pretty good. My favorite was definitely the French toast sticks. I don’t really remember anything else that happened that day, but I do know that we were all super tired. I went back to my cabin which consisted of most of the Memler and all of the Adams girls. For some reason, my friend Sally and I just had to pick that one bunk bed that was slammed in the corner. The fact it was in the corner also meant there was no ladder. I still think back on it: Why in the world would I ever want a top bunk, especially when there is no ladder? My answer: I still have no clue. So basically, getting in and out of bed every night and morning was an absolute struggle. I would spend about ten minutes trying to find a good place to plant my foot while the other ten would be trying to get my foot unstuck from that place. SInce there was no ladder, I just had to jump down and hope I didn’t break any bones or break through the floor. Going to sleep was hard, too, mainly because my sleeping bag was meant for someone who was probably about three feet tall. I remember, the next morning I was trying to get out of bed, and ended up looking like a flying squirrel as I plummeted to the floor of our cabin. The advisories under us on the first floor were probably so concerned about those Adams and Memler girls!
We completed a bunch of challenges and team jobs as an advisory on the whole trip, but I must say that my favorite was probably archery or the climbing wall. We also had a shelter building competition. None of us in Adams were all that pumped to be out in the woods building shelters at eight o’clock in the morning. So, to get us moving, Mrs. Adams told us that we would be sleeping in our shelters and making our own fires. The sad thing was, we all believed her. I have never worked so hard to get firewood or knock down trees in my whole life!
The boys in my advisory got yelled at by McGinnis the Menace for taking down too many dead trees. It was so worth it, though. Even though no one brought flint and steel *cough* *cough* Hickerson *cough* *cough*, we still had one of the best shelters.
That night, we actually did use our firewood to make fires. The difference was that we were using the fire to make s’mores, not to survive. That was probably my favorite part of the whole week. Alex Branch brought out the guitar and we all stood around the fire singing songs like “Sweet Home Alabama” and “Wagon Wheel.” Even though I had to suffer a minor burn to make mine, the s’mores were delicious. That entire night was basically just hanging out and singing with our friends and was one of the best things that I could have asked for.
Overall, I enjoyed Interim Week. It was great hanging out with my friends and just growing closer to people that I hadn’t really talked to all school year. Yes, I admit, at times, that trip got rough. But in the end, I have to say that the class of 2019 grew closer and worked better as a group at Athens Y Camp!
All of our teachers were really enthusiastic and that rubbed off on all of us. They were taking pictures on the bus and telling us all of the fun things that we would be doing. So all in all, the teachers made the trip sound like it would be great. The bus ride to camp was probably one of my favorite times of the whole week. I photo bombed so many selfies and even got in one that our advisor, Mrs. Adams, was trying to take. And I must have gotten the most snapchats ever. My score went from around 2,000 to over 5,000 in just over an hour and a half. Life goals, right there.
When we arrived at Y camp, I had expected to see sunlight shining down on the lake, and to hear all of the birds singing in the trees. Boy, was I in for a rude awakening. We pulled up and all I saw was grey. No sun, no cool green water, and definitely no song birds. I got to chill with the crows instead. It wasn’t too bad though. The hardest part was that I didn’t pack any warm clothes. I have never missed the sun or yoga pants so much!
After we all got unpacked, we were told to head down to the big meeting hall. That was the dreaded time when we met him. McGinnis. He said he was to be our “best friend and best advisor” for the rest of the week. Really though, he was the best example of how not to treat a bunch of tired freshmen. On the hike, all we wanted was to sit down when he gave us our jobs to do and sent us off.
I loved hanging out with my advisory. I’ve known most of them since pre-k or fourth grade so we all already knew a lot about each other. We worked together and combined all of our strengths to earn -- drum-roll please -- FOURTH PLACE OVERALL in the “eco challenge.” At least I think we got fourth. Might have been fifth.
We all had fun just wandering around the camp and hanging out with our friends. Meals were pretty good. My favorite was definitely the French toast sticks. I don’t really remember anything else that happened that day, but I do know that we were all super tired. I went back to my cabin which consisted of most of the Memler and all of the Adams girls. For some reason, my friend Sally and I just had to pick that one bunk bed that was slammed in the corner. The fact it was in the corner also meant there was no ladder. I still think back on it: Why in the world would I ever want a top bunk, especially when there is no ladder? My answer: I still have no clue. So basically, getting in and out of bed every night and morning was an absolute struggle. I would spend about ten minutes trying to find a good place to plant my foot while the other ten would be trying to get my foot unstuck from that place. SInce there was no ladder, I just had to jump down and hope I didn’t break any bones or break through the floor. Going to sleep was hard, too, mainly because my sleeping bag was meant for someone who was probably about three feet tall. I remember, the next morning I was trying to get out of bed, and ended up looking like a flying squirrel as I plummeted to the floor of our cabin. The advisories under us on the first floor were probably so concerned about those Adams and Memler girls!
We completed a bunch of challenges and team jobs as an advisory on the whole trip, but I must say that my favorite was probably archery or the climbing wall. We also had a shelter building competition. None of us in Adams were all that pumped to be out in the woods building shelters at eight o’clock in the morning. So, to get us moving, Mrs. Adams told us that we would be sleeping in our shelters and making our own fires. The sad thing was, we all believed her. I have never worked so hard to get firewood or knock down trees in my whole life!
The boys in my advisory got yelled at by McGinnis the Menace for taking down too many dead trees. It was so worth it, though. Even though no one brought flint and steel *cough* *cough* Hickerson *cough* *cough*, we still had one of the best shelters.
That night, we actually did use our firewood to make fires. The difference was that we were using the fire to make s’mores, not to survive. That was probably my favorite part of the whole week. Alex Branch brought out the guitar and we all stood around the fire singing songs like “Sweet Home Alabama” and “Wagon Wheel.” Even though I had to suffer a minor burn to make mine, the s’mores were delicious. That entire night was basically just hanging out and singing with our friends and was one of the best things that I could have asked for.
Overall, I enjoyed Interim Week. It was great hanging out with my friends and just growing closer to people that I hadn’t really talked to all school year. Yes, I admit, at times, that trip got rough. But in the end, I have to say that the class of 2019 grew closer and worked better as a group at Athens Y Camp!
