Good Morning Camp Pinnacle! With one final day to go, campers woke up, cleaned cabins and helped out with chores, got dressed into their team colors ready for the Pinnacle Cup and headed out! Breakfast this morning was a tasty selection of sausages, croissants, hashbrowns and granola and fruit, plenty to get everyone energized and ready for the morning’s challenges… After eating, campers had to take part in a quick evaluation, summarizing their experience at camp this summer, and finding out their favorite activity for the summer! They then found out that this morning’s Lakeside would be slightly different, with it becoming its own challenge for the Pinnacle Cup. The campers this morning had to attend a Silent Lakeside, risking losing their team some well-needed points if they dared to break the quiet.
Lakeside also brought forward (silently) a Lost & Found ‘auction’, allowing campers to find any clothes or luggage they may have misplaced throughout the session, making sure they leave with everything they brought! We hosted a few more Captains Challenges, with lots of silent support (lots of exaggerated jumps and mute cheers) from their teams as they fought, brave and strong, to take home extra points for the morning. Green Team took home the win at Lakeside, and sportsmanship was unmatched, with everyone hyping each other up and getting ready to move onto the real competition. From Lakeside, each team split into their own hype circles, with Blue meeting at the volleyball court, Green at pickleball and Red at the thunderdome.
Each team spent some time organizing which camper got to partake in each challenge, and who would run between each activity with the baton. Team Captains and their Wolfe Pack Lieutenants then had some time to get everyone chanting their team chants, a series of creative and fun chants to get everyone in the spirit to give the morning their all! Campers had to compete in a variety of games such as being the first group to solve a puzzle, the first to devour a muffin or even the first to canoe across the lake. The Pinnacle Cup pushed everyone to their limit, allowing campers to use the 5R’s they have spent the session developing, making sure they’re resilient enough to push through, making it through the challenges to the Council Ring.
Once everyone was seated in the Council Ring, it was up to the team’s designated fire builders to construct the most efficient, effective fire, aiming to burn the rope situated above their base. Teams cheered on, offering support as the duos worked hard, accompanied by a TL from each team, trying to keep their focus on the fire and their method. After all, it’s pretty intimidating to build a fire in front of 400 people. The campers had a few chant-offs, with counsellors having just as much fun, and everyone jumping around and celebrating when their fires eventually burned through the rope! Our team went back to congratulating each other as Directors decided the overall winner, taking into account all of the challenges from the session, and the teamwork and sportsmanship presented by each team. In the end, with a miraculous victory for the summer, Green won, becoming this summer’s true victors, as the only team with 2 session wins.
With the Pinnacle Cup over, campers headed back to cabins to pack up all of their things, getting ready to travel home tomorrow! The hour of packing was followed by everyone heading straight to the Dining Hall for lunch, which was Greek food today! All of camp got to refresh and gain back some of that well spent energy and excitement with delicious food, with fries, chicken, kebab meat and salad with some tasty tzatziki sauce to top it all off. Campers then were rewarded with their well-awaited ice cream sundaes; a treat for the cabins that managed to get a perfect session of check pluses, meaning they kept their cabins in the cleanest conditions during their stay, respecting their spaces and campmates to the highest extent during their stay! They got some speedy cabin photos, a fun way to show how much more bonded each camper is with their cabin mates and counselors, before moving on, full of sugar and definitely topped back up on energy.
After lunch, instead of downtime today, campers headed back with their cabins to help tidy around camp, making sure each area was left perfect for next year. After a quick clean up, it was time for the real fun to begin with Camp Pinnacle’s well renowned Mountain Beach Party! A tradition campers wait all session for, with plenty of exciting activities back open one last time. The water zipline was widely anticipated, with campers lining up along the dock to get their harnesses equipped and excitedly crossing the lilypads to zip down into the lake! It was smiles all around, with cabins getting together out on the lake one last time, or getting in a final round of Gaga Ball or Knockout at Basketball, or even finally learning that tricky paddle roll at Tiny Boats! Campers had two hours of the party before being called out of the water, heading for a quick fruit break and then straight back to cabins to finish packing!
Dinner today was supposed to be our classic end of camp meal, Cook-Out, however, with the weather taking a rough turn, everyone had to eat in the dining hall once more, making it a Cook-In instead… This didn’t stop us from having an absolutely amazing meal, with lots of laughs, perfect food and an awesome final dinner this session. Everyone feasted on barbequed ribs, pulled pork and beans, with a lovely side of potato salad and watermelon! Dessert was huge chocolate chip cookies, the perfect warm up for a cosy Closing Campfire in the Shadium. Our Evening Program was relocated to a more sheltered area rather than the council ring, just to keep everyone warm and dry through the evening.
Closing Campfire saw our campers reading speeches about their time here at camp, speeches about the 5R’s, and Wolfe Pack reading out their Moral Compasses. Our three year returners received the first of many gifts, a CP Paddle branded by one of the directors fresh from the campfire we all sat around. All of our campers past the 3 years receive gifts to commemorate the growth they have achieved over their years at camp. A total of 55 paddles were branded tonight! We all sang some songs alongside the Lakeside Crew before lighting our candles together, using the campfire flame, spreading the camp spirit throughout us all one last time. Before returning to cabins, campers headed down to the gym to give their final goodbyes to their counselors, an emotional but rewarding end to the night.
After a long day, it’s finally time for bed, with campers all showered, packed and ready for a well-deserved night’s sleep!
Until next time!
