I am sad to write that this is the last weekly letter from summer 2013. As Sandy Denny so beautifully sang: “Who knows where the time goes?”

As opposed to giving you a day-by-day update we have decided to summarize recent happenings by category. Enjoy.

As always, trips during our second week were plentiful and much anticipated. Here are the ones you should ask your boys about when they get home:

• All the Junior Bs (eight-and-nine-year-olds) ventured in two different groups to our wilderness campsite on the point of our lake. The boys loved cooking over an open fire, exploring the nearby woods and trails, and sleeping in our handmade log cabin.

• The Junior As (ten-year-olds) split into two different groups for overnights in tents at our Pioneer Camp on the Baker River. They enjoyed what for many of them was their first wilderness overnight.

• All the Inter Bs (eleven-year-olds) ventured in two different groups for canoe camping trips on Cliff Island in Newfound Lake. The first group battled fierce head winds, which turned the normally easy paddle out to the island into a battle royale with nature. Both groups loved jumping off the cliffs, swimming with and capsizing their canoes, playing Capture the Flag type games, cooking over an open fire, and sleeping under the stars.

• The Inter As (twelve-year-olds) and Senior Bs (thirteen-year-olds) went swimming in the natural pools and slides at the Wentworth Water Hole followed by “gi-normous” ice cream cones at Fat Bob’s.

• All the Inter As (twelve-year-olds) hiked to the top of Mt. Moosilauke–all 4,802 feet of it–before having dinner and a cozy night’s sleep in the Moosilauke Ravine Lodge that sits at the mountain’s base.

• Every camper had the opportunity to go on one of four “open” mountain biking trips during the week, which headed to destinations such as Indian Pond and the Wentworth Waterhole.

• Campers with a “bomb proof wet exit” had the opportunity to spend a day kayaking the class II rapids on the Androscoggin River. The boys started in the river ferrying between progressively larger eddies. Once their confidence and skills were ready they then took a few runs down the ½ mile stretch of whitewater that flows under the Errol Bridge.

• A group of Senior Bs (thirteen year-olds) left on a two day backpacking trip that saw the boys summiting four peaks including Mt. Lafayette.

• Senior campers went on a trail maintenance trip led by Port which saw the boys making water bars on the Cross-Rivendell trail on the backside of Mt. Cube.

• The Senior A1s (fifteen-year-olds) started their week with a “fluff” trip to Hanover for pizza and a movie. (It is good to be a Senior A1!)

• The Senior A1s (fifteen-year-olds) ended on an adventurous note when they left for an overnight camping trip that included white water rafting. The boys spent their first day setting up camp by the Androscoggin River and swimming in the rapids. The next day they were taken by van and then pontoon boat to the top of the Rapid River in Maine, right below the Richardson Damn. The boys had the ride of their life as professional guides rafted them down 3.5 miles of crashing white water that includes some class IV rapids.

• The C.I.T.s ventured out on self-planned and run wilderness overnight that included a hike up Mt. Moosilauke and an overnight at the Pioneer Camp.

• Two separate groups of volunteer Senior A2s (fourteen-year-olds) left for our capstone three day, two night backpacking adventure that we call our Mt. Washington Trip. The first day the groups gained 4300 feet in elevation via the Lowes and Randolph trails leading to the Perch RMC shelter and camp sites. The second day the group took the Randolph Path, the Gulfside Trail, and the Jefferson Loop Trail to the summit of Mt. Washington (a total of 3 miles). They then hiked another 4 miles to the Hermit Lake shelter where they spent the night. The final day they hiked 2.5 miles down Tuckerman’s Ravine to their pick up at the Pinkham Notch Visitor’s Center. A pretty impressive adventure given the amount of hiking, elevation gain, and the weight of their packs!

• After their big hikes the Senior A2s (fourteen-year-olds) had their own “fluff” trip that included a day at a waterpark and a night at a minor league baseball game.

• Campers also had the opportunity to go on a volunteer rock-climbing trip to Rumney, NH. During our climbing sessions at Rumney our campers can ascend to heights of seventy feet protected by a top rope belay, where upon detaching from the rock they are instantly held in place by the rope. There is a general conception of rock climbing as an extreme sport. In actuality, it is exceedingly safe. Using modern climbing gear and safety techniques the possibility of an injury is astronomically low; however, to the individual sixty feet up on a vertical ocean of granite, the feeling of danger is real. The satisfaction of watching a camper fearful of heights and his next move grow comfortable in the vertical world is powerful, in part because their positive risk taking experience is so easily transferable into other domains of their life. The lesson is this: You move into a challenge that is inherently uncomfortable and then through nothing other than determination you have the positive reinforcement of the successful completion of the challenge.

Whew. It is tiring just to write about all the trips let alone get them all safely completed.

Other highlights from the week, on top of our trips and routine morning and afternoon skills classes, included:

• Competition, primarily of the intra-camp variety. Saturday was totally given over to Moose campers playing their peers in baseball, soccer, lacrosse, and basketball.

• A Moose Sensations talent show on Saturday night. Acts ran the gamut from rapping, hula hooping, juggling, magic tricks, and the singing of some “Moose Classics,” songs from Moosilauke past.

• A carnival on Sunday that entailed all the cabins making their own booths down on the playing fields. The most popular booths were “Name That Tune,” a laughing booth, “dizzy bat” relays, balloon “chicken wars,” hanging donuts, and of course the sundaes.

• An amazingly windy day on Monday that provided some of the best sailing of the summer.

• Seeing boys complete the totality of an achievement chart at a specific area and then receive the approbation of their peers in the dining hall for their accomplishment. One example: a nine-year-old swam to the point as one of the last hurdles in the swimming progression. You should have seen his smile in the dining hall when it was announced!

And of course the final few days are some of the best of the summer since they include The Moose Olympics, a free choice day, a special banquet, and a torchlight ceremony and bonfire.

That’s all for now. We have had an incredible summer and the key ingredient is your wonderful boys. Thanks so much for sharing them.

Bill, Sabina, Ken, Ingrid, Port, and Heide