The final session has begun at Camp Santa Maria and with it comes many new adventures. The first ever Teen Adventure kayaking program is under way. There are ten Teen Adventurers going on this trip. They will leave camp on Wednesday and head down to the Arkansas Valley to spend three days running the Arkansas River, running through Brown’s Canyon and other parts of the river. This is the first time Camp Santa Maria is doing such a trip, and the trip leader Nathaniel Reuter is anxious to begin.

Also this session there is a large group of Teen Leaders. They will help out in camp and then head out on a trip of their own, an overnight backpacking trip to the Bear Cave, from which they will attempt to summit Mount Logan. In camp they will help out with the Pathfinders, leading certain activities, and also help in the kitchen doing various chores.

The Pathfinders will be in camp this whole week. Heading up to the ranch to horse back ride and climb at our on-site rock walls.

The Trekkers will stay in camp or the next two days and then head out on out-trips. The Kayakers and Mountain Bikers will head down to the Salida area, the Backpackers will head to the Jefferson Creek trail, and the Climbers will stay on site at our climbing walls. The art and film skill tracks will stay in camp and work hard on their projects.

As camp passes it’s halfway point, the days are more eventful and awesome than ever. The Trekkers are working hard to prepare for their out-trips and the Pathfinders are having a great time around camp.

This past week, the Trekkers have been heading down to the Arkansas Valley to raft on the Arkansas river. A great time was had by all. They raft about 12 miles of the River and run through Brown’s Canyon. The rapids reach to Class 3 and are very fun yet frightening to go through. The Trekkers loved it and were not frightened of the raging rapids.

This week the Pathfinders will be participating in many activities in and around camp. They will head out to the on-site climbing wall and learn how to climb, and will even scale the rocks a few times. They will also be heading up to Phantom Ranch to ride and learn about horses.

Also, last Saturday was the Buckhorn Challenge here at Camp Santa Maria. The Red team was victorious for a second straight session and were dominant in many events. A great time was had by all, and the day culminated with the dance at night, with a “Worp” theme. The campers dressed up in ridiculous clothing and had a great time!

The first week of Session C has been a great one! The Trekkers have been in camp preparing for their out-trips, which leave today. They will be heading out to test the skills they have been practicing in camp. The Kayakers and Mountain Bikers are heading down to the Arkansas Valley as the Backpackers hike the beautiful Brandywine trail in search of the World War Two bomber that crashed up there after the War. The Rock Climbers will be staying on-site at our rock walls.

The Pathfinders have spent the last few days making friends and getting to know the camp. Yesterday the first group of Pathfinder boys headed up to our rock climbing  site to test their skill at climbing. The boys were fearless, with everyone making it up and down the rock. While some boys were climbing, another group headed up to the ranch to horseback ride. All of these activities were great and the Pathfinders had an awesome time. Today the second group of boys will head up to climb followed by the girls tomorrow.

The Teen Leaders arrived this session. They have been around camp for the past few days, but today will be leaving to summit Mount Logan, the daunting peak that overlooks Camp Santa Maria. They will attempt to summit and then spend the night at the Bear Cave.

Last night the campers participated in Color Wars, a camp-wide game of capture the flag. The camp was split into two teams, the Red team and the Blue team. The Red team, with superior counselor skill was victorious twice. The campers love color wars and a great time was had by all!