Hello from Flying Cloud! Drop-off day may have been a rainy start to the summer, but the sun has since come out and we’ve all been busy with orienting the community and jumping into the first few days of activities!
On the first night of camp, anyone with a friction fire kit was invited to join our Fire Keeper as he used a bowdrill to light the fire that we will keep burning all summer. Though the air was humid enough to snuff out his first coal, the FC community told stories and sang songs under the Roundhouse (also known as Two Kettles) until, through their combined effort, the bowdrillers were able to bring to life the flame that will keep us warm and fed until the end of camp.
The next day was devoted to orientation, with the entire camp learning how chores, blade safety, and fire safety work at FC, and then having time to make their lodges more comfortable and watertight.
The following day, lodges paired up to explore the woods around camp and cook lunch in the field before making their way to Saltash Mountain Camp for swim tests and relaxation on beautiful Lake Ninevah. On their lodge wanders, groups saw a bald eagle, drank from Magic Spring, started bowdrill fires to cook potatoes and onions, and played stalking and awareness games.
Since then, we’ve been in the thick of activities. We’ve started soaking deer and cow hides that will be transformed into buckskin and leather; we’ve climbed and identified trees, gone on imaginative storienteering quests, carved spoons and chop sticks, dredged the stream bath and built a new bridge, practiced friction fire, and sewed felt pockets. We’ve also had a day trip go down to Buttermilk Falls, and another explore the length of Patch Brook.
And each night, at evening circle, the twilit clearing is filled with the voices of young people appreciating the supportive community members around them.
— Moon’s Embrace