Posted by: Logan Landry

The bell rang this morning to begin Week Seven of Birch Rock’s centennial season, and McWain Pond gave us a calm, glassy start to the day. At Flagpole, the calm offered the perfect chance for an echo across the lake. Saturday night’s campfire was so good that we had to share its official review with McWain itself:

“Absolute Cinema!”

The echo came back beautifully, though I’ve got some questions about whether it was actually two syllables, like Pete claims.

Breakfast brought blueberry pancakes and bacon, which gave us all more than enough fuel for an extra-long Sunday cleanup. Cabins were brought into top-notch order: shelves straightened, beds made, dust covers set, trunks organized, and everything brought as close as possible to “snap-to-grid” perfection.

From there, showers and letters took us on an expedition with Lewis and Clark, rediscovering the great frontiers of cleanliness, hygiene, and writing home. Families, keep an eye on your mailboxes.

Lunch was the kind of meal that makes a camper consider whether walking back out of the Lodge is really necessary. Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, mixed vegetables, salad, cranberry sauce, and gravy filled the tables, and by the end we were nearly ready to be rolled back down the hill.

Fortunately, T.N.T. Noah T. brought the energy right back up, ushering in the final Sunday afternoon activity of the summer: Cross-Camp Capture the Flag.

The game brought the usual full-camp chaos, strategy, speed, and confusion. Jack M., in particular, seemed to take the “cross-camp” part very seriously. While searching for the flag, he somehow made his way all the way down toward Wazi’s end of the lake. After checking with some friends he had made at last week’s regatta, he was told the flag might be down by Seal Rock.

So Jack swam for it.

Fast as the Flash, he made his way down the lake while Zack M., showing off some strong rowing, teamed up with John F. to catch up and escort him safely toward Seal Rock. There was no flag waiting there either, but Jack did finish his Seal, which may be the most memorable wrong turn of his summer.

At evening Flagpole, every cabin came prepared with a funny quote for Pete, offering one more round of cabin humor before dinner.

After the meal, we made our way down to the Birch Rock for one of the final Tree Talk of the summer. Earlier in the season, campers and staff had set goals for themselves and reflected on what they hoped to give to the Birch Rock community and achieve for themselves. Tonight, we returned to those ideas, sharing what we had worked toward, what we had learned, and what we still hope to carry through the final days of camp and beyond.

It was one of the last chances this summer to sit together around the Rock, open up about our goals and ambitions, and hear from the people who have helped shape this hundredth season.

And as the sun set over McWain, there was only one thing left to say:

Thanks for the sunset, keep them coming!