If you were going to spend 5 days in the great outdoors, collecting wood, lashing branches, and creating structures out of natural materials, you couldn’t possibly ask for weather better than we had today. The morning was perfectly chilly, as everyone shuffled to lineup in their hoodies and sweats (or, in some cases, flannel pajama bottoms). By mid-morning, the layers began to come off. By the time rest hour was over and Overland Overwater commenced, the sun was hot with a lovely breeze floating through camp. Lucky us!

Today’s schedule was jam-packed with Frontier Week events, starting with Junior Jamboree event #2, torch decorating. Each Tribe was given a long, thin tree trunk to decorate with the Tribe’s name, colors, animal, and other Frontier Week symbols. In about a 45-minute time frame, these groups of Juniors used acrylic paint markers and worked together to create their masterpieces. These will become the torches that each Chief carries at Monday night’s Closing Ceremony. We think they look spectacular!

While the Juniors were channeling their inner artists, everyone else was participating in the Frontier Competition. Seniors and Hi-Seniors from all Tribes signed up for an event. Based on areas of interest and skill level, Tribe members chose from climbing, archery, ping pong, biking, and multiple lake events. There was a fierce ping pong tournament happening on the Junior gathering deck, and a bicycle obstacle course on the Upper Field! At the lake, teams of 2 raced canoes in a figure-8 formation and individuals followed the same course in kayaks. There was even a relay race that included swimming AND boating!

After the canoe and kayak races wrapped up, everyone gathered at the lake for King of the Hill. This is a crowd-pleasing spectacle involving all 6 Frontier Week Chiefs. Basically, King of the Hill is a one-on-one competition to knock your opponent off the Wibit and into the lake. They face off in a round-robin format until all of the Chiefs have competed against one another. The Chiefs take their positions at opposite ends of the Wibit, facing one another. At the sound of the whistle, the boys (carefully) charge one another and try to spin the other person into the water. Although both Chiefs inevitably lose their balance and end up in the water, the winner is the person who gains the upper hand and forces his opponent off the Wibit. Dave declares a winner for that round and we move on to the next two Chiefs. Campers lined the shore, watching with amusement and cheering on their Chiefs. There was a lot of speculation in the crowd about who might win any particular round, and more than a few “upsets!” King of the Hill is all in the name of fun, and there was nothing but laughter and good sportsmanship among the Chiefs.

After lunch and Rest Hour, the entire camp gathered on the Lower Field for Overland Overwater. This all-camp relay race involves all members of a Tribe, and even some counselors! Similar to the Ultimate Olympic Challenge, campers sign up for a leg of the race based on interest and skill level. Do you like to run? Are you a skilled archer? Want to balance a ping pong ball on a spoon while you cross the Lower Field? We have something for everyone! The final leg of the race has each Chief running the length of the Lower Field to the backstop on Danny’s Diamond. There are three whistles hanging from the fence. Dave stands nearby with his stopwatch. As soon as the Chief blows a whistle, his Tribe’s time is marked and recorded.

Tribes had time at their campsites before shower hour and dinner, which allowed them to finish preparations for tonight’s Rope Burn. At the conclusion of dinner, the Juniors reported to the Upper Field to begin event #3 of the Junior Jamboree. This event, called Tallest Stack, challenged each Tribe to build a structure using branches from the nearby woods. The highest convergence of branches was the winner. These young campers got straight to work, carrying (and sometimes dragging) enormous branches and tree trunks out of the woods and propping them up against one another in a teepee configuration. There’s something magical that happens when you ask kids to build something with tree branches!

The main event of the night kicked off around 8:00. Rope Burn is a highlight not only of Frontier Week, but of the entire summer. After transporting their massive piles of kindling from the campsites all the way to the Upper Field, the fire building team of 6 begins to sort the wood by size. Each Tribe is given one box of matches to get the fire started. After the flame catches, it’s up to the fire building team to add kindling, stoke the flames, and create an inferno that is high enough and hot enough to burn through the rope suspended above. After witnessing tonight’s event, we can assure you that all 6 Tribes accomplished their mission!

There were 6 massive fires burning at once. The crowd cheered for their fire builders and chanted, “Burn baby, burn!” and “The rope, the rope, the rope is on fire!” The amount of heat emanating from the flames was unimaginable. The ropes hung on for dear life as long as they could. In the end, Ekota’s rope broke first, followed by Unami’s. We congratulate all of the fire building teams on their impressive achievements!

Whew! It was a busy day. The Tribes are pumped and riding high from their victories in different events. At this point, anyone could win. Tomorrow, we keep on Frontier-ing!