Over one hundred friends of Nature Camp gathered together on a beautiful Saturday morning last October, to explore the Blue Ridge Mountains in all of their autumnal glory. Many thanks are owed to Barak Brashear for orchestrating volunteer hike leaders to guide each group as they trudged over ridges, splashed across streams, and bushwhacked their way through tangles of mountain laurel. The five hikes that went out this year included Mine Mountain, whose shoulder nuzzles Camp from the north, and two hikes taking alternate paths to the top of McClung Mountain, our snuggle-buddy to the south. Another cadre of hikers enjoyed a pleasantly long and meandering journey over Whetstone Ridge while Barak himself took a cohort to Spy Rock on the Blue Ridge Parkway.
After seeing these groups of intrepid adventurers strike out from Camp around 10:00 AM, I joined Paul Cabe and his team of cooks to saunter gleefully back and forth between the walk-in, pantry, range, and dishwasher. Highlights of the menu included an impossibly enormous pile of Leigh Ann’s crescent rolls and a cranberry sauce made from Flip and Bain’s foraged berries.
Thanks to the generosity of those who attended, The Nature Camp Foundation was able to raise nearly two thousand dollars! If you missed out on this one, don’t worry! Come traipse with us October 19th, for our 2019 Fall Hike Day!
– Adam Rotche, NCF Member at Large