The trouble with camp is that camp ends.

The buses pull out this morning. In an instant, camp is silent. But the air will be filled with happy memories. Pine Forest’s 91st summer has come to a close and it was one of the best ever.

Thank you campers and counselors, housekeeping and maintenance, nurses and doctors and office staff, one and all, for making it such a tremendous season.

And now it’s back to home and school. But everyone who shared this wonderful summer comes home a little different. A little better. Keep the spirit of PFC alive all year long. Stay in touch.

Pine Forest is more than a place in Greeley, PA. It’s a place in our hearts.

Like the song says, “All our bags are packed, we’re ready to go.”

Mountain Baggage, R&B Baggage, UPS, FedEx, and Ship Camps.

Today we pack up, have our awards ceremonies, and tonight it’s the candlelight. It feels like we just arrived.  But we’re coming home with so much more than we can pack in a bag; new friends, new adventures, new confidence. There isn’t a duffle bag or shipping company big enough to handle it.

Those are the things that we carry.

UFG! Ultimate Flag Grab tournament!

Here’s another PFC first. Niall, head of Martial Arts, came up with a new tournament. It’s the Ultimate Flag Grab, where one Junior/Inter camper tries to grab the flag on another camper’s belt in a confined circle of play. Kind of like wrestling meets flag football meets Gaga. And it’s one of the most popular games in camp. Niall had each contestant come up with their own UFG Name and the song for their introduction into the ring, just like the WWF.

There are about 50 “Ninjas,” with names like:

Drew, “The Penguin,” intro song, “Thunderstruck.”

Joey, “Black Dragon,” intro song, “Eye of the Tiger”

Max, “Maximus” intro song, “Right Foot Creep,”

Aiden, “Aider Gator,” intro song,  “the Macarena,”

and Jack, “J-Denk coming into the, “Final Countdown.”

And that’s just a sample!

Be nimble, be strong, be silly. It’s the UFG!

Junior boys had another great week. Bunk Orange won the Junior inspection challenge and had a party in Bunk Apple. The highlight of the week was our outing to Costa’s amusement park. The boys enjoyed the water slides, go-karts, mini golf, and of course, the ice cream. Only two weeks left in summer 2022. Let’s make it count.

The Intermediate boys continue to excel in the athletic arena. Football, basketball, and baseball have all been hugely entertaining. Bunk Banana won the inter division inspection challenge and received a party in Bunk Apple. The boys absolutely loved going to Costa’s amusement park this week. The races down the waterslides were epic. Less than two weeks to go in our 2022 summer. Let’s go!

The senior girls had a fantastic fourth week of camp!! Evening activities included cake wars, celebrity scavenger hunt, and all girls swimming with camp songs and s’mores! We have had so much fun learning the game of ultimate frisbee up on Lauri Field. We get competitive while laughing and having fun! The senior girls worked for four weeks on choreography of their mtv night dance! Finally, on July 23rd each bunk performed in front of girls camp! Laurel, Jasmine, Marigold, Zinnia, and Yarrow all were incredible on stage!! Everyone loved checking in with their families on their visiting day Zooms and opening their visiting day boxes!

Don’t even get us started on how amazing Week 5 has been. SENIOR TRIPS!

It used to be called the “knotted tree” because high atop a tall oak tree on the way to the lake there appeared a large bulge, a huge twist at the very top. It was as if some giant, twisted the tree into a knot. For generations, PFC campers  gazed up at that knot in the sky and were amazed. One summer, a mighty storm swept across the mountaintop, with terrible thunder and wind. A bolt of lightning hit the famous knotted tree. It burst into many pieces. Incredibly the knot fell to the ground in one piece. Was it a miracle? Uncle Hughie Black, our founder, thought so and so he brought trucks to drag that enormous knot to the center of camp. He anchored it in the ground and placed a plaque for everyone who had spent 10 summers at PFC.  It became the “old-timers tree.” Today there are over 400 names on that knot.  And they will be there forever.

This year fifteen new names were added to the Old Timer’s tree.

Uncle Hughie thought it was a miracle. It still is.

Sometimes the best ideas come from campers and are totally original.

At PFC, you can come up with an idea for a game or a tournament and counselors/division leaders will make it happen. Blake in bunk Cedar, entering 4^th grader, thought it would be exciting to organize a Gaga tournament. On his own (and with a little help from his counselors)  he conducted sign ups, devised a bracket and built a handmade wooden Gaga trophy (in the shape of a Gaga pit) to give to the winning individual, the last man standing.

There are now 48 participants, and a new PFC tradition has begun. Thank you, Commissioner and creator, Blake!

Junior boys had another great week. The inspection challenge is off and running as each bunk competes for the weekly cleanest bunk award. The winner gets a party in Bunk Apple. The weather continues to be amazing allowing the boys to take advantage of every camp activity. Virtual Visiting Day was a highlight as were the boxes each camper got to open up and share with their buddies. If the last three weeks are anywhere near as enjoyable as the first four, we’re in for a heck of a summer.

The Intermediate boys are proving why they’re as athletically driven as any division in camp. The All-Star game was enjoyed by all. The boys enjoyed hot dogs, popcorn, the annual counselor Home Run Derby contest and the first few innings of the actual game. Shark Tank was an evening activity highlight as each bunk created a product for the counselors to buy shares in. Perhaps the best idea was a lollipop that had an edible stick. Virtual Visiting Day was a blast.

What a morning!

It’s not often that you see Hi-Senior girls up before 6:00 am in the morning, in fact it’s like never.

But today not only were they awake at sunrise,  but they were in bathing suits and soaking wet after a Polar Bear plunge in the waters of Lake Greeley. Congratulations girls! You are now officially members of the Polar Bear Club.

At the same time that our oldest girls were drying off,  our youngest campers were waking up to a cool mountain breeze and the sounds of morning doves as they emerged from an all-Juniors girls overnight in the gymnastics pavilion.   Now it’s down to the bunks to brush our teeth, breakfast and girls line up.

It’s not even 7:00 am and PFC is rockin’ and rollin’. At least the girls are.

Boys? Wake up.

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Divisional News | Hi-Senior Girls