Welcome back to Session 3! After an awesome overnight weekend, we are back to regularly schedule camp programming. Brand new IGs and DGs have given campers lots of different options for ways to have fun and express themselves.

We also have an update from the Great North Woods 2-week trek. They spend the remainder of their first week exploring Pittsburg, New Hampshire, hiking logging roads and trails, and even climbing a fire tower for spectacular views. They begin the second leg of their journey from Umbagog Sate Park, paddling down Bear Brook until their take-out on Thursday.

There’s rumor of a special event day coming up on Wednesday at camp. We can’t wait to see what that’s all about!

We’re back with another set of pictures of fun-filled days at camp. We begin with an update from the Great North Woods trek who arrived in Pittsburg, NH yesterday. They had a stop-over in the northern end of the White Mountain National Forest which included a day-hike into an overnight camp out. From there, they made their way up the rest of Route 3 and arrived in the Great North Woods where they are camping at Lake Francis State Park.

On camp we had plenty of exciting things going on as well. With the warm weather this week, the waterfront has been a popular spot during OATs almost every day. The Outdoor Living Skills IG practiced their fire building skills today and everyone had the chance to build and light their own fire. Of course with fire building at camp, we had to roast some marshmallows or it would have been a waste of a perfectly good campfire!

Unit groups will be heading out on their overnights starting Friday afternoon. We are looking forward to a busy weekend with lots of great stories to tell once everyone gets back. The LIT and JC groups will be departing on Saturday, and we sure will miss them a lot.

See you back here next week. Enjoy your weekend, I know we will!

We so happy to be back into the swing of camp after saying good-bye to Session 2 and welcoming Session 3 to a fun-filled two weeks at Wildwood!

We got off to a great start with opening campfire on Sunday evening, before orientation day on Monday with swim checks, health checks, and some free time at OATs in the afternoon. Tuesday marked the first full day of activities with programs like sailing, Life of a Dragonfly, and archery.

The LIT group made it back from an awesome weekend at Mt. Greylock in Massachusetts on Sunday and have been telling us all of the stories about their adventures. The Great North Woods two-week trek made it up to Sugarloaf Campground before heading off on their overnight backpacking excursion up to Percy Loop. Hopefully we’ll have some pictures from that group to post on Thursday.

Enjoy this look into Session 3!

It has been such a wonderful second half of Session 2! It’s hard to believe that families will arriving back to camp tomorrow for pick-up. Everyone has lots of stories about activities to share on the car ride home.

One of the coolest parts of this week has been watching the new Ropes Course Shed being built by our teen Leaders-in-Training group. With the help of the Wildwood Property Manager, Astro, the group is constructing an all new building to replace our aging ropes shed. This new building will feature clear roof panels to bring in more natural light, and an extended porch for drying out equipment, and providing shelter during a rainy day. We’ll keep an eye out as it continues to take shape over the rest of the summer.

The Footloose Trekkers will be headed back to camp today after an overnight hike into the White Mountains in the Ethan Pond area. They camped in an AMC hut and enjoyed clear, starry skies after a fun hike into the forest.

Of course there has been plenty going on with our overnight campers as well. We were treated last night at dinner to the sights of the Chalk Murals group who turned the blacktop in front of the Dining Hall into their canvas.

We’ll look forward to seeing families back at Wildwood tomorrow for Session 2 pick-up at 10:00am!

Session Two kicked into gear over the last two days. Monday afternoon we were treated to a beautiful thunderstorm, which cleared the way for blue skies and cool temperatures on Tuesday for a great day of programming.

This session’s Interest Groups (IGs) began with great options like New Hampshire Explorers, Archery, and Outdoor Living Skills. Staff members Nick and Jack are excited to be helping campers experience and practice archery, many of them for the first time!

Our Teen Adventure Trip participants are exploring the White Mountains of New Hampshire this week. They met up with Mooney Mountain Guides for two full days of rock climbing. They’ll be headed off on an overnight into the forest, camping at a National Forest campsite before heading back to camp on Friday.

Stay tuned for another update on Thursday!

On Wednesday we had the privilege of welcoming some famous naturalists to Wildwood to help us learn about their contributions to the world of education and conservation. Emerson, Dillard, Goodall, Darwin, and more led us in a full day of activities and learning. Can you guess who’s who?

On Thursday some of the highlights included a DG called Flügtag where campers created their own flying machines to see how far they could soar across the pond. I don’t think anyone got too far, but they certainly had a lot of fun!

Our Bike and Beach trekkers enjoyed their last full day on Nantucket with a visit with a local naturalists. They learned about tide pools, and were even able to see some marine wildlife up close by using seine nets.

We can’t believe that it’s almost over! Can’t we stay for another week?

What a great start to the second week of Session 1! Everyone made it through some soggy weather during the overnight weekend, and had a great time doing it. There was plenty of positive attitudes and perseverance to go around!

The second week of programming got started with a whole new round of IGs on Monday morning. The Tracking IG was treated to a sighting of a hawk around the amphitheater. They even got a look at what it was eating for breakfast. Cool stuff!

The Leaders-In-Training group made their way out to Mt. Greylock in Mass for their two-night overnight. After hiking the mountain today, they’ll be doing a service project for the DCR and learning about the natural history of the area.

The Bike and Beach trek made it to Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet Bay sanctuary for an afternoon of turtle tracking. With the help of educators there, the group able to find some nests and see some turtles. They’ll be headed out tomorrow on the ferry from Hyannis to Nantucket for two nights on the island. We’re looking forward to more great pictures and stories once they return.

Tomorrow will be a special day at camp, as word going around is there will be some special guest naturalists visiting Wildwood. Stay tuned to learn more later this week!

What started as a cool breezy morning turned into a bright and sunny day! We had heard a forecast of thunderstorms, but we were lucky enough to have skated by with only a little rumbling in the distance. That meant another full day of fun in the sun for everyone at camp this session.

The Leaders-In-Training group began their on-camp service project today! The group had the chance to work with Astro, Wildwood Property Manager, on constructing the floor of a replacement ropes course shed. We’re looking forward to seeing it take shape over the weeks ahead.

We also heard from our Acadia Adventure trekkers this afternoon after their time paddling around Bar Harbor and visiting Sand Beach. We’re looking forward to hearing more great stories of their adventures when they return to Wildwood on Friday.

Overnight begin for all units on Friday afternoon. It should be a great weekend! We’ll see you back here again next week.

A mini update today to highlight the coolest time at camp: Crazy OATs! During free time this afternoon, everyone was down at the waterfront for an afternoon in and around Hubbard Pond. Whether taking a dip, climbing the iceberg, or relaxing and playing cards under the white tent, there were plenty of options for campers to have fun and stay cool on this beautiful sunny day. Stay tuned for a regular update on Friday morning!

Session 1 of the 2016 Wildwood camp season is off and running and we couldn’t be happier to be spending two weeks with this group of campers. We had beautiful weather for orientation day which gave everyone the opportunity to do lots of things like: visit the nature center, participate in unit activities, and of course jump in the pond!

Today we were treated again to great weather when the clouds parted just after breakfast. That meant that the first day of regular programming including this week’s IGs and today’s DGs could kick off in style. All ends of camp were busy with activity throughout the day. You could tell it was a busy day when at meals, it was too quiet as campers were focused on replenishing energy with great food!

Tomorrow is set to be another great day with a brand new batch of DGs and plenty more. Look forward to more updates on Friday morning!