On August 30 at 8:30 am, Durham Academy’s sixth grade set sail, or rather bus, towards Camp Kirkwood, a YMCA overnight camp. The 3 day long excursion was intended to kick off the school year and help everyone bond and get to know each other better. Because of Hurricane Idalia and the heavy rains that would hit the area while we were there, it had been uncertain to the last minute if the trip was still on. We hauled our multitude of duffels and backpacks into the trunks of the buses, though unequipped to hold this much luggage. The three buses were crammed from back to front with one hundred or so middle schoolers, with no entertainment for two and a half hours. What could go wrong? Friends were waved to seats from the aisles, chatter and gossip were exchanged, snacks were passed from hand to hand, no doubt contaminating us with some foreign disease that caused us to belt Taylor Swift songs at the top of our lungs for the remainder of the ride.
We arrived and gobbled a lunch of unsatisfactory grilled cheese and ham sandwiches and were introduced to our cramped but cozy cabins. Beds were made, sleeping situations were negotiated, and advisors were driven crazy.
There was a multitude of activities at Camp Kirkwood, some of them needing to be modified or canceled all together because of our weather conditions, but among those were some favorites: The V Swing, Bubbles the pig, the zip line, the KangaJump, the night hike to s’mores, and the pool. The V swing was a thrilling attraction in which you were pulled up 30 to 40 feet in the air by your activity mates and swung back and forth through the middle of the woods. You could choose how high you went and it was so entertaining watching our teachers try it out. Bubbles the pig was (you guessed it!) a pig. We got to pet Bubbles while she ran around the Gaga pit with a ball. The zip line was another daredevil activity. We zipped across the canoe lake with our friends, one the many highlights of our last day. Each of the activity groups was able to play in the pool two times. We rolled on and off of water obstacles and dove in holding hands. Even though the pool wasn’t ideal temperature and there was light rain we, in typical sixth grade fashion, made the best of it.
One of the best parts of Camp Kirkwood is getting to make lots of new friends and strengthen bonds with old ones. We were exposed to a variety of people in activity groups, not to mention having to live with fourteen other kids for three days. I really enjoyed getting to know my classmates really well and definitely set a good tone for the rest of the year.
The night hike was on our last evening, through the woods. It was pitch black and there were puddles and all sorts of obstacles on the way. There was a sort of chillness and calm in the air. A feeling of peace and a wisp of spookiness. We walked two by two in complete silence. When we reached the amphitheater, we had a delightful treat of perfectly roasted marshmallow and gooey chocolate in between graham crackers. It was the perfect last night to end our camp experience.
In conclusion, even though we didn’t have perfect conditions, I can say with confidence that it was a trip no one will ever forget.