Tag Archives: 2014

Looking Ahead….

Sara's Photo

As the leaves start to turn and the cold weather is right around the corner, we have set our sights towards summer 2015. Here are some exciting camp events and changes we have planned for the upcoming year:

HALLOWEEN CONTEST – We are excited to announce our 2nd Annual Halloween Costume contest for campers and staff alike! Email Sara a photo of you in your costume by November 3^rd to be entered in a raffle to win a Trail’s End prize pack! The lucky staff member and lucky camper will be announced via Facebook, Instagram and Twitter early November. Looking forward to seeing everyone all dressed up!

WINTER REUNION – We can’t wait to see our camp families at the Winter Reunions December 6^thand 7^th, It is always great hanging out and reuniting with old camp friends while getting to know our new incoming campers even better. Remember to RSVP by logging into your My TEC Account at trailsendcamp.com.

TENNIS COURT RENOVATIONS – Our tennis court facility will be getting a full facelift. We will have 7 brand new tennis courts and 3 Quickstart training courts for our youngest campers. We are excited to see the courts in action come June!

BRAND NEW CRAFTS & TECHNOLOGY CENTER – The biggest change to the 2015 program will be the expansion of Crafts & Technology. The new center will include woodworking, ceramics, fine arts, jewelry making, textiles, cooking, video production, digital media and rock band. Keep your eyes peeled for photos throughout the winter. We will post them on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

TOWEL SERVICE – Beginning in 2015, we will be providing towel service for our campers and staff. Towels will be delivered daily to every camper and staff for showers. Additionally, there will be towels at the lake or pool for their use when swimming and boating. Our towel service will result in our Lake Photo campers bringing less “stuff” to camp and will create more room in the bunks!

We are very excited for the 2015 additions and cannot wait to be back at TEC. See you all soon!

Only 35 Saturdays till opening campfire!

– Missing 18405 –

MISSING 18405 It seems hard to believe that camp ended a month ago. Unfortunately, early morning UNIQUE LOGAN AND HILARY school buses have replaced reveille and line up. What we would do for a day at 18405 right now! Instead we spend our time remembering the sounds of boys’ & girls’ campus, the smell of camp cookies coming from the kitchen and the feelings of excitement that we experienced during our 51 days together. As we sit and reflect on the past summer, we can’t help but smile at all the great times we had as a camp family.

We are sure you have spent the last 30 days telling everyone about the crazy moments with your friends, the special events, the trips, the championship sports teams, the incredible drama produc NANCT TUCKER tions. How ridiculous was it when your counselors got hypnotized or how gross (and funny at the same time) it was to be covered in chocolate syrup with whipped cream on your head for an entire afternoon of Messy Tuesday. Have you taught your younger sibling and parents some Nancy Tucker songs like the one about One Meatball and No Spaghetti, Jellyfish or the hysterical Shower Cap Song?

The best memories at camp were often the moments you had during rest hour, free play and late nights with your friends. Those personal memories are something we all cherish all winter long. Olympics

So as we look back to what was another great summer, we are happy to share with you the highlights of Olympics. Those five days of non-stop fun, competition and cheer sessions culminated with what was one of the best Olympic Sing nights ever. It was there that the white team of Slovakia was named the ultimate victor.

As you start to get into the swing of the academic year, we hope that you, like us, are able to reflect upon what an incredible summer it was and eagerly look forward to 2015. Before we know it we will have our December events. Please stay in touch and send us reunion photos and TEC sightings that you may have.

Only 44 more Fridays to go…..

2014 Olympics from Trail’s End Camp on Vimeo.

Welcome Home – Summer 2014

Marc and Crew As soon as the buses drove through the gates and down the hill to our eagerly awaiting staff, we knew this summer was going to be amazing! From the time the first camper stepped off the bus, we hit the ground running, starting the day with our traditional pizza lunch before heading out to activities and icebreakers. We ended the 1st day with our traditional opening campfire where our returning Lower Buddies and Rangers helped Marc dig up the story buried in the ground late last August.

5O5A2358 The energy and excitement continued into the first full day of activities. It was so wonderful seeing all of the hard courts and fields filled with campers learning new skills and drills and playing their favorite team sports. Our new Outdoor Adventure zip-line and high ropes elements took center stage for the entire first week. To say the additions are a hit is an understatement. Stan and Tennis

The evening program has been thriving, from the 70s staff Talent Show where the counselors and Group Leaders were able to showcase themselves to all of their campers to Pollapoolooza where Marc, Ryan and the Head Counselors were able to compete in funny challenges such as a human sundae and giant Jenga.

Tournament teams are in full swing with campers competing in soccer, baseball, tennis, softball, and flag football. Trail’s End has hosted two invitational flag football tournaments, one in which the Lower Cavaliers took home 1st and 2nd place, competing against 7 other Wayne County Camps and the other with the 9th grade boys taking home 2nd place. We are excited to see how well the rest of our sports teams will do this summer and how much fun they will have competing against other camps.

5O5A2140 Play practices have begun. This summer we will be spotlighting every age group in a Broadway Musical. On the bill for this summer is Legally Blonde, Matilda, Little Shop of Horrors and Beauty and the Beast. We cannot wait to see what Lizzie and the drama team will be able to create with our talented campers.

We ended the week with our traditional Friday night services and Buddies and Rangers 4th of July Show. It was amazing to see the entire camp family on the cookout slope. We gave out our Community Service awards to 13 campers and staff in the Trail’s End community. We love seeing everyone going above and beyond to help someone else in 5O5A2142 camp. Congrats to everyone! The Buddies and Rangers show was a huge success this year, as they were able to perform one of the best 4th of July shows we have seen in years. The night ended with our fireworks, Alma Mater and Taps – what a great finish to an amazing week. The first week at camp has been filled with many little moments that each camper and counselor will truly cherish forever and we can’t wait to see what weeks 2-7 bring. Welcome Home to our Trail’s End family. We are already loving summer 2014. Check out the week 1 highlight video!

Week 1 Highlights from Trail’s End Camp on Vimeo.

Spring Fling 2014

Spring is one of the most exciting times of the year for our 1st time campers. By this time, they have started to buy their camp clothes, have had playdates with potential bunkmates and have spent hours talking about the summer of 2014. We have even heard that some campers start off each day by putting another X on a countdown calendar.

Last weekend, we had a chance to spend the day with our 1st time campers at our Annual Spring Fling. The day was perfect and helped to build the comfort and confidence needed to succeed during their first summer. While the campers were exploring Trail’s End, Marc, Stan and Ryan ran a new parent workshop that answered many of the last minute questions. We then had a Trail’s End barbeque complete with our famous TEC chocolate chip cookies.

Once we finished lunch, it was time to play camp. Campers got a glimpse as to what’s in store for them this summer as they participated in some of our favorite camp activities including flag football, gymnastics, wiffle ball, and basketball. The Gaga pits and Kan Jam courts were open for the first time and needless to say, they are going to be a HUGE hit this summer.

It was amazing to see the campers and staff’s enthusiasm this weekend. Only 36 more “Xs” on the calendar and the summer of 2014 will arrive.

Camp Best Friends are the Best Kind of Friends (Part 2)

Group Shot In the second part of the two part Trailblazer series you will meet Remy, Ben, Jordan and Teddy. They will explain what it means to be a part of Trail’s End to them and how camp and their friendships have shaped who they are today.

Name: Remy Novich Remy, Hanna, Brett
Nickname: Remdog
Years in Camp: 9 years as a camper and 3 years as a staff member
Favorite Food: Cookout Cookies
Favorite Camp Tradition: Sing, Olympics, Olympic Sing, basically
Favorite Quote: “The moment may be brief, but the memory will last a lifetime”

I am a freshman at Muhlenberg College. In my time spent at Trail’s End, I have grown from a shy little girl into a confident leader in my community. When I was a First Year, I became friends with the 8 most important people in my life. They taught me the true meaning of friendship. I attribute so much of who I am to my friendships with them. These people taught me how to be the best version of myself. Without the guidance from my friends, I would be lost. All in all, my camp friends are the most amazing, genuine, caring, accepting, and funny people I know. The 9 of us have been through so much together. We really have each other’s backs. Our bond is something that very few people have and we are so beyond lucky to have each other. There is not a day that goes by that we don’t talk to each other. I know that my camp friends are going to be my best friends for the rest of my life. I think camp definitely has had a huge impact on all of our lives, as well as our friendship. In my opinion, a friendship fostered at camp is unlike any other type of friendship. Our undying affinity for our summer home will keep us linked together forever. We each started our Trail’s End experience as strangers and now, years later, we are a family.

Name: Ben Bass
Nickname: Bass
Years in Camp: 6 years as a camper and 3 years as a counselor
Favorite Sports Team: New York Giants
Favorite Food: I crave cookout cookies year round
Favorite Camp Tradition: Olympics Opening Ceremony or Lou Flego

I’m a freshman at Northwestern University. Camp has provided me with some of my most favorite and cherished memories. My camp friends are people that I could always turn to when I need advice outside of the same old people from home, or even just a good laugh. We find ourselves constantly talking, asking each other for tips on how to be the best counselor we can be. Now that we’re all in college, it’s easy to get caught up in our own busy lives. We all try to see each other at least once or twice throughout the year over breaks from school. When we can’t all be together, we all have a group chat on our phones that’s constantly buzzing—it’s our way of getting our dose of each other and camp year round for the 10 months that we can’t be at Trail’s End. Teddy and I frequently agree that though we may have come to camp without siblings, today we’re so thankful to have this group of true brothers and sisters.

Name: Jordan Halper Sing Shot
Years in Camp (camper and staff member): 8 years as a camper and 2 years as a counselor
Favorite Food: Dunkin iced coffee
Favorite Camp Tradition: Sing
Favorite Quote: “Better for having been with you”
What you look forward to every year at camp: Being with my best friends in the world every day
Favorite Camp Memory: Winning Sing 4 different times

I am currently a freshman at the University of Michigan. As cliché as it sounds, camp to me is the foundation of my entire life up until this point. It is the place where I learned to break out of my shell, held my first of many leadership opportunities, and of course, found my best friends. It is the root of all of my confidence and has honestly changed my life. I was fortunate enough to have a solid group of friends to always turn to. My camp friends always had my back no matter what, and were always there for me with a smile, a hug or a word of advice. As much as I love my home friends, the bond you share with your camp friends is genuinely unlike any other. My camp friends are my backbone as I dealt with the transition from camper to counselor and the responsibilities that came along with it. I am truly better for having met them and spending my summers at Trail’s End.

Name: Brett Finkelstein
Years in Camp: 9 as a camper, 3 as a staff member
Favorite Food: Pasta
Favorite Camp Tradition: Sing
What do you look forward to every year at camp: All of the traditions

I’m a freshman at Duke University. I started as a Lower Buddy in bunk 1 in 2003 and can’t even remember summers anywhere but Beach Lake, PA. Now it’ll be my 12^th summer, 3 as a counselor, and I don’t know where I would be without my camp friends. Being a camper for nine summers was the best and I loved every second of it. Heading into my 3^rd year as a staff member, I think it’s amazing to be the one to help my campers have as great of a summer as I did when I was in their shoes. I count down the days to camp, especially to see my campers and my best friends. At home, I’m known as the camp girl always wearing her camp apparel and talking about her camp friends. It’s all because at camp I’ve really met my best friends and the people who know me better than anyone else – I don’t know what I would do without them. I’m so lucky to have ended up at Trail’s End and met the people I have.

Name: Teddy Drucker College Boys
Years in Camp: 8 as a camper and 3 as a counselor
Favorite Sports Team: Yankees
Favorite Food: Pancakes
Favorite Camp Tradition: I’ve always been a sucker for Olympic Breakouts
Favorite Quote: “The only person you should strive to be better than is the person you were yesterday”
What you look forward to each summer: Seeing Marc in his USA hockey jersey during 4th of July

I am currently a freshman at Washington University in St. Louis. Without being too corny, camp is my life. All of my favorite memories and best friends come from camp. I started going to Trail’s End when I was 9 years old, not knowing a single person there. My first summer I was put in a bunk with David. Two years later, Bass came to camp and our friendship has been unbreakable since. I remember sitting at candle lighting the last night of camp LT summer, looking around thinking how unbelievably lucky I was to be a part of that and how I could never imagine not being with my best friends. Transitioning into being a counselor was seamless for me because I always looked at it as just more opportunities to stay attached to the place and people that I love. As for Bass and David, they are the two best friends that I have. I speak to at least one of them on a daily basis and I couldn’t imagine where I would be without them. One of the most special things we have done is create a group chat with all of our other friends that we post in on a daily basis. There is nothing better than checking my phone and seeing it light up with camp friends. Camp to me is a place that makes me feel special. It is a bigger part of me than anything else in my life. The memories I have made there have given me confidence throughout high school and now into college.