In an effort to better understand and improve what I know of our activities, I went to an archery instructor training session in Blountville, TN. I honestly really enjoy archery. Even previous to becoming the Program Director here at camp, when I’d lead archery I’d go out half an hour early, like you’re supposed to, and set up and just shoot 150 or so shots before the campers got there. Anyway, I guess I just mean, no one had to pull my leg to go get my instructor certification. It was a little stressful though, since there was really only 1 training session within driving distance, and it was on a day when we had a group at camp. Even then, it was still 2 and 1/2 hours away.

It was worth the time investment though, I think. I’ve got a much clearer sense of proper technique, how to correct improper form, how to properly repair all of our gear, etc, etc. What this really means for camp though, is that knowing what I know now, I feel better equipped to train our own staff to lead our archery program effectively and what to do if we want to expand it more in the future.

Of course, I already had ideas for how to improve our archery program already, but I feel much better equipped to teach it in more depth if we wanted to. So maybe instead of just going to the activity once in the week and then moving on to another thing, we could allow campers to select one activity for the week that they want to learn more about and specialize in. For archery, that might look like trying different types of bows and letting them figure out which suits them best and improving on their form so that they really hone in on that bulls eye. It’s just a thought for now, but who knows.

I didn’t get any pictures of the actual training or anything, since I was a bit busy with note taking. But, on my way back I did stop by Linville Falls, since we’re going to the caverns near there during middle school. The plan is to go through a tour of the caverns and then go hiking, and so, I thought I might try to see where we might go hiking.

I basically just saw that the falls were mostly on my way back, so I just drove like 3 miles out of the way and went on a little hike. I’ve hiked in the Pisgah National Forest before, so I had some idea of what to expect, but it nice to go and enjoy God’s creation when you can. It was only like a 2 mile hike when all was said and done too.

The trails just give you different angles to look at the different falls, but they’re still impressive.My only complaint was that the trails were so muddy. It’s spring though, and it had rained on my drive up there that morning, so I can’t complain, really.

I always love trying to find the biggest tree I can when I go on hikes, and I think this is the best contender this time. It’s hard to tell from this picture, but that blue paint is actually about the size of my hand. Just guessing, but I’d say it’d take 2-3 of me to get my arms all the way around it.

Again, finding a way to actually show the scale is hard here. The river is about 10-12 feet apart at this point, and further down that rock it winds around to a pretty sizable drop.

This looking back at that waterfall from further down the river, just much higher up. There’s still tons of water from the rain, and in some spots it just pools up, like here. It’s about half a mile hike from where the previous photo was taken.

Some of the trails weren’t all swampy, so that was nice.

After leaving, I also stopped by a overlook. It was just so nice out today, how can you not?