Camp Green Lane Blog Post July 12th
On July 9, the highly anticipated three-day/two-night Greek Trip finally arrived! The Greek trip alternates every year between Lake Placid and Western Pennsylvania to ensure campers get to experience both locations during their two-year Greek Division lifetime. This year’s trip was to the luxurious High Peaks Resort in breathtaking Lake Placid, home to the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympics — Miracle on Ice! Beyond the obvious reason behind the excitement around the trip (simply put, it’s a really fun trip), campers also love how this trip tends to bring the Greek division together as one family. Many of the activities in Lake Placid (outlined below through campers’ perspectives) revolve around intense team building, like Ausable Chasm’s rock climbing and the Olympic Training Center’s biathlon race on where the U.S. team actually trains. Yes, all campers did both these things…and many more!
Please see below as these were written by our Greek Campers and make sure to check out all the pictures that we posted from the trip!
The following was written by Lindsay Messinger, a Sigma Camper:
On the second day of our trip, the Greek division had a super adventurous day. It all started with a bright and early 7am wake up call and departure from the hotel with a fun-filled day ahead of us. We started our journey at Ausable Chasm, where we did an adventure ropes course high over a river. We harnessed up, tightened our helmets, and were on our way. High above the rushing water and connected by just a steel wire, we left our fears on the ground and broke several barriers. Personally, I have a fear of heights, so this experience put my bravery to the test. With my cabinmates and the rest of the Greek division beside me, I was easily able to accomplish the course and have a lot of fun doing it. Doing the course all together truly tightened friendships and bonded the division as a whole. Everyone encouraged and helped each other. As we finished the course, we took a raft down the river that was below us, learning about the history of the chasm along the way. We ate lunch as a division and packed up the bus again to head to the next part of our adventure.
We headed to another river for an afternoon filled with canoeing, kayaking, and stand-up paddle boarding. Personally, I spent hours relaxing and just floating in my kayak. The atmosphere was extremely soothing and peaceful. After a super adventurous morning, it was nice to have time to unwind on the river. After we had enough of the river, we headed back to land. We roasted marshmallows by a fire and ate sandwiches and salads for dinner. It was the perfect combination of food, smores, and relaxation. Finally, after hours of being out, we reloaded the bus and headed for the hotel. Many of us napped on the way back because of how exhausted we were from our action-packed day. Although it was super fun to try new things and explore Lake Placid, the best part was bonding as a division. We put our friendships to the test during the adventure course and bonded as we all relaxed on the river. Overall, the day was filled with breaking barriers, bonding, and relaxing. I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.
The following was written by Ethan Kruger, an Alpha Camper:
Yesterday, we spent our day at the Olympic Training Center in Lake Placid. We watched athletes train for their winter ski jumping by coming down the hills and jumping into the pool. We saw others practicing their snowboarding tricks on the trampoline. We got to experience our own versions of Olympic training by riding luge sleds with wheels down a portion of the same hill that the athletes use. We put on helmets and learned how to distribute our weight to make S turns and how to stop. We also shot paintball guns at a target after a little bit of running, which was trying to simulate the biathlon Olympic event, which combines Nordic skiing and riflery shooting. Both of these activities were a lot of fun.
In the afternoon, we ate lunch at the lodge and watched Olympic athletes training for ski jumping tricks and flips. After, we practiced shooting hockey pucks into goals from and artificial ice surface. Then, we rode a ski lift to the top of the mountain and then took an elevator another 26 stories up to the top of highest ski jump. It was very cool to see the athletes practicing ski jumps from above. I could not believe how high the hill was. We also enjoyed views of the surrounding mountains in the area and got to see some of the other Olympic training facilities from afar. We got to experience a lot in one day and see firsthand how Olympic athletes train for their events. It was a really awesome way to end our trip.