NJICL Letters from Camp 2023 – Thursday Midday Edition

Greetings NJ@KT Family,

It’s Thursday in the Northeast Kingdom, the final full day of camp programming. As we expected, campers woke up to a light rain, and it’s stuck around for the morning. We expect storms later in the day too. Our ride groups are NJ Strong though, and they collectively decided to get a morning of riding in regardless of the precipitation. The conditions called for a gravel ride, and most decided to take on Pinkham Road. Located in close proximity to camp, it’s a beautiful road with some steep climbs, sweeping vistas and fun descents. 

The view from Pinkham Road

Some groups made it a competition and raced up the 3.4 mile gravel road with 765 feet of elevation gain. Our intrepid mechanic Dillon ran sag for these riders in his Shimano branded van, giving it the pro race feel. Other groups took it easy in the rain, working on climbing cadence and keeping their heart rates low in “recovery mode” after three days of hard riding. 

We are so proud of our trail maintenance crews today too. The plan was to go work in the light rain, but lightning within the safety perimeter or a heavier soaking rain would cancel. They arrived on time and excited to work, but upon inspecting the work site the trail crew decided to call off the work day. They were super impressed that our kids were so motivated to get digging in the rain! We departed with an open invitation to return next year.  

Campers are currently eating lunch, and we will gather everyone together afterwards for an afternoon of games, clinics and rainy day activities in and around the dining hall. We look forward to seeing guardians/parents tomorrow afternoon, and please be on the lookout for a recap email this evening!