Sticks and Stones Camp (7/20/2016)

Day Two (Fly Fishing Camp): 

We had another successful day of fishing with a great group of people.  We caught some fish, missed some fish and even cooled off in the creek by free floating down a fast riffle.  The key element of this week's fly fishing camp was to gain the basic knowledge of fly fishing skills.  Some of the focal points were casting, mending, reading the water, entomology, dry fly and sub surface techniques. Each additional outing spent on the water will continue to hone each one of these mentioned skill sets until it becomes second nature and additional emphasis can be placed on the advanced elements of fly fishing.  

Below is an assortment of photos and a video of the boy's having fun taking a break from fly fishing. We hope to see you out on the water again sometime soon!

Bob and Kirk   

Sticks and Stones Camp (07/18/2016)

Day One (Fly Fishing Camp):

Today we had a great group of fly fisherman who embraced all that the creek had to offer.  It was good to chat and talk to the fisherman and hear them comment on how relaxing it was and how easy it was to lose track of time.  To me, that's one of the benefits of pursuing the sport of fly fishing.

With the low water levels and the abundant vegetation growing in the stream, it made the window for optimal fishing conditions slightly smaller than what is typical of this time of year.  The spirits remained high and the casting improved throughout the day.  I think it's safe to say everyone is looking forward to our next adventure on Wednesday!

One of the boys asked to see the difference between a rainbow and brown trout, so here are a few photos below to differentiate between the two species.

See you on Wednesday,

Bob and Kirk

Sticks and Stones Camp (07/15/2016)

Day Three (10 - 12 year old camp): 

Rothrock State Forest is always a highly anticipated endeavor for the riders of Sticks and Stones.  As its name implies, there are a lot of rocks to contend with along the trails.  We talked a lot about how to assess each rocky area to give each rider the tools they needed to clear each "rock garden."  

The mountain bikers did an outstanding job navigating through new challenging terrain and a solid one mile climb where they were then rewarded with a delicious hot dog cooked over a camp fire. Below is an assortment of photos to give a brief idea of what the last day of this week's camp looked like! 

Amazing biking this week!

Bob and Kirk 

Sticks and Stones Camp (07/14/2016)

Day Two (6 - 8 year old camp): 

We knew it was going to be a muddy day when we started biking, but we were greeted by another soaking of additional rainfall at the start of our journey.  Onlookers could've witnessed that the rain was no deterrent to our bikers as they were chanting on the trails "Let it rain, let it rain!"  It was really cool to see how they welcomed the precipitation and their only concerns were that it would neutralize some of the mud splatter that previously coated their bike, clothing and other parts of their body.  

Today will no doubt be a day that the riders will remember and solidify that it is a lot of fun to bike while it is rainy, pending no thunder/lightning storm.  Below is an assortment of photos from today's memorable ride and perfect cap to the end of this week's camp. 

See you on the trails, 

Bob and Kirk 

Sticks and Stones Camp (07/13/2016)

Day Two (10 - 12 year old camp):

Another great day of mountain biking with the 10 - 12 year old group is in the books! There was a ton of quality riding and confident biking throughout the morning.  In all we biked nearly 11 miles filled with sweat, fun and a nice cool down of rain towards the end of our ride.  

A quick synopsis of the day is that we rode to the trails, did a huge loop all together over technical terrain, had a scavenger bike hunt and finished the day with a king of the mountain hill group challenge.  As is evident in the photos below, there were a lot of happy mountain bikers today during our riding session!

Enjoy!

Bob and Kirk

Sticks and Stones Camp (7/12/2016)

Day One (6 - 8 year old camp): 

Eleven riders blazed the trails today as we set another record for distance traveled in a single 6 - 8 year old biking camp session.  Today we rode a little over 6.5 miles on our mountain bikes, very impressive!  We were so fixated on the ride today that each time we stopped to take a water/snack break I forgot to take any photos to post today!  

Anyways, the day started out with our usual safety check, followed by reviewing the basics of mountain biking.  We laid out ropes to have the bikers focus on following a line with their front wheel while biking a straight and curved pathway.  Following that, we added in the typical obstacles that are common when biking in Central Pennsylvania.   

The free ride today was a solid trek away from the parking lot but the entire journey the riders were fixated on the biker in front of them or the obstacle that they were trying to surpass. Before you knew it we were an hour and change into our free ride and headed back to the parking lot for a drink/snack break.  After our break, we went back out for a bit longer, played a game and then headed back to the car for the final portion of the morning.    

We finished the day by giving out two awards for best attitude and best effort.  It was another challenging decision to make because everyone did such a great job throughout the entire day. In the end each deserving recipient took home a very cool water bottle from The Bicycle Shop!  

See you on Thursday!

Bob and Kirk   

Sticks and Stones Camp (07/11/2016)

Day One (10 - 12 year olds):

We got back into the swing of things with another mountain biking camp with a great group of kids! Bob and I always feel lucky to get the riders who we get because there is never a worry about attitudes or effort given throughout each session.  

With several new riders to Sticks and Stones camps we started with some drills to improve the ability to follow a line with their front wheel and then we worked on biking over logs, roots and rocky scenarios.  Once everyone had adequately practiced these skill sets, we went out on a free ride around single track and old logging roads.  Everyone did an solid job tearing around the courses and conquering each obstacle that was faced throughout the free riding time.  

Following this we headed back for a quick snack and then it was off to have a fun team relay race. Each rider was split into teams or three or four and had to ride a short course until each team member completed a lap.  Again they did a great job with this and it was a healthy mix of gaining confidence with each of their own handling of the bike while racing around the short track course.  

We had one injury today that slowed up one of our riders and we hope he is doing well! Heal up! We hope to see you back on your bike in no time! 

Below is an assortment of photos from today's riding!

Enjoy!

Bob and Kirk