Camp Ridgecrest for Boys
Camp Ridgecrest for Boys (also known as Camp Ridgecrest, or simply CR) is a boys, "sleep-away", overnight summer camp that is owned by LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention, and accredited by the American Camp Association, the ACA. Camp Ridgecrest founded in 1929 is for boys grades 1-10. The camp is located in the Black Mountains of Ridgecrest, North Carolina, north of Asheville. Camp Ridgecrest hosts nearly 1,000 campers per year, in either two, four, six or eight-week sessions. Camp Ridgcrest is fully accredited by the American Camp Association and is one of the oldest camps in the country. Many common American camping traditions began or were founded at Camp Ridgecrest. The Camp, widely known for its historic traditions, has made a point of maintaining certain aspects of the historical "rustic" American camping experience. Camp Ridgecrest is considered to be one of the best camps in the nation, and is unique as it also incorporates hiking into the mountains and camping and sleeping in the wilderness twice a week. Many area camps were founded and modeled after Camp Ridgecrest and its sister camp Camp Crestridge thanks to former Ridgecrest Camp Director George Pickering, including Camp Crestridge's historical rival Camp Hollymont (Girls); Camp Merri-Mac (Girls) and Camp Timberlake (Boys); and Camp Ridgecrest's historical rival Camp Rockmont for Boys. The majority of these camp's traditions were copied exactly after the historical traditions of Camp Ridgecrest and Camp Crestridge. The camp is currently rated as the number two camp in the United States of America by CampRatingz.com 1.
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Location
Camp Ridgecrest for Boys is located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. This landscape lends to a traditional camping experience with creeks, waterfalls, forestland, and hiking/biking trails. Much of the surrounding area is protected land. Camp Ridgecrest is located just 20 minutes east of Asheville. Camp Ridgecrest's sister camp Camp Crestridge for Girls is located across the highway on another mountain.
Staff
Camp Ridgecrest employs students to work the whole Summer at Camp Ridgecrest. Counselors are skilled in their area of teaching, and are required to hold certifications in the activities that require them. In the recent past counselors have come from the Ivy League, Duke, Wake Forest, Washington University in St. Louis, William and Mary, UVA, Richmond, Baylor, Liberty, SMU, Rice, Furman, Stetson, Mercer, Vanderbilt, Union, Georgetown, Alabama, Belmont, Charleston Southern, Emory, Ole Miss, Auburn, Clemson, Florida, UGA, Florida State, Wofford College, Carson-Newman College and the service Academies. Camp staff usually arrive for AbOUT a week before camp starts for Staff Week, and training/certification.
In 2006 a new staff program was added called the SALT Program (Service And Leadership Training Program). These boys are high school seniors who work in the kitchen, clean the "Egypts", and do daily service projects. After a month a new SALT group comes in and works until the end of camp. These boy while unpaid do receive volunteer hours for their hard work.
Tribes
Every camper at Camp Ridgecrest is a member of a tribe. Each tribe has its own hill and a circle of cabins surrounding the Tribe "Egypt" (bathhouse). The tribes from youngest to oldest are as follows. Apache, Shawnee, Choctaw, Arapaho, and Sioux.
Ranking system
Camp Ridgecrest uses a ranking system that even extends into the areas of the Staff. A camper begins at CR as a Hunter then progresses on as follows. Hunter, Hunter of the Woodlands, Warrior, Warrior of the Clan, Brave, Brave Pathfinder, Scout, Buck I, II, III, IV, or V (if he fails the Little Chief Test), Little Chief (if he passes the Little Chief Test), Son of Chief (Junior Counselor), Chief (Counselor), Big Chief (Camp Administration). Each person from Little Chief on up is given an Indian name and is known as their Indian name on Council Ring Hill, each name usually an adjective and an animal paired together that describes the person it names (Ex. Chief Theatrical Yak, or Son of Chief Rhythmic Vole).
Promotions
Camp Ridgecrest employs a promotion system that is enacted the first time a camper spends his first Sunday night at CR in a very solemn secret Indian ceremony the camper experiences his first night on “Council Ring Hill”. Campers are given the opportunity to rise through the different ranks or an Indian warrior as they mature in what Ridgecrest sees as the four key areas of a young boy's development. The Camp's staff (which come from some of the finest institutions of American higher education) evaluate the behavior of campers weekly and during each session, every camper at Camp Ridgecrest has the opportunity to be promoted twice. Campers and staff are required to wear khaki shorts and go shirtless for the Council Ring Hill Ceremony, paricipants are also allowed to paint themselves in the colors appropriate to their tribe, and wear the colored feathers of their rank.
Ridgecrest Staff use a number of different criteria for promotion. Each is geared to help develop those individual children, and qualities such as leadership, and kindness are essential in both promotions and overall growth. Camp Ridgecrest evaluates a childs progress on the basis of that childs attitude, their cooperation, community service, sports skill progress, individual sense of responsibility, and quality of character.
The Society of Little Chiefs and the Little Chief test
The Society of Little Chiefs is an ever-present influence at Camp Ridgecrest. In order to become a Little Chief one must attain the rank of "Scout." A camper with the rank of "Buck," given to him if he has previously failed the Little Chief test, is also eligible. The Scout or Buck can then be "tapped out" at 11:15 PM on an unknown evening, usually towards the end of a camp session, and is taken in the dark of night to the counselor's common lodge (Rogers Retreat) where the counselors and camp staff send him on his way with encouragement and read him the Charge of the Little Chiefs. The Scout or Buck must then pass a grueling 18 hour test of strength, skill, self control, and endurance. The Little Chief test officially begins at approximately midnight.
The Scout must pass four phases of the Little Chief test:
- He is expected to light a fire with two matches and keep it burning for six hours on the base of Catawba Trail.
- He is then expected to run (in the early hours of the morning) up the side of Mt. Kitazuma without stopping. If he is passed by the Little Chief running at the back of the line, he is eliminated from the test.
- He is then expected to write a 1,500 word essay on what Camp Ridgecrest means to him.
- He is then is expected to engage in hard labor around camp until 6:00 in the evening where the camp takes part in Retreat and the silence ban is lifted.
One of the most difficult aspects of the test is that the boy is under a "silence ban" during the entirety of the test. Complete silence is expected. If he makes any vocal noise from 11:45 PM to 6:15 PM he fails the Little Chief Test and is sent back to his cabin. If he passes each phase and not talked since 12:00 AM he officially passes the Little Chief Test. He is given his Little Chief knife and Little Chief name (ex. Little Chief Rumbling River "Chris Maslin") at Camp Ridgecrest's closing ceremony.
The test is so difficult that in one two-week session, 25 boys were chosen to take the Little Chief test and all failed within the first few hours. If a camper fails the test, he is given the title of Buck. If a camper fails the test more than once he retains the Buck title and is also given a numerical number that symbolizes how many times he has failed the test. (Ex. If he has failed 3 times he becomes a Buck III). A popular myth states that a camper is allowed to take the test only five different times, and if he fails the test a fifth time, he is no longer eligible to be tapped out for the Little Chief Test and will remain a Buck V for the remainder of his time at Camp Ridgecrest. This is however untrue. The myth is based on the fact that most campers are only eligible 5 times (two years in Choctaw, one in Arapaho, two in Sioux). However, in reality, there is no limit to how many times a person can be tapped out is included in the Little Chief Charge, The Constitution of the Little Chiefs or any information provided to Camp staff.
The test is monitored by current and previous Little Chiefs (campers, counselors, and members of the administration) for fairness, integrity and the safety of all involved.
Skills
A camper at Camp Ridgecrest signs up to participate in six "skill" areas. Campers then choose from a variety of outlets whether their interest is in athletics, competitive sports, or the creative arts.
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Trivia
Camp WinShape for Boys and Girls, on the campus of Berry College was modeled directly after Camp Ridgecrest and Camp Crestridge as the children of Chick-fil-A founder S. Truett Cathy had been campers at Camp Ridgecrest while boys.
Camp Ridgecrest has children from at least 43 states and 69 foreign countries at any given time during a Camp session.
CR also has many prominent, affluent alumni and regularly hosts the children of Southern Baptist Convention presidents and executives. Children of state governors, ambassadors, diplomats, NFL executives, NBA coaches and profesional athletes.
Camp Ridgecrest is one of the few camps in the nation to have a Board of Directors and an active Alumni Association that contributes annually to ongoing new building projects on the Camp Grounds.
The camp recently completed a multi-level lakeside pavilion, named the Davis Pavilion, and a much-needed Chapel, funded by the Alumni Association.
Common bath houses on each Tribes Hill known as an "Egypt". Up until 2001 every bath house had a common showering area for campers and counselors alike. Now each renovated bathhouse has individual shower stalls.
The cabins have remained without air-conditioning since 1929, however the North Carolina mountain climate is extremely agreeable throughout the summer.
Camp uniforms, although commonplace in most prominent American boys camps, were phased out in the late 1960's.
Sockwar, a common American Camp tradition was founded at CR. This involves the Camp splitting into two teams and engaging in a capture the flag themed game, but disqualify members of the opposing team, participants must tag their "enemies" with socks full of sawdust. In the early years campers had used gravel instead of sawdust.
See also
- Camp Crestridge for Girls
- Lifeway Christian Resources
- Southern Baptist Convention