JUNE LAKE TRAINING CAMP 2008 To June Lake 2008 Photos by Nancy Fiddler and Peter Tayor.

Twenty four Far West Junior athletes from Truckee to Bishop gathered at the Oh! Ridge campground in mid July for a four day training camp in the scenic Eastern Sierra. Led by coaches Ben Grasseschi, Martin Benes, and Nancy Fiddler, the campers began their camp on Thursday afternoon with a simple exercise to help them become acquainted. The coaches quickly learned that there is no such thing as a simple exercise. The campers were grouped in threes and instructed to meet at a spot described and pointed at by Ben. Their watches were taken away and they were given 5 minutes to learn a couple things about one another and make it to the spot. 5 minutes went by, and about half the group had assembled at the given spot. After 15 minutes went by, the entire group went off in search of the missing campers. It took half an hour, but everyone eventually was found. The bonding process had begun.

Friday's highlights included ski walking at June Mountain, excellent views of a giant osprey nest (including osprey), some refreshing swimming in June Lake, a hot, dry classic rollerski session near Crowley Lake, and a pasta dinner. At the end of the day, spirits were still high for the Skunks, Punks, and Junks. Any whining that happened was not because of the training, but because there wasn't going to be a trip to Mammoth to see The Dark Knight.

On Saturday, the group split into two to go on long hikes. One group summited Mt. Conness via the Hall Natural Area and Alpine Lake. The hike began with lots of wildflowers and mosquitos during the ascent of the vertical meadow, and then the group was treated to great views of Yosemite, some high exposure on the way to the summit, and endless boulder hopping. Back at Alpine Lake on the descent, everyone plunged into the water (56 degrees!). The old record of 20 plunges, established by Gabby Joffe and Angela Rasso, was shattered by Lauryl Rudolph and Sorrel Nielsen, who made 22 plunges look easy. It all ended at the Mono Cone. Meanwhile, the other group was circumnavigating (and climbing) North Peak. On the way to Mc Cabe Lakes, the group cohesion fell apart, and only part of the group made it to Upper Mc Cabe Lake, as planned. After some wandering around, the group came together again to climb the broad plateau leading to the summit. The descent into the turquoise Conness Lakes was exhausting enough to warrant a good swim and some fun cliff jumps. It sounded like the water in Conness Lake was even colder than in Alpine Lake. Back at camp, it was Mexican Night, and everyone ate lots of beans. After dinner, some of the group went off to test themselves on the Bachar Boulders, while the rest stayed in camp to play the world's biggest Apples to Apples game. A campfire and s'mores followed, then sleep.

The Sunday morning silence was shattered when a certain high school boy hid in the bear box being used by some of the younger girls. When one of these poor girls opened the box to get her eating utensils, she was certainly surprised (and scared). This turned out to be the practical joke of the camp, as it was tested on most of the girls at some point (always with great success). Later, it was smooth skate rollerskiing out on the Benton Crossing Road under a welcome cloud cover. After an hour and a half of drills and easy skiing, the group convened at the ball fields for some ballistic stretching and strength training. The exercises kept coming until, at last, the coaches ran out of ideas on how to test the muscles of the athletes. It was back to camp to pack and return home to Hot Showers.

The success of any training camp is based on the attitude and effort of the attendees. June Lake 2008 was an exceptional camp in that the work ethic stayed strong for the duration of the camp. The ages (13-18 yrs.) of the athletes was as varied as the ability and experience, yet there was lots of mutual support for every single kid. There was lots of training, lots of fun, and lots of inspiration.

CLICK HERE for Photos by Peter Taylor and Nancy Fiddler