Machon Adventure, one of Camp Coleman’s three leadership development and staff-in-training programs for rising 12th graders, recently completed their out-of-camp adventure week. The week is designed to give our Machon participants the opportunity to explore their personal potential in various outdoor activities while simultaneously developing skills they will use as future Coleman staff members.
This year’s 18 Machon Adventurers were led by Amelia Kushner, Ben Rembaum, and Todd Gordon. Together, MA ’24 spent four nights at Cloudland Canyon State Park and two nights at Tallulah Gorge State Park. The week outside allowed everyone to gain valuable outdoor living skills, learn how to live and work together as a group, and have fun outside their comfort zones.
Outdoor adventure experiences included caving in Sitton’s Cave (a wild, undeveloped cave featuring rock scrambles, mud crawls, and more), multiple hikes including a night hike to view 4th of July fireworks from high above Trenton, GA (we were able to see multiple firework displays across the Appalachian Mountain horizon for miles!), training and certification in Wilderness First Aid and the 7 Principles of Leave No Trace, ziplining, campfires and camp stove cooking, whitewater rafting, and exploring the Tallulah River gorge floor and its sliding rock (only 100 gorge floor passes are issued daily when available!). We pushed our limits both physically and emotionally, and it was incredible!
Throughout this week together, our Machon Adventurers challenged themselves, learned new skills, and explored uncharted territory. As we return to camp for the next four weeks, they will be able to apply what they learned in practice and share it with the rest of our Camp Coleman community.
