The day began smoothly, temperature perfect for a day scheduled full of activities.

In the East, though, dark clouds smothered the early morning blue sky. As the Pathfinders readied to board the buses that would take them into their planned activities, light rain patted down but failed to dampen spirits, campers relishing the weather.

Working through the occasional downpour and other mishaps, the groups slowly filled the camp up again in the afternoon, telling stories of bear and bison sightings, mined gold and Native American artifacts.

For some, the return to camp turned into a character building enterprise, rescuing tents and belongings from the swamp that resulted in the morning’s rains. Dinner was under way, and a couple of pickup games of soccer and football busied the rest of the campers.

To the North, angry billowing mammatus clouds encroached on the camp. Those who were rebuilding redoubled their pace. Rain curtains could be seen approaching through the hilltops, and the camp hunkered down for the rain.

It was furious. Some campers later admitted to washing their hair in the downpour. The storm didn’t last long, but the grounds were saturated and formed pools where already soaked campers wrestled, dove and slid to their hearts’ content.