Story by Michael Jacobeen
July 26th through August 1st, seven boys from the St. Timothy Conquest club in Chantilly, VA participated in a week-long backpacking trip to the Adirondack Mountains in upstate NY. Led by two adult leaders and Legionary chaplain, Fr. Jeremy Lambert, the group spent the week roughing it in the Adirondack wilderness. The theme of the camp was growing in the virtues of manhood, becoming the warrior, adventurer, and hero that each man is called to be. 
Whether by conquering high mountain peaks or enduring rugged hikes carrying up to 40 pounds of supplies, the camp challenged the boys to grow into young men, a challenge that they all accepted. In addition to the usual camp activities, Fr. Jeremy celebrated Mass for the group on two different mountain peaks and also on a large rock in the middle of a mountain stream. After four and a half days of camping and hiking, the Conquest members spent a couple of nights at the Ledgerock Motel thanks to the generosity of the owner, Jean Baker. The final two days were filled with both fun and service; doing some painting at a local Catholic church, visiting an assisted living home, and playing mini golf. The final night, each boy received a leather bracelet with the words “warrior, adventurer, hero”, as a reminder of their experience. All of the boys returned home excited to help at the Conquest club, and several of them even volunteered as team leaders for the parish’s Conquest day camp the following week.