Life lessons, games and memories for two sisters

The Peanut Butter Pit was what really got them.

Playing the game -- in which kids use a rope swing to cross a moat of hay (aka peanut butter) -- was one of the most memorable activities at Camp ELK, according to sisters Abigail and Celeste Colmenares of La Puente.

When they went to camp last year, they were homesick and didn’t know if they would want to return this summer. Their mother, Espi Colmenares, director of the Puente Hills YMCA, persuaded them to go back for a week in early August.

Now the sisters are dedicated campers. Their mom thinks they’ll want to return to summer camp as long as they’re eligible.

“It was fun,” said Abigail, 10. “We did a lot of activities. We did rock climbing. We did archery. And then we did the Peanut Butter Pit.”

Celeste, 6, chimed in to explain the game. The talkative sisters completed each other’s sentences, joyfully recalling their time at the YMCA camp in Wrightwood.

The girls, proudly wearing their camp T-shirts, talked about their experiences during a week in the mountains. Celeste was in her red Camp ELK shirt, adorned with skull and crossbones on the front and the slogan “Yo ho, yo ho, a camper’s life for me” on the back. Abigail had a white shirt made by her cabin counselor that read “Pink Pirates,” handwritten in fabric paint.

For these sisters, a week at camp was a chance to get away from their home -- which 13 extended family members share -- as well as a lesson in responsibility, according to Espi Colmenares.

“It’s a great experience for them to learn about being independent,” she said. At the same time, Colmenares says sharing a cabin and one bathroom with many other girls teaches them patience. “It helps them live with others,” she said.

But for Abigail and Celeste, the life lessons were not as important as fun experiences such as making banana s’mores around the campfire and getting to sleep on the top bunk. The girls say those were some of the things they’ll remember.

About 10,000 underprivileged children will go to camp this summer, thanks to $1.6 million raised last year.

The annual fundraising campaign is part of the Los Angeles Times Family Fund of the McCormick Tribune Foundation, which this year will match the first $1.1 million in contributions at 50 cents on the dollar.

Donations are tax-deductible. For more information, call (213) 237-5771. To make donations by credit card, go to latimes.com/summercamp.

To send checks, use the attached coupon. Do not send cash.

Unless requested otherwise, gifts of $50 or more will be acknowledged in The Times.