``This is the wettest I've been, and we went to the lake yesterday,'' the Lakeside High School student said, smiling. Then she climbed over a mattress on the floor in the trashed hotel-style room where she and four other girls had lived for five days.

Ah, summer camp.

For a week, Erin, 15, averaged six hours of sleep nightly, met guys and girls from all over Georgia and grew in her relationship with God at Impact, a week-long Christian youth camp in the north Georgia mountains that draws 800 teens annually.

Many teens look forward to trips away from home (and parents) to all types of summer camps. In addition to church camps, there are sports and academic camps - even Olympic Band camps.

``It's what I look forward to because I like being with people my age,'' said Erin, who has been attending camp since elementary school. ``Camp is a major part of the summer for me. Otherwise, I'm just sitting at home.''

At Impact, the teens are divided by age into groups of 100. They meet at different times in rooms wildly decorated with balloons, streamers and posters. Paper bags labeled with each camper's name are taped to the walls, providing a place for friends to leave notes, candy or other gifts.

``Everybody's like best friends,'' Erin said.

Breakfast at 7:45 a.m. is followed by a full day of outdoor recreation and group discussions. Campers must be in their rooms by 11:30 p.m., and lights are out by midnight. That leaves little time to relax.

``You get tired, but you never think about sleeping,'' said Patrick Hill, one of Erin's friends from Augusta's Hillcrest Baptist Church.

At morning and afternoon recreation time, the teams compete in relays and sports like volleyball, handball and California kick ball (where a guy and a girl are strapped together at the wrist or waist and play). Awards are given to the winning teams, but also to those with the most spirit and best sportsmanship.

No matter what type of camp teens attend, there's usually a point at which things turn serious. Campers eventually practice their instruments, study their subjects, or learn about God.

The food may be blah (lunch one day was the rectangular pizza that's served in school cafeterias, peaches, nachos and cheese, salad, cookies and a pickle spear), and the living conditions may be crowded, but teens say the excitement makes it worth it.