The Gray Wolf Pups finish the fall season by exploring the 100 Acre Wood

“One would approach at first warily through the shrub oaks, running over the snow-crust by fits and startslike a leaf blown by the wind, now a few paces this way, with wonderful speed and waste of energy, making inconceivable haste with his "trotters," as if it were for a wager, and now as many paces that way, but never getting on more than half a rod at a time; and then suddenly pausing with a ludicrous expression and a gratuitous somerset, as if all the eyes in the universe were eyed on him…” Walden & on the Duty of Civil Disobedience by Thoreau, Henry David

“Fits and starts” describes the Gray Wolf Pups on our Sunday outing at Fairhaven Park/100 Acre Wood. My guess is I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know, but it was blindingly obvious to Tim and I that the Gray Wolf Pups stand at the precipice of… well, of what I’m not sure, but their meandering focus testified to a state of flux. Perhaps it was the cold; maybe the fact that it was the last outing of the season. Whatever the cause, the mentors and Explorers Club Apprentices (EMAs) Jordan and Max took note of the numerous shifts in focus in our five hours together. 

After introducing ourselves to the EMAs, we headed to the 100 Acre Wood, Bellingham’s recently reimagined tract of land bordering Fairhaven Park. The boys have been here before, as was apparent from their unhesitating stride into the forest. So far, so “starts”. Before long, we came to a trail junction and the concomitant decision point. Information from one of the EMAs helped us decide against the trail that led to a parking lot (that was easy) and we were on our way again. At the next junction, we experienced “fits” for the first time. In this case, all directions were possible and our information about each scant. Mentor Tim coached us to look up into the forest canopy for clues as to how dense the forest in a given direction. This  helped, but not enough to forestall conflicting, largely baseless assertions on the optimal direction to follow. We were “suddenly pausing with a ludicrous expression”, if you will. Our Tribal Elder called for several votes as we hemmed and hawed through the shifting sands of conviction until we reached subdued consensus. 

Emboldened by our successful resolution, we hiked all of about 100 yards before dissolving into the woods where we found an excellent spot for our base camp. These explorers have done good work with their carving throughout the fall; the plan for this final outing was to reward their effort with free play and games….and carving, if an explorer wanted to work on his project. So, building off our hard-earned momentum, we threw ourselves into…wait for it….free exploration! 

This really gets to the essence of Explorers Club - no need to schedule an activity; no rules to follow; with only nature to guide, do what 10-11 year-old boys do - run, imagine, laugh, climb, jump, get dirty. And, apparently, get hungry. Time for a lunch break (hmmm, can you take a break from free play?). 

Newly fortified, we chose more structured play in the form of an Explorers Club favorite, Spider’s Web. As usual, we began with the necessary evil - deciding on the rules of play. Tackling pivotal questions such as how far from the web must the spider remain or where to place the “food source” and “web” raises the stakes just enough to stretch the boys’ edges. We can sometimes spend 15 minutes or more coming to agreement. We did pretty well this time, even deciding on the somewhat uncommon two “food sources” and, logically, two spiders. Sounds good, no? 

I wasn’t a very stealthy “fly” on this day, which meant I was quickly consigned to the web, where I was greeted by one of the spiders, who had legally, and frustratingly, found a perch with a mostly clear view of the web, which seriously hampered the ability of captured flies to re-enter the field of play following release by a fellow fly. The decision to go with two spiders, one of which could too easily hold us to the poorly located web, quickly led to creative thinking and rule-bending because it “isn’t fair”. We were back to “fits”. The game wasn’t working and even the spiders knew it. So, we regrouped, made some changes and had a good second game.

Amid the fits and starts, we see the challenges young boys face and the qualities they illustrate. Their male energies prompt direct, forceful action while social conventions induce collaboration and consensus. The resulting conflict can, as it did in the 100 Acre Wood this day, manifest itself in “fits and starts”, with “wonderful speed and waste of energy”.

We capitalized on our renewed focus with a fun game of Where’s My Egg?, then retreated from a gratifying fall season with eyes on celebrating further spasmodic growth in the spring.

Tim and I (Brian) truly enjoyed spending time with your boys in the outdoors. Their humor, energy and sincere spirit make these times rewarding and enriching for us. Thank you for supporting their growth and our efforts. Click here for the full slate or photos from our outing.