Gray Wolf Pups Lookout for Eachother at Lookout Mountain

The Gray Wolf Pups met at Lookout Mountain for the final outing of their Spring 2017 season. We kicked things off by touching on our skills focus of Navigation by looking at the map, picking a destination, and then the mentors handed it off to the Gray Wolf Pups to take the lead and navigate us there. Although not everyone tuned in enough while we were studying the map and memorizing how to get to our destination, later on we still managed to find our way despite a few wrong turns here or there.

Circling up to make a decision

Before we headed off into the woods, the mentors thought it would be important to do an activity that focused on inclusion in the group. Directing the group to form a tight, inward facing circle, where each boy was shoulder to shoulder, two of the Gray Wolf Pups were pulled out of the group and given simple instructions; “you are trying to get into the circle” while the rest of the group was given the simple information; “they are trying to get into the circle.” This is a fascinating activity because inevitably we assume that it is our goal to keep the outsiders from getting into the circle. After a couple tries, and rotating boys so a few folks got to be the “outsiders” we gathered up for a debrief. The mentors pointed out that no one was instructed to keep anyone out of the circle and that it is our natural instinct to be exclusive. We emphasized the importance of always being aware of who is on the outside looking in, and that it is on each and every one of us to reach out to others and offer acceptance whether it is in Explorers Club, at school, or hanging out with friends. 

Clamoring up a hillside towards the waterfall

Getting along with our outing for the day we trekked into Lookout Mountain in search of access to the water fall. After some trial and error we made our way up the creek bed to the water fall where we relaxed and ate lunch. Afterwards, we hiked around a bit to just above the waterfall in search of a location for a big game of Spiders Web. Luckily, Tim was rather familiar with this area since he spent a lot of time with his friends exploring this area and even constructing a shelter when he was in high school. We found the old location where Tim used to spend many a summer with his friends and it was the perfect setting for our game. Deciding to have two spiders proved rather difficult, but the challenged stretched our edges and we all got a little better at sneaking through the sword ferns, devils club, and stinging nettle and eventually the flies proved victorious.

Taking some time to eat lunch before playing Spiders Web!

Finishing our outing we took some extra time in closing circle to reflect on our season and look forward to our next year of Explorers Club. The Gray Wolf Pups each shared a highlight from one of our many outings, something they wanted to do for the next year (a skill, outing location, etc.), and of course something they were thankful for. The mentors were thankful for how the Gray Wolf Pups had really begun to grow together as a group over this past season. New members or old members, it really doesn’t matter now as everyone seems comfortable with themselves and the group and everyone has found a strong voice when we spend time talking in circle. Additionally the Gray Wolf Pups took a big stride forward in developing their navigation skills tuning in their sense of direction with natural indicators, orienteering a compass, and navigating using a map. With a well-rounded season in the rear view mirror, we are eager to reunite for fall and get back to work (or more likely play), and keep progression on our skills, developing our interpersonal communications, and building our group comradery.

Make sure to check out the rest of the photos from our outing here!

Celebrating a successful season! (some more enthusiastically than others)

Gray Wolf Pups Personify Play at Padden

Arriving at Lake Padden it became immediately apparent something big was going. It just so happened that our outing coincided with the NCAA Division Two Cross-Country Championships! Although this afforded some great entertainment, it also complicated things a bit, but thanks to great parents, drop off went down without a hitch and just as the starting pistol sounded for the Women’s race, we shot off into the woods and away from all the hustle and bustle. Travelling up the horse trails we quickly found a nice area off trail for opening circle. Despite some boisterous energy, we took some time to discuss our earth skills focus of The Art of Carving, and what our next steps would be down this path. The Explorers learned about the different trees, what properties each type of wood has, and what sorts of things they are good for making. Then the challenge of carving digging sticks was given to the boys. But before we could get into practicing our skills, it was clear these guys just needed some time to romp in the woods.

Tearing off up a steep hill, the Gray Wolf Pups quickly found themselves lost in the present, enjoying one another’s company, and working together on building some earth shelters. Despite the mentor’s intentions to jump into carving, they adapted to the energy of the boys, and scampered up the hillside after them and soon began helping out with the shelter construction gathering resources and offering pointers here or there on material usage and structural design. Pausing for a moment to reassess our plan for the outing, we formed a circle, collaborated, compromised, and came to a consensus on how best to utilize the time we had to balance free play interaction with the landscape and honing carving skills by getting plenty of time to get our blades into some wood.

After a good amount free play, boys naturally gravitated back down to our packs for some lunch and water before harvesting some materials for digging sticks. Utilizing a downed cedar, we focused on the slightly curved branches, a few inches in diameter, for a stick that already had a natural shape conducive to digging and the strength and rigidity of the denser branch wood that would hold up to some abuse unlike the softer, straight grain trunk wood that is great for fashioning fire boards and spindles for a fire by friction kit. Working our knives into the wood, boys quickly found the many knots of the branch wood difficult to work with and required patience, persistence, and sound technique to work through. Despite the strong focus, and disciplined tool usage, the Gray Wolf Pups couldn’t help but continue joking, laughing, and fostering a continued companionship amongst themselves that grows outing after outing, season after season. With some strong focus and good work under their belts, we had just enough time to scurry back up the steep incline and get in a little more play time on the landscape.

As the boys transitioned back into free play the mentors took some time to chat about how the outing was going they realized that things had gotten a little too quiet for comfort. Trekking up the hillside after the boys, they were headed off by another Explorer who relayed the message that a fellow Explorer was “stuck.” This could mean many things, but in this instance, once the mentors arrived on the scene they found an Explorer rimrocked on a small cliff along the hillside. All it took was a helping hand from one of the mentors to get out of the situation and everyone was just fine, much to the relief of a particular Explorer. Taking a moment to debrief the situation, both mentors were thoroughly impressed at how the situation was handled. When we adventure in the woods there is always inherent risk, and the difference in being safe or getting hurt comes down to how that risk is managed. In this situation both Explorers involved kept an even keel, assessed the situation, made a plan of action, and when things got beyond their ability, they sought assistance from a mentor. This exemplified great risk management. It’s very easy for someone who is not involved in a dangerous situation to quickly get themselves in harm’s way by doing too much to try and help. Additionally whomever is in a sticky situation can quickly escalate the level of danger by letting their emotions get the best of them and panicking. Neither of these things happened and the risk presented in the instance was navigated with a level of skill and ability that exemplified that maturation of not only the two boys involved, but all the Gray Wolf Pups.

In addition to debriefing our risk management, we took a moment to address a game of “war” that the Gray Wolf Pups wanted to play. Although they were just using pinecone projectiles and kept things light hearted and fun, the language associated with such games required some attention. A few of the Gray Wolf Pups recalled a previous discussion during a summer camp and shared what they had learned with the group. Language and words carry many connotations, and although something like “war” is thrown around in video games, sports, and other contexts where it takes on a meaning of good-natured competition, it is important to acknowledge the full spectrum of connotations a word can hold, and not allow ourselves to become desensitized the what something such as war truly means. This acknowledgement is not always easy, or comfortable for us to do, but is necessary for us to honor and respect something as serious as war and all of those whose lives have been lost or forever changed because of it. In a society where violence in video games is the norm and desensitization to violence and its true implications in reality are becoming increasingly present, it is paramount for these boys to hold that space of honor and respect by retaining their sensitivity and awareness, be it through language or action. Luckily the Gray Wolf Pups are a tremendous group of boys who will one day grow into strong, sensitive, and compassionate men. Whether through play, practicing skills, sharing laughs, or participating in tough conversations, these boys are flourishing into a powerful group of well-rounded individuals full of promise and potential for their bright futures.

Gray Wolf Pups Traverse Padden Creek

On a remarkably sunny spring day the Gray Wolf Pups met up at Lake Padden for their final outing of the season. Our adventure would begin at the south end of Lake Padden and would take us along the shore side trail to the lakes outlet; Padden Creek. We would then follow Padden Creek for a ways, go off trail, and meander our way down to Old Fairhaven Parkway, under I-5, and right to our Connelly Creek service site. This traverse was an Explorers Club first and the Gray Wolf Pups were eager to blaze the trail. Circling up in the field we handed out our jobs for the day that help us explore and keep us safe. Although the boys are so familiar with them, one Explorer even passed them all out, we would need to revisit their purpose a few times later on in our outing.

With too much energy to sit in circle, it was clear we needed to hit the trail. First we checked out the map, planned our course and determined the best route for our traverse. Hiking along the south shore was the most direct route so off we went. Traverses are a fun change of pace for the boys because with all the hiking it gives ample time to chat with fellow Explorers about shared hobbies, interesting things on the trail, or just do their best to get one another to laugh. Of course we broke up the walking and talking with numerous games of “HIDE!” and discovered that even on heavily travelled trails there are plenty of nooks and crannies and sword ferns to tuck away in out of sight.

Coming to the outlet of the lake, we turned down the Padden Gorge Trail that meanders just beside the depressingly small trickle of water that is Padden Creek. This was a great reminder that we indeed had a warm winter and though the rain has filled our aquifers, the snow pack that should have been melting in the hot sun and supplying our lakes and streams with cool glacial water is just not there this year. Also beside the trail we discovered a bouquet of flowers that someone had picked yet mysteriously left on the side of the trail. Curious, the mentors and some of the boys inspected the flowers as the rest of the group who was a bit ahead kept trekking along.

As we inspected the flowers, both mentors quickly took note of the small cluster of white flowers, purple-speckled stalk, and carrot-top like leaves and advised everyone not to touch this plant. Yes, someone had picked a bouquet of Poison Hemlock! We inferred that they likely picked the highly poisonous plant unbeknownst to them only to get contact dermatitis and set the plant down to avoid any further irritation. This was a great learning opportunity for some of the Explorers to ID one of our deadliest plants and learn from another’s mistake which is certainly preferable than learning from your own.

We quickly caught up to the rest of the group and cut off the main gravel path to follow a deer trail that the mentors had scouted days before. Trekking ahead, the boys in front yet again managed to outpace the boys in the back. Generally this is when the Front Scout takes note and has the group stop to allow the back of the group catch up. However, the Front Scout was keener to adventure than keep the group together. Along the way some of the Explorers who had studied the Poison Hemlock shared their newly gleaned knowledge with the others. To their surprise this information made a handful of the boys who had scouted ahead very nervous. (SPOILER ALERT TO SAVE PARENTS FROM WORRYING: No one consumed Poison Hemlock or came in contact with it!).  In fact, as the mentors began investigating their sheepish behavior they learned that a couple of the boys had found a plant they thought looked like “tobacco” and in a humorous effort took a little nibble of it. This action rarely if ever happens and in BEC we make a very, VERY strong emphasis around NEVER consuming any plant until you have a one hundred percent positive identification. This is in fact one of the few topics mentors can become incredibly stern on the boys over due to the severity of it. However, a few boys managed to let this notion slip their minds. We quickly found the plant in question and made sure it was not Poison Hemlock. Using our Plants Knowledge Keeper (aka Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast by Pojar and McKinnon), we identifyied it as Palmate Coltsfoot which is not poisonous. In fact, the Quinault used it to cover berries in steam cooking pits and it has even been cultivated by Japanese immigrants as an early spring vegetable (Pojar p.294). There is no doubt these Explorers learned an immense lesson from this experience and even admitted to being a bit rattled from the thought they could have consumed Poison Hemlock and required a trip in an ambulance to get their stomach pumped at the hospital.

After getting too spread out along the trail and having a scare with consuming plants we hadn’t first positively identified, it was clear we needed to have a talk. Upon circling up the mentors emphasized the importance of awareness; tracking the landscape, the plants, the animals, the weather, the season, the group, and yourself. How are your actions impacting others? How are your actions impacting the land? How is the land impacting your actions? How are your emotions impacting your actions? Etc. We must be vigilant in our awareness to ensure our personal safety, group safety, and the safety of the land. Our actions ripple throughout our own lives, the lives of those who are close to us, and even the lives of those we are unaware of.  Luckily we escaped the day without any harm done, but there is nothing like a close call to truly learn a lesson. The mentors also emphasized the importance of making mistakes in life, that it is inevitable, and that instead of dwelling on what could have been it is important to learn everything you can from the experience and move on with greater wisdom and the confidence of knowing how to avoid similar mistakes in the future.

We took a moment to decide as a group how to spend the rest of our day; carve then hike, hike then carve, or hike then carve/play in Connelly Creek. The Gray Wolf Pups showed an impressive level of group cooperation and decision making though they still needed a little nudge here or there from the mentors. The decision was made to hike all the way to Connelly Creek and maximize our free time there to carve, play in the creek, or just explore a place we usually spend all day working at. Once we navigated the thick salmonberry, sunny hillside of the old housing development, and navigated across Old Fairhaven Parkway, we finally made it to our destination.

At Connelly Creek the boys relaxed after a long hike in the sun. Some Explorers carved, while others went down to the creek to build boats out of sticks, grass, and leaves and race them down the creek. This quickly turned into a full on creek exploration where boys discovered crawfish, broke up stick dams that were clogging the creek, and just got lost in the moment of it all. It was wonderful to see these boys getting to enjoy the very creek they work so hard for in their service. It was a fitting end to a great day, and a great season, where much was learned and many fond memories were formed.

Gray Wolf Pups Learn The Art of Carving at Clayton Beach

Kicking off the Spring 2015 Boys Explorers Club Season, the Gray Wolf Pups reunited for an exciting exploration of Clayton Beach. We gathered in the parking lot before cautiously crossing Chuckanut Drive and escaping off into the safety of the forest. The boys were eager to hit the trail and almost left the mentors in the dust! Nothing a little crow call couldn’t fix. Without missing a beat the boys gathered up and found a nice opening off trail to set up our opening circle.

In our first opening circle of the season we handed out the usual jobs that help us explore; front scout, back scout, tribal elder, medicine man, earth keeper, Totally Terrific Toilet Paper Person (aka TTTPP), Knowledge Keeper, and a few others.  We also got a chance to check out the brand new knives that SOG Knives donated to us! The mentors took a moment to give some thanks for the generous donation from SOG Knives & Tools. Last week SOG donated a set of thirteen high quality fixed-blade carving knives to the EC. On behalf of the Explorers Club the mentoring team would like to thank Chris Cashbaugh and Nando Zucchi at SOG’s marketing team, and the rest of the staff at SOG Knives for reaching out to Lisa Meucci and making this donation a reality.  Thank you for supporting our Explorers. Our cups truly overflow with gratitude! But before we could use the knives, it was clear that the Gray Wolf Pups had way too much pent up energy so it was time for some games.

We played a few rounds of Poison Dart Frog and Head Honcho sharpening our observational awareness before hitting the trail and heading down to the beach to catch the low tide. Quickly making our way down through the forest we soon encountered our second big hazard of the day: the train tracks. Once we were all together and ready to cross the boys made sure to be completely quiet for a few seconds (a rarity in Explores Club) and listen for a train. With the coast clear we crossed and were scampering around on the sandstone rock faces in no time.

At the beach the boys finally had space to let their energy out. Whether it was climbing on the sandstone, stealthily scurrying along the ridgeline, or poking around at the shells and sand dollars, the beach always has something for each boy to get lost in. We spent a good amount of time lost in free play, mixed in a few rounds of Otter Steals Fish, checked out a cool driftwood fort, and culminated with an epic session of pinecone tag that had mentor and explorer alike ducking and diving cones like they were in the Matrix. Finally we had gotten the wiggles out and were ready to trek back up into the woods and begin our journey with The Art of Carving.

About halfway up the trail we revisited a wonderful downed Western Red Cedar that had a perfect chunk of seasoned wood protruding for us to harvest and use for carving. As one of the mentors sawed away the boys gathered up and discussed the importance of tracking your energy while maintaining a calm yet focused demeanor for carving. These boys had already proven their ability to safely use sticks as tools and how to respect blood circles, but knives are so powerful that it takes a deeper, stronger focus than they have ever used in Explorers Club before. Next we covered some of the more basic safety logistics of working with knives; how to properly unsheathe/sheath a knife, how to check your blood circle and maintain awareness of others’, how to hold your knife and carve in a safe and controlled fashion away from your body, what posture and positioning you need to ensure personal safety and safety for others. The Gray Wolf Pups showed a tremendous focus and ability to comprehend the guidelines showing they were ready. Time to get our blades into the wood.

For over an hour the boys sat and carved away chatting amongst one another. Despite the occasional outburst of laughter or flurry of activity, the boys all maintained quality knife safety practices and reaffirmed their readiness for The Art of Carving. The mentors took time to travel around from boy to boy and offer helpful tips and pointers in regards to the greater intricacies of handling a knife and carving. Both were impressed at the explorer’s readiness to learn and eagerness to improve their skills. But alas, some of the boys managed to develop a waning interest in carving and quickly organized a session of Hungry, Hungry Martin. Not all of the boys wanted to play and some remained deeply focused on their carving projects, impressive mental fortitude for boys of their age after nearly an hour and a half of focused carving.

With our blades sheathed and tucked away for the day, carving projects in hand, it was time for our closing circle. The Gray Wolf Pups were reminded by the mentors of the importance of closing circle, and the level of respect and attention they must give to one another as they share their gratitude for the day. Not only is it important to reflect upon our outings and recall what stood out as particularly fun or exciting, but it is also important to express gratitude for those good times in addition to all that allowed for those good times to be had. Gratitude was given to the forest and the beach, the wood from the downed cedar that we carved, the knives that were donated by SOG Knives, the wonderful companions we shared the outing with, and even the apple slices that we were munching on during closing circle. What a wonderful way to kick off the Spring season and exciting journey through the Art of Carving for the Gray Wolf Pups.

Make sure to check out all the other photos that didn't make it in the blog in the Gray Wolf Pups photo gallery!