The Gray Wolf Pups Traverse Sehome Arboretum

The Gray Wolf Pups gathered at Sehome Arboretum full of energy and ready for exploration. The boys immediately gravitated over towards a maze of mulch piles in the field next to the parking lot. Diving, jumping, and rolling they practiced their acrobatics and crash-landing techniques. Circling up in a grove of tall Douglas Fir we had an opening meeting. The mentors checked in with the boys, making sure they understood that we were doing a traverse and were not coming back to this location. The boys agreed to be aware of themselves and their belongings. Together we called attention to fact that this was the last outing of the Boys EC fall season and it was also the pup’s second completed fall season as a group! Watching the boy’s laugh and joke with one another we saw that they are are deeply rooting as cohorts.

Breaking our circle we played a few rounds of a game called Hungry Hungry Martin and regrouped at the Sehome Arboretum trail map. The Tribal Elderfor the day worked hard to get the boys to circle up and make a group decision on which trail to take. Once he had the group’s attention they unanimously decided to follow the Douglas Fir trail to the top. Our Front Scout did an excellent job of waiting at trail junctions until the back of the group caught up. The boys will need this vital navigation skill in future wilderness trips, and what better place to practice than the low-consequence arboretum.

After about a quarter mile on the trail the mentors pulled the boys off their course and the group explored an exposed sandstone ridgeline. Climbing on the rocks the mentor cautioned the group to have a healthy awareness of their movement when near to the cliff’s edge. At one point Peter crouched on the edge of the cliff as he looked down at a few of the Explorers. He looked like a cougar ready to ambush some hungry deer. He deemed our newfound location Cougar’s Landing. After some solid exploration the group got a little bit squirrely and we decided it was time to move on from the ridgeline.

Pushing further up the arboretum we came to a valley laden with tall Sword Ferns and Western Hemlock.  Peter called Hide and all the boys went diving into the bushes. It was a good thing too because just ahead we saw another groups of Explorers move across the trail. The boys stalked each other until a mentor gave a Crow Call and boys came of the bushes from every angle.

Circling up the Raccoon Kits and Gray Wolf Pups introduced themselves to one another and we decided to play a round of Spider’s Web with both groups. Once the course was set up we chose to have two spiders, and the game was on! As the game developed one spider stayed close to the food source and another spider watched the web. They worked as an effective team and after twenty minutes of sneaking and stalking half the boys were stuck on the web and having a difficult time getting unstuck. This challenging situation eventually led to conflict and strife. The mentors called the game and we circled up to talk about it. The mentors asked the group what the point of the game was. They responded: fun, getting the food source, playing, being together, and learning to sneak. The mentors responded, “Why then are you arguing and treating each other so poorly”? The etymology of the word competition means to strive together. Mentors stressed that each time we compete with one another we trade courage and offer them our best. As a group we agreed to play with honor and to accept challenge as a necessary component of of growth within our lives.

Saying goodbye to the Raccoon Kits we gathered our packs and continued up the hill for one final push to the top. Arriving at the lookout tower the boys ate a much-needed lunch and looked out over Bellingham Bay and Lummi Spit. What a wonderful closing to the fall season. We reveled in the sun and mildness of the day. After eating Peter showed the group the Art of Fire by Friction and the bottom of the tower. The boys asked when they were going to get to learn how to use a bow drill. The mentors told the group that it would be awhile before they learned this skill, but that they would be starting the Art of Carving next season.

Leaving the tower we climbed down into a secluded valley for some solitude and a closing meeting. It is wonderful to think that in the busyness of downtown Bellingham a group of Explorers can sit in a wooded location and hear nothing but the calls of the birds and still of the forest. Sitting in a circle on top of a large sandstone rock we shared apples and revisited the season we shared together. The boys gave thanks for the weather, for Spider’s Web, for challenge, for climbing and sandstone, and for a great season. The mentors would like to thank the boys for their commitment to playing games with honor and integrity and for their maturing abilities as a group to make decisions while collaborating and compromising. We hope to see you all at the Winter Solstice Gathering and thank you for your support throughout the season. The Winter Solstice Gathering will be held at Lake Padden Park’s playground shelter on December 6^th from 4:30-7:30pm.

For more pictures from the day please visit the Gray Wolfs Pups photo gallery. 

BEC Serves Sehome Arboretum with the Gray Wolf Pups

The Gray Wolf Pups gathered atop Sehome Arboretum with energy and excitement. While the mentors talked with parents, the Explorers climbed up a young Maple, covering every branch with monkey-like form. When the tree became too crowded a few boys ran into the forest and discovered a fifteen-foot high sandstone cliff. The mentors realized that it was time to wrangle the group! As we walked over to the cliff, Greg noticed that a large branch of the Maple had broken off in a previous storm. It was the perfect shape to make a primitive Bark Spud. A Bark Spud is used primarily to shave the bark of a tree after it is felled. Greg thought it might make an excellent tool for removing English ivy from trees, which was part of our service outing. Before we made this tool we decided that we better have an opening meeting and hand out jobs.

Circling up we realized that some of us still didn’t know everyone’s name so we went around the circle and shared those and our favorite tool. Everyone seemed to have a different favorite: a bow and arrow, knife, stick, or chisel. I took my favorite walking stick out of my car to show the group. I shared with the boys all the adventures and memories that the stick held and all the services it could provide. Watching Greg make the bark spud, the boys started to realize just how useful tools can be when we use them with integrity and purpose. As the Gray Wolf Pups start to utilize sticks and eventually knives, hatchets, and saws, they must always keep in mind our motto A Tool Vs. A Weapon. The difference between the two is the person who is using it.

After we had our jobs and were ready to go we noticed a few Explorers picking at a crumbling Parks Department trail marker. Greg shared with the group that sometimes we as humans can act a lot like termites. Little by little if each person were to pick at the sign then eventually it would be unreadable. The group agreed not to be a termite when it came to structures and living organisms like plants. In Explorers Club we seek to be not only the harvesters and users of the land but the caretakers as well.

Calling the front Scout to mobilize the group, we hiked north to our service sight location. Along the way we spotted some tracks in a muddy area and came to the conclusion that it was a dog. We could tell this from its major identifying feature, a single lobed rear print and the claw marks in the toe prints. The more we practice and get to know tracks, the more we will be able to know what has been moving through a tract of land. Arriving at our service sight we assessed where we needed to work. The mentors had a specific section of Big Leaf maples trees in mind that they wanted to serve but a large Red alder snag had fallen right next to the maples, resting on the youngest of the bunch. The maple was drawn like a bow and if it broke we would not have wanted to be near it. Greg and I took a moment to talk about forest snags and widow-maker limbs. It is important that the group be able to recognize and track these so they can explore safely in any season.

Once we had found a safe location we dropped our packs and Mentors instructed the group to look at both sides of the trail and pick out the differences. One side of the forest floor was comprised of primarily English ivy while the other held a much richer diversity of Red huckleberry, Sword ferns, Oregon grape, and Beaked hazelnut trees. It was plain to see this patch needed some help restoring its natural balance.  Mentors explained that English ivy is well adapted to the mild Pacific Northwest climate. It grows all year round in Western Washington and can out-compete many other species. Having diversity in the flora and fauna in the landscape is key to having stability within an ecosystem's food chain. Since we are a part of the landscape, our stability is tied directly to this balance. In Explorers Club we serve not only to insure our stability, we also serve because the land and its biotic community intrinsically hold value and we share and defend that gift of life. As the Explorers serve the landscape, they will come to realize that they are interdependent with a much larger community and it is their service and commitment to that community that will cultivate them into leaders and allies that guide with integrity and compassion.

Grabbing a vine, Greg showed the group how to identify and get to know English ivy. The vine can have three to five lobes on its leathery leaves but it can also be un-lobed depending on the sub-species. The ivy’s alternate branching structure first spreads out over the forest floor. Once roots have established themselves they slowly climb up plants and trees, eventually pollinating after a few years. English ivy damages the structural integrity of the trees, slowly suffocating and exposing them to rot. Its matted root system also causes erosion on steep slopes.

After this, it looked like the group was ready to explode so we gloved up and started to serve the land. It was so thrilling to watch the Gray Wolf Pups work. Some of the group worked with Greg to pry the long ivy strands from the Douglas firs and Big Leaf maples. The mentors had given the group a challenge of seeing who could pull the largest intact strand of ivy. Our record for the day was thirty feet. The boys worked together to pull the tough vines out of the soil. The group put in a solid effort and by the time we were done we had a huge ivy ball. We loaded it on three Explorers backs and carried it on to the cement road for the Parks Department to pick up, but before we headed out we picked up every leaf that we had dropped to be sure that it did not spread. As we stood around the ball of Ivy we appreciated the work that we did. Mentors asked the question, are we killing this ivy? Was this not a form of being a termite and causing harm? The Explorers came to the conclusion that they were restoring balance and it was more about the intention in their hearts rather than their actions. After such great service the group was ready to find a spot to play Spider’s Web.  

We traveled back the way we had come and the group did great job of tracking and recognizing landmarks that we had come across. Scouting down the side of a hill, the group thought that they might have found an excellent location for the game. As we climbed down the slippery clay soil mixed with fallen leaves, we came to a twenty foot cliff and had to assess whether we could make it safely around. The group decided that the risk outweighed the benefit and we were just about to turn around when one of the Explorers spotted a Barred owl. The group sat silently perched on top of the cliff watching the owl fifteen feet away, directly at our head level. This was such a great opportunity for us to see the hunter at rest. It also gave us a window into the community that we just served.

Turning around we searched a little more and found a deer trail that led safely down to the location. Who would have thought that a deer might know this land better than us? Tucked away in a steep and secluded little valley we played a challenging game of Spider’s Web. Greg made for a tough spider, catching boys left and right. Through trial and error the boys learned to go slow and wait until the spider was distracted to move. We also learned how to play with honor and asked ourselves why we are playing the game in the first place.

After the game finished it was time for us to go, but we still needed to have a closing meeting. The Gray Wolf Pups gave thanks for the mysteries of the land, for the chance to play, for the challenge of Spiders Web, for restoring balance to this ecosystem, and for the opportunity to serve. We ended our day by using our stealth and stalking skills to sneak up on our friends and family who were waiting for us in the parking lot. The Mentors are thankful to be part of the boy’s first service outing. 

Please check out more pictures from the outing at the photo gallery. We look forward to seeing you at theWinter Solstice Gathering on December 14th and at our winter outings that we are offering for the first time ever!