Sunday, March 27, 2016

Storm Wolves Take Advantage of a Storm-Free Day at North Galbraith



Storm Wolves - N. Galbraith Mountain Trailhead - 03/20/16

Finally a day without wind for the Storm Wolves to get out and explore! Meeting up at North Galbraith Mountain Trailhead we made sure to make the most of this rare occasion. With the group eager to get into the forest we hustled down the trail, past the many bike jumps, and down onto a freshly paved logging road. For a long time this road was just a small trail that followed a creek bed and led to many rolling valleys and ravines at the foot of Galbraith Mountain, but recently some development has begun and the impact to the landscape has been quite incredible to witness. Using the wide, gravel road we were able to cover a lot of ground quickly and head off trail to a long-time favorite location of Boys Explorers Club. Going down into valleys and up over ridgelines we cut our way through sword fern and salmon berry to our destination.

Arriving at our location, the Storm Wolves immediately dropped their packs and began carving sticks. The mentors had planned for an opening circle, but after observing a keen focus and highly motivated group of Storm Wolves that were already formulating plans for exploration and play amongst themselves, the mentors realized that their guidance was really not all that needed. A few of the boys took a moment to admire a sturdy debris shelter that was constructed by an elder group during the fall and found inspiration to continue working on gathering debris and eventually constructing a debris shelter of their own. While the rest of the group finished carving their sticks for the day and developing an elaborately imaginative game, the remainder of the group worked on constructing debris shelters. This, of course, was not on the mentors docket for the day, but how could they interrupt the joy, inspirations, and motivations of these weather tested Storm Wolves who are finally getting a peaceful day of forest exploration.

Sitting back and observing the boys lost in play and constructing debris shelters, the mentors realized that this group of veteran explorers and dear friends could probably run an entire outing on their own! It is truly impressive to witness these boys peacefully and efficiently resolve any conflicts that arise before they get out of hand, organize games and activities for themselves, and have an absolute blast while doing so. Feeling the call to let these boys pursue their inspirations for the day mentors fell in line and took on the role of a couple of big explorers. Gathering debris for shelters with a couple of the Storm Wolves the immediate challenge came that in spring time there is not a lot of fallen leaves or other debris readily available for us to gather. Scouring the landscape we found Douglas Fir branches scattered on the forest floor from some of the recent wind storms. This sparked an idea to take advantage of the recent development going on along the new gravel road. Dozens of trees had been felled in order to clear the way for the big gravel road so off we trekked with our limbing saws to harvest Douglas Fir and Western Red Cedar branches for our shelters. It is not often that such an abundant resource is available to harvest so we took advantage. In no time we were able to gather armfuls of debris for our shelters. Of course it is very difficult to come to terms with such destruction to a place where explorers have frolicked and had profound connections to the natural world, but sometimes you just have to make the best of a situation, and with so many trees cut down and available to harvest from we were able to build a shelter in a fraction of the time that it would have taken if we had to scour the landscape for bits and pieces of debris and other shelter building materials.


Finishing up our shelters the Storm Wolves organized a couple of games of Spiders Web. Again, the mentors realized that these boys could pretty much run the show. Even introducing one of our new group members to this game, the Storm Wolves quickly and efficiently laid out the ground rules, talked a little bit about the strategy behind the game, designated a Spider and set up the Food Source and Web in under fifteen minutes. In no time these boys were off scurrying through the foliage and lost in play. As most of the boys tried to take the direct approach to the food source their efforts were abruptly thwarted by the Spider, but little did the Spider know there were a couple flies out flanking him up along the northern ridgeline and a couple more down in the creek bed. The mentors were impressed at the skill and strategy the Storm Wolves played this game with and it was clear that years of sneaking through the woods and playing games like HIDE, Eagle’s Eye, and Spiders Web had honed their skills and knowledge of reading the landscape and moving through the forest undetected. Wrapping up the game we had just enough time for a closing circle and brisk hike out to the trailhead.

Sitting in circle, it took a bit of time for the group to settle down enough and suppress the silly energy from earlier in the outing in order begin our circle of gratitude. The mentors revisited what sort of focus, energy, and mindset goes into giving gratitude and reminded the boys of how fortunate we are to have beautiful forests to frolic in all day right in our backyards! Passing around the apple slices, each of the Storm Wolves shared something they were thankful for with the rest of the group. Whether it was the nice day with no wind, a bounty of downed trees to provide branches for a debris shelter, or just some time to play games with old friends, everyone shared in a thoughtful and insightful tidbit of thanks with the rest of the group while everyone listened with a keen focus. These moments of reflection and introspection display the well-rounded personalities and thoughtfulness that accentuate the playful and friendly personalities that make up this group. It is always a pleasure for the mentors to work with this group and they truly enjoyed witnessing these boys get a chance to enjoy themselves without having to weather the wind and rain. Time and time again the Storm Wolves impress with their resiliency, enthusiasm, and compassion for one another. This group has been through a lot together and had no hesitations taking advantage of the calm weather to get a full, fun, and satisfying day of exploration together.

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

Thursday, March 10, 2016

Wind and Rain at Lake Padden with the Storm Wolves



Storm Wolves -- Lake Padden -- 02/28/16 --  10:00AM to 3:00PM

Over the past few seasons a growing favorite location for the Storm Wolves (formerly known as the Grey Fox Kits) has been Lake Padden Park. The park offers a variety of options including deep woodlands, lakeshore, and ravines that all provide unique exploring opportunities. As we all know the Storm Wolves are infamous for attracting less than desirable weather. Without fail our first outing arrived with a windy and drizzly day. 

As boys began to arrive at Lake Padden so too did the tight knit community that these boys have formed over their years of explorations together. Quickly the boys forgot about the puddles in the field and the rain falling from the sky as they played one of their favorite games (Where's My Egg?). Once all the boys had arrived we gathered for our traditional opening circle. This circle is an important part of the day and gives us an opportunity to not only make plans for the day, but also check in as a group. Today most of our discussion was around the wind. The wind has been a sensitive topic in this group as a result of their numerous encounters with close calls in the forest. The groups is incredibly supportive of each other and displayed this compassion and empathy as we discussed how best to enjoy our day and manage the risk the wind posed. The Storm Wolves quickly decided to play it safe and stick to the trail that skirts the shoreline of the lake and maybe go into the woods if the wind died down later in the day.

We began to make our way around the lake; watching the ridgeline trees sway and the waterfowl get pushed to one side of the lake. As we observed the strong wind we all felt comfortable with the choice we had made to stay out of the deep woods and exposure to large dead trees. Spirits were high as we moved around the shore and it was a great opportunity for boys and mentors alike to catch up after a winter apart. As we reached the field at the far Northern end of the lake the sun began to peek out and we decided it was a good time to take a lunch break. We picked a dry-ish spot on the field to set up a basecamp and eat at. We ate our food under increasingly clearing skies with even a few sun breaks. The wind continued to blow but without the cold driving rain the day felt much more inviting.

The Storm Wolves happily played in the field for most of the early afternoon. There were a few moments of conflict during the game, but with very little coxing from Tim or I the Storm Wolves quickly formed a circle and were able to work out their differences and get right back to playing. As the time neared to head back to the parking lot we sent the Storm Wolves out for a sit spot. The boys spread out along the shoreline and quickly got quiet as they looked out over Lake Padden. The boys sat quietly for the next half hour without a single disruption. When we called them back in the boys slowly disengaged from their individual sit spots to join us for a closing circle. It was an eye opening mentoring moment to see boys so comfortable and content in the woods on a day many people would have decided just to stay at home. It was very clear that the storm wolves have grown immensely from their experiences as a group and have become not only comfortable in the outdoors, but also with each other.

Thank you Storm Wolves for your commitment to the program and your enthusiasm on outings. Thank you families for seeing the value in Explorers Club and sending your boys out with us for these blustery outings. Please make sure to take a look at our photo gallery for the rest of the photos!