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!
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