Playing Through the Cold at Lake Padden

Carrying momentum from a highly productive outing of shelter building the weekend prior, the Townsend’s Chipmunks met up at Lake Padden for a well-deserved games day. Despite chilly temperatures and a dampening drizzle, the Explorers brought just as much enthusiasm and energy as ever. Chatting about our day the mentors made sure everyone knew this day would not only focus on playing games, but more importantly providing the Townsend’s Chipmunks with the opportunity to prove their growth in group decision making. Coming to a consensus as a group of unique individuals is a difficult proposition on a sunny summer day, let alone a hand-numbing, nose-dripping, Pacific Northwest day of cold and wet.

Planning where to go for our outing

Our first task of the day was to figure out where to go, but before we did that the mentors had the group make an agreement that would help them work together in circle. The Explorers came up with three ways they agreed to help; listen closely to the Tribal Elder, be cooperative and not counter-productive, and focus on one variable at a time. With that taken care of we picked to hike to the Big Fallen Tree on the dog off leash trail. Not only is this a fun hike, but everyone had a great time meeting a number of playful pups that couldn’t pass up a posy of Explorers eager to pet them. Along the way we stopped to explore a pond of standing water that upon further investigation was frozen just below the water’s surface! Next we ate some food, drank our hot beverages, and headed off to find a place to play games.

Exploring the pond

Collecting sheets of ice

We even made an ice ornament with the help of  a cedar root

Arriving at the Big Fallen Tree, we circled up again to decide where to play our games. Sticking to our agreement we made sure to pick on variable, make a decision, then move on to the next variable. Additionally, despite a few reminders from mentors, everyone did a great job being extra cooperative and listening keenly to the Tribal Elder. Finally we came to a consensus on where to play our game, and that our game would be Spiders Web! This is a classic Explorers Club game and we even had the joy of introducing this game to two of our groupmates. Navigating off trail we set up the playing field, tuning into the terrain and hazards amongst the landscape. Hazards were a big theme of our day; from the cold and wet, to widow makers, to what to do when you get lost. We sometimes say that the natural world is the best teacher, and today the subject matter was quite pertinent. 

Holding focus in circle to come to a group consensus

Peaking around a tree in the midst of a game of Spider's Web

After a lengthy game of Spider’s Web, sneaking through sword ferns, traversing the terrain, but ultimately arriving at a stalemate, we all had a blast and took a moment to reflect on our game through a debrief of what went well and what we would have done differently if we were to play again. With just enough time for a quick hike out and closing circle, we set off to be reunited with parents. In our closing circle everyone shared something they were thankful for, a highlight of the season, and something they are looking forward to next season. Everyone had a great time thinking back to our shelter building outings at North Galbraith and Lookout Mountain and our service outing helping put of fencing and plant trees at Connelly Creek. A games day at Lake Padden was the perfect finish to our fall season. Looking ahead to the winter and spring, almost every Townsend’s Chipmunk said they wanted to learn how to carve. This was not the original plan for the spring, as the mentors wanted to really solidify our shelter building skills, but it is tough to fight a groups inspirations and we may just have to reconsider whether or not this group is ready to carve. The mentors told the Explorers that if they brought their A-Game to their winter outing; demonstrating safe tool use, strong focus, and treating one another with the utmost respect, then perhaps the skill focus for spring time could be shifted to The Art of Carving. The Townsend’s Chipmunks made a big step as a group this season demonstrating their shelter building abilities and developing group comradery. They answered the call this time, but will they prove ready to kick it up a notch and begin carving? I guess we will just have to wait and find out.

Check out the rest of the photos from our outing here!

Building Great Things with the Townsend Chipmunk's at Lookout Mountain

The Townsend’s Chipmunks met up at Lookout Mountain for their third outing of the fall. After doing good work at our service site, it was time to get back to exploring and our earth skills focus of the season; shelter building. Before we could even have our opening circle we were visited by a Red Breasted Sap Sucker who allowed us to get remarkably close while it searched an old nurse log for food. This was a sign of a good things to come! After our opening circle we hit the trail and were on the lookout for more glimpses into the life of animals on Lookout Mountain.

Tribal Elder passing out jobs in opening circle

At a junction in the trail we stopped for the whole group to catch up so we could decide which direction to go. But before we could make much of a decision, a dank and decaying smell overpowered our ability to focus. Investigating, we followed our noses to find a deer carcass just off the trail. Looking closer at the carcass, we found it fairly intact and left out in the open with a variety of game trails leading in and out of the surrounding forest. Clearly animals have been interested in this, but which ones? Judging from the lack of secrecy, and the fact it was not stashed in a brushy area and covered with debris, it was clear this was not a cougar kill. The next likely predator would be coyotes, but judging from the area and proximity to the Lake Louis Road, we deducted that this deer likely was struck by a car and then, fueled by adrenaline, managed to find its way back into the woods where it laid down and died from internal bleeding. This was a good reminder that where there is life there is death as well.

Deer carcass we found in the woods

Changing gears, we pushed further down the trail and found a nice location off the trail a ways to get to work on building shelters. Having just scratched the surface on our first outing, it was time to get our hands dirty and see how much information was retained. Splitting into groups, the boys found three separate locations to work on shelters and each took shape in its own unique way based on the unique thoughts and abilities of each group member. One group utilized a downed log as a backbone for their shelter, another propped a back bone up against a tree, while the third created a free standing lean-to shelter. We spent a good portion of the outing working away, refining our skills, testing new ideas, and further strengthening the bonds amongst the Explorers.

One shelter utilized a fallen tree as the backbone

One group created a self supporting structure

One group propped their backbone up against a tree

After we finished up our shelters, we took a tour and each group shared their shelter with the other groups. We pointed out what we liked about each shelter, and how each shelter could be augmented or improved upon as well. With that out of the way it was time to play. Earlier in the outing the group had done a great job working amongst themselves to arrive at a group decision regarding a plan for the day that everyone agreed upon. The final item on our agenda was a big game of Spiders Web! Everyone had a blast and after a strong closing circle we hiked back to meet parents full of energy, enthusiasm, knowledge, and a little extra mud for good measure. This group demonstrated a strong aptitude for not only building shelters but also working together as a group to collaborate, compromise, and come to a consensus. The sky is the limit for the Townsend’s Chipmunks and we can’t wait to see what our future outings have in store.

Check out the rest of the photos from our album here!

We even found a salamander!

Townsend's Chipmunks Delve into Shelter Building

The Townsend’s Chipmunks kicked their fall season off at North Galbraith Trailhead with a full outing of shelter building! Welcoming a few new members to the group, we were all present and accounted for and hit the trail. Cruising down past the dirt jumps we followed a logging road back to search for a long time favorite spot of past Explorers Club groups who built shelters that withstood the test of time. Immediately it became apparent that the logging operation to clear the forest had stepped things up. As far as we could see there were vast swathes of cleared trees, brush piles, and sporadic Big Leaf Maples left standing all alone. For most of the group, they had never seen this place before so it was all new to them. However, for the mentors who had spent many outings playing in these woods sharing countless memories of shelter building, games of Life and Death in the Forest, and unforgettable outings with groups now graduated into the Four Shields program, it was a little tough to swallow. After trying to get our bearings on the freshly altered landscape we gave up our search for the shelters of past Explorers and decided to start fresh.

Taking a turn down a new bike trail, we found a nice clearing under some cedar trees to have our opening circle. Before we could even begin, we started unearthing a variety of small bones from within the layer of duff and decaying leaves on the ground. Dropping everything and beginning a mini excavation we discovered a dozen or so bones; vertebra, limb bones, and even a skull! Our C.S.I. skills determined it must have been a medium sized rodent like creature with large hind legs. Perhaps you or your Explorer may have a guess? After sanitizing our hands we got back to our opening circle where we welcomed a few new members to the group and discussed our Earth Skills Focus for the season: The Art of Shelter Building! But before getting into any skills work, we needed to get some play time in so we revisited the rules for HIDE and played a few rounds. The new group members were impressively good at hiding for newbies to this game and it was a sure sign that they were in the right place.

With some games out of the way, we jumped into skills work. Starting with mini-shelters is a great way to grasp the basics of structural design without using too many resources or taking too much time. We learned about “Y-Sticks” and how they can interlock to support a “backbone” in a tri-pod like structure. Placing more sticks along the backbone we add enough “ribs” to round out the skeleton of our shelter (perhaps the skeleton we found was a sign of things to come!). Next we can add a layer of brushy material that will support the insulating layer of debris. The debris layer is often overlooked as the last step, but usually takes the most time to get sufficient amounts of debris like downed leaves, old sword fern, duff, or anything else you can find to insulate and water proof your shelter. With the basics under our belts we felt ready to re-locate and build a full scale shelter together as a group.

Before we could head out, we had to decide if we wanted to take the left or right fork in the trail. In most groups it would be easy; just vote! But not in Explorers Club. Instead of using a majority rules method, we make sure to take the time to work together as a group to collaborate, compromise, and come to a consensus. This often means spending a long time in circle, but many indigenous cultures based their societal decisions around consensus decision making instead of a majority rules model. With a consensus, everyone can believe in the decision and come together as a unified group to act upon the decision together as a whole. We ended up having one Explorer not want to budge despite everyone else in the group wanting to go the other way. In this situation we remind the group of our motto; “We not Me” and talk about the many ways a compromise may manifest itself. Despite the struggles that the Townsend’s Chipmunks had today learning how to collaborate, compromise, and come to a consensus, they showed great progress and all took away a fresh perspective on how to come together as a group and make a decision that makes everyone happy. It is important that we learn how to collaborate effectively and begin understanding what it means to compromise one’s personal desires for the greater needs of the group. Just imagine how differently our current election process might look if we all had to collaborate, compromise and come to a consensus! Now that would be a sight to see.

Back on the trail we trekked along until we found a good location for a shelter. Abundant resources nearby, a reasonably flat area to construct the shelter. We were closer than would be ideal to a Big Leaf Maple and an old snag, but for the sake of our outing, we discussed why not to build near deciduous trees and widow makers that drop their limbs in wind storms. With that out of the way we found a couple sturdy Y-Sticks and a solid backbone and got to work on getting ribs and latticing for our shelter. Running short on time we didn’t get around to piling on all the debris, but for our first attempt at a full size shelter we felt pretty good about the fruits of our labor. With just enough time left to have a closing circle to share some gratitude and munch on apple slices the mentors were impressed at the thoughtfulness and focus this group brought as each Explorer shared something they were thankful for with the rest of the group. Hiking out through the logging land, back to the dirt jumps, and finally arriving at the parking lot, a posy of dirty Explorers with smiles on their faces was a welcome site for the parents. For some Explores this was their first outing and what an outing it was. Shelter building, skeletons in circle, and plenty of exploration. I would call that a successful way to kick off our fall season.

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