The mentors arrived at Cleator Road for their Rock Trail
adventure with the Black-Tailed Deer only to find an event coordinator
redirecting traffic away from the road!
The coordinator informed them that the Chuckanut 50k was currently
underway, and that there would be hundreds of runners on Cleator Road! With
some on the fly thinking the mentors scooped up the group at the bottom of the
road and changed course to head to the Clayton Beach trailhead.
Water poured out of every drainage in the Chuckanuts and the
birdcalls filled the air as we hiked along the interurban trail. Stopping along
the side of the trail for an opening meeting the mentors talked with the group
about the importance of rain gear on a day like this. A few of the Explorers
choose not to heed the mentor’s advice and the leaders thought is best to let
the boys learn by natural consequence. After handing out jobs and introducing
our EMA for the day, Cole Zecha from the eldest group in the BEC, we were ready
to formulate a plan for the afternoon.
Nominating a Tribal Elder the boys were squirrely and the mentors had to
rein in the circle a few times. We
presented two options to the group and the boys unanimously choose to hike to
Clayton Beach.
Continuing along the trail the signs of spring were abundant
throughout the forest. The mentors took a moment to introduce the group the
beautiful flowers of the Pink-flowering currant and the bitter cucumber tasting
leaves of an Indian Plum shrub. The groups also spotted a nest of an
unidentified raptor nestled in an eroded Sandstone cave nearly forty feet in
the air. The group pulled out their binoculars and tried to get a closer look
to see if anything was in the nest. At that moment the frontrunner of the
Chuckanut 50k was spotted heading down the trail towards us. It was time to put
away our binoculars and keep our awareness up. The Explorers did an excellent
job moving to the side of the trail for the runners and were actually quite
excited to witness the race in action.
Arriving at the Fragrance Lake Trailhead the group looked
tired and called for a snack. This was the perfect time to talk with the group
about an EC motto that would help guide our attitude for the day:
Turning
Problems into Possibilities - We understand that what may look like a problem can transform – with our help – into
a possibility. We work to see how we
can shift a situation, and our attitude, to come up with solutions.
Safely across Cuckanut Drive the group lunched under the
cover of the amphitheater, peeling of their soaking jackets while they laughed
and joked together. Refueled the boys headed out along the coastal bluff trail south
of Larrabee in route to Clayton Beach. As we hiked the group noticed that many
of the Western Red Cedars were partially stripped of their bark. Stopping at
one particularly maimed cedar the mentors pointed out that the person who did
this harvesting clearly did not understand their impact. They had not only
harvested from an improper location, but had also taken far too much cedar bark
from one area.
This was a great opportunity to mention what type of land
designation we were venturing through and why it is important that we really
practice and understand Earth Skills so that we don’t do considerable damage to
the areas that we love. The boys seemed to internalize this message and felt
the weight of the harvester’s actions and the impact it would have on all State
Park users who visited the location in the future.
Cresting over a rise in the trail the boys heard the voices
of another group of Explorers. Immediately we got on our bellies and stalked
the other group. It was not too long before they found us and we joined with
the elder Explorer group, the Gray Wolf Pups, to see what they were up to it.
It is powerful for the younger Explorers to mix with the elders because they
get a great taste of where they can go in the program if they stay committed
and engaged.
Mustering their energy the group made one last push to Clayton
Beach. Within fifteen minutes the boys had all but flooded their boots and
soaked their bottom layers in the saltwater. One boy even decided to dive head
first into the surf. Sensing some urgency, the mentors circled up the boys and had
a talk about preventative thinking and consequently how to recognize the stages
of hypothermia.
Within a few minutes a few the soaked Explorers were shaking
and feeling the full weight of their decision. Fortunately for those Explorers
they had some extra gear in their packs to change into. It is amazing what
lessons the natural world can easily teach our participants that a mentor would
struggle to impart. For this group it was a great time to check their egos and
understand that they too are in charge of their own safety as well as the
groups.
Our intention was to do some nature journaling on the beach,
but with cold participants we choose to spend the next half an hour running up
and down the sand dune. We ended our day with a sit spot and the modified task
of drawing something that we were thankful for. The boys really responded well
to our activity and brought back some heartfelt thanks from their sit spot. The
mentors again brought the Explorers focus back to our motto for the day, Turning Problems into Possibilities. We
let the group know that our original plan was to search for invertebrates and
salamanders at lost Lake and explore the Rock Trail, but we ended up at Clayton
Beach. Thank goodness we did too, because if we had not been faced with the
challenge of having to find a new location we wouldn’t have gotten to explore
Clayton Beach, see all the wonderful signs of spring, meet the Gray Wolf Pups,
and learn a powerful lesson about exploring outside in the winter months.
Jedidiah and I are thankful for another great outing with
the BTD, the flexibility of parents in response to our location mix-up, and for
Cole joining us as an Explorers
mentor Apprentice.
For more pictures from our outing please visit the
Black-Tailed Deer photo album
from the day.
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