The Branch Hoppers Discover Tinder Fungus and a Vernal Pool at North Lake Samish Trail

The Branch Hoppers arrived at the North Lake Samish Trailhead excited about the sunshine that was creeping over Alger Alp and Lookout Mountain. This outing location has become a classic for the group, they explore there at least once a season. The terrain holds the perfect mix of logging land where the boys can wander, learn to navigate, and work on skills with low impact together with a more established forest on it’s steeper terrain that offers considerable physical challenge, a pristine waterfall, and plenty of natural history mysteries.

Circling up in the parking lot for their opening meeting the mentors brought the Explorer’s attention to the group’s main challenge for the season, inclusion and interpersonal dynamics.

Setting up the intention to improve upon our circle time, group decision-making, and interpersonal relationships the mentors laid out three rules to help support the group. First to encourage the heart by supporting other group members, being genuine and caring towards one another, helping peers when needed, and keeping each other’s goals in mind. Second, don’t waste anyone’s time (including your own) by taking advantage of what is offered during the outing and listening when needed. Lastly to be here now, which is an Explorers Club motto that demands staying present and mindful during outings and group focused work. With the whole group on board for our three commitments they nominated a leader of the day, passed out jobs, and checked in about our skill focus for the year fire by friction.

With the intention of inspiring the group to continue their skill journey of fire the mentors passed around an object that looked like a piece of fruit leather and felt like suede. They went on to explain that the object was called tinder fungus. “Fomes fomentarius or Horse Hoof fungus is a polypore that grows on Birch tree snags. The name, Fomes fomentarius means, ‘to use as tinder’. It is extremely flammable and has a nice slow burn, which makes it excellent for starting fires”.

Elaborating the mentor explained that in 1991 hikers found the preserved remains of a naturally mummified man who lived between 3400 and 3100 BCE in a glacier in the Otzal Alps between Austria and Italy. Ötzi the 5000-year-old “Iceman” was found with a similar polypore fungus in his pocket. He is thought to have carried the mushroom to preserve fire, use as insect repellent, and as a bandage. How exciting to think that in harvesting, processing, and practicing the technique of using tinder fungus as fire starter we’re carrying on a tradition that is at least 5,000 years old. Connecting the Explorers to the natural history and stories behind Earth skills brings relevancy, responsibility, and an element of sacredness to learning this knowledge.

The process of turning the raw fungus into a usable tinder involves cutting the middle of the fungus (the Amadou or trauma layer) into thin slices, boiling it for a few hours with the ash of a Paper Birch tree, then pounding it flat with a mallet. The mentors brought a few Horse Hoff funguses to the outing for the group to process, but our aim for the day was to ascend the North Lake Samish trail and head out to a wetland where we would search out the fungus to harvest and process. We’d wrap up our day up with some hot chocolate and games.

With inspiration as our momentum the group headed up the trail in search of the wetland. The group did an excellent job trading off carrying the heavy water jug and equipment for boiling the fungus. As we climbed water poured out of the hillside through the creeks and drainages, and the sweet smell of fresh buds, flowers, and spring was in the air. We arrived at the top of the power lines sweaty and hungry so the group lunched.

Establishing a basecamp we headed North on a logging road. Unexpectedly the group discovered a second wetland to the West. Climbing into the thicket we pushed our way through the loamy undergrowth. The Explorers had discovered not just a wetland but also a Vernal Pool!

A Vernal Pool ecosystem is a temporary wetland area formed by fall and winter rains that hold the water in land depressions until late spring or early summer, when it dries up. The pool holds water long enough to allow some aquatic organisms to flourish, but not long enough for the development of a typical pond or marsh. The resulting winter-wet/summer-dry conditions result in the creation of the specialized, rare, and unique variety of flora and fauna that calls it home.

Skirting the pool the Explorers noticed what look like miniature shrimp swimming around in the shallows. They had discovered Fairy Shrimp! These tiny invertebrate typically hatch when the first rains of the year fill vernal pools.

Freshwater Fairy Shrimp are inch long crustaceans, which spend their entire lives in a vernal pool. They mature in about 41 days under typical winter conditions.

Toward the end of their brief lifetime, females produce thick-shelled "resting eggs" also known as cysts. During the summer, these cysts become embedded in the dried bottom mud and hatch when the rains come again.

Continuing our exploration we did end up finding a few Birch, but none that had tinder fungus. We headed back to our base camp and got our stove going while we carefully carved off the trauma layer of the Horse Hoof fungus. While it was boiling away the boys practiced igniting pieces of some already processed tinder fungus and eventually got a small twig fire going. We spent the rest of our day finishing out our skill process, following our interests, and enjoying the sunshine.

Circling up to give some thanks with a round of hot chocolate and reflect on our day we asked ourselves if we had held to our three commitments and how it changed the group dynamic during the outing. The mentors definitely noticed a marked improvement in the group’s support and care for one another and appreciated their demonstrated focus while working on the complex skill of fire. Each Branch Hopper walked away with a piece of tinder fungus for their fire kit and a new found fascination for the complex ecology that lives in Vernal Pools and our lowland forests.

For more pictures please visit the Branch Hoppers photo album from the day.

Branch Hoppers Find Fire and Nettles at North Lake Samish

Pulling up to North Lake Samish Trailhead the Branch Hoppers greeted each other in their typical fashion of throwing Fir cones at one another. Feeling a little deja vu the mentors thought back to an exploration we had on March 21^st, 2015 that ended in much the same way this outing was beginning. Giving a crow call the mentors circled the group up for an opening meeting.

The mentors wanted to get to a few important items on everyone’s mind while going over our plan for the day. Given that our skill for the season was the Art of Water, the Branch Hoppers were tasked with finding a source of water to harvest from (other than North Lake Samish) and purifying it over a fire made by them. The mentors also wanted the boys to go and check out the shelter they had built last season to see how it had faired over the winter storms.

Before we left the boys asked to play a game of Spider’s Web in maze of overcrowded Douglas Fir that they had discovered last fall, so the mentors threw that into our agenda. Hiking up the drainage North of the lake, we passed by a beautiful flowering shrub. Pointing it out to the group the mentors asked if anyone knew the plant. Some of the boys guessed Salmonberry, but it turned out to be a Red-Flowering Currant. This Currant’s beautiful pink flowers provide early spring nectar for Hummingbirds and gives us a sign that spring has arrived! Numerous birds including grouse, quail, robins, finches, towhees, woodpeckers, and small mammals consume the berries.

Switchback after switchback the boys peeled off layers and grasped the nettle as they pushed up the incline. Many of them grabbed walking sticks from the piles of Big Leaf Maple branches that had come down in the previous storms. Hiking towards the back with a few Explorers the mentors encouraged the boys by letting them know this was just some early training for our backpacks this summer! If you haven’t already, please check out Baker River Ramble and Anderson & Watson Lakes, Wilderness Exploration offerings for this summer.

Arriving at the Spider’s Web location the group plopped down on the forest floor and ate a hearty lunch. Revisiting our tasks for the day the boys decided to make our location a home base for skills and games. After going around the circle and asking each boy what they wanted to do, the Tribal Elder came to the conclusion that half the group wanted to carve and try to make a fire, while the rest wanted to play Spider’s Web. Those that wanted to work on skills offered to harvest some Nettle, build a fire, and get some water boiling. Normally on outings we try keep the group focused on the same task, but the mentors felt okay about the decision and wanted to follow the boys interests.

The game group set up the course and the skills group got to work on establishing their fire circle. Finding an open spot they cleared the forest duff down to mineral soil and sent a team out to gather dried and downed Western Hemlock branches. While they gathered a few boys started to make small shavings of a piece of Fatwood. Fatwood in our region comes from the resin-impregnated heartwood of Douglas Fir. Fatwood is filled with Terpene and pitch that can be harvested from the taproot or stump left over firs from logging. This resource is prized for use as kindling in starting fires.

Once the boys had a good-sized pile they laid it atop a nest of Jute cordage. Using a flint and steel they spent a solid fifteen minutes striking the rod and trying to catch a spark. Eventually the tinder bundle burst into flames and the boys quickly stoked the fire with small Hemlock twigs. Sitting around the fire the boys carved some Cedar and enjoyed a well-earned fire.

Meanwhile one mentor harvested a downed piece of Vine Maple while a few boys worked to harvest from a patch of Nettles in hopes of some tea. Bringing our harvest back to the group the mentor carved a notch at the end of the Maple bow and drove the other end to the ground. The boys collected a little water from each Explorer’s bottle and filled the stove pot, added the Nettles and hung it above the fire. The boys relaxed back into the comfort of the woods as they reveled in their accomplishment.

It was about this time that the group who had been playing Spider’s Web rejoined the rest of the boys around the fire. After debriefing with the other mentor it seemed that the boys had experienced some challenge with the location that they had chosen to play. After their first game had come to a close the group decided to switch locations because of the Spider had an advantage in the forest with little ground cover. Even after the location change the boys experienced frustration with the level of challenge for the flies even though they had made clear agreements. It was important for them to recognize that challenge can be healthy and each time they were caught in the game presented a new opportunity for strategy.

Feeling the need for the boys to decompress, a mentor sent the group out on a Sit Spot. Although we experienced some disruption during the Sit Spot it proved to be just the medicine the group needed to reset back to their baseline. Calling the boys back in we gathered back around the fire.

While on sit spot our Nettle tea had come to a boil and the fire had died down to just hot coals. The mentors explained that a good fire burns through a majority of its coals. Grabbing a pair of chopsticks the mentors showed the group how to use technique called coal blowing to make the rounded scoop on the end of the spoons they were working on. The boys were fascinated by the technique and practiced grabbing a hot coal out of the embers and setting it on the end of their spoon blank. Making sure to breath in with their head turned away from the coal, the boys applied pressure to the coal with a stick while simultaneously blowing a gentle stream of air against the coal. It was a struggle for them, but they showed great patience and care in the way they approached the skill. We will definitely revisit this skill again with the group.

To close our day we shared a delicious snack Danielle, wife of mentor Steve Keller, had prepared for his birthday. We then went around our circle sharing some gratitude. Breaking our circle the mentors tasked the TTTPP to use his trowel to dig an arrow shape trench in the mineral soil around the fire. The boys then used the rest of their water and some harvested from the creek to flood the trench, pushing the last of the hot coals in and fully submerging them in water. The boys then mixed in the soil to make a mud paste level with the ground and returned the duff layer over the fire circle. We gathered sticks and twigs and threw them randomly over the duff layer leaving little trace of our skills workshop.

For more photos from the outing please take a look at the Branch Hopper’s photo album.

Branch Hoppers - Shelter, Fire, & Play at North Lake Samish

The Branch Hopper’s final outing of the Fall 2015 season at North Lake Samish was jammed packed with skills, adventure, and play. As we congregated the boys stared up at the steep power line grade running adjacent the trail; the North Lake Samish Trail rises steeply out of the lake basin ascending up into the foothills of the Chuckanuts.

The boys were anxious to get on the trail, but before we headed out we needed to circle up to talk about jobs and the hazards that we might face in this location. NOAA had forecasted 20 mph winds from the south and driving rain. We talked about our motto BE Prepared and how we could approach the day with a preventative mindset for warmth and safety.

Once we were oriented to the landscape and weather we talked about another hazard that we’d been facing interpersonally throughout the season, the hazard of escalation. It is important to revisit this with the Explorers again and again.

Heading up the trail we entered into the forest canopy and were pleasantly surprised to find it quite sheltered from the rain. The land within the park boundaries is beautiful. Mature stands of Douglas Fir and Cedar growingly steeply on a bed of Sandstone rock and deep moss. Hiking along we discovered cascading waterfalls and exposed ridges of Sandstone.

Our goal was to make it to the top of the first crest, gaining roughly 700 feet of elevation. About halfway up we needed to stop and peel layers. On these drizzly and chilly days it is difficult to manage an efficient layering system. An efficient system requires a careful balance in regulating perspiration within ones layers and saturation from the rain. Snacking on our lunch underneath a big Doug Fir we watched the tops the trees sway lightly in the wind.

Once we had our clothing systems in order and our bellies full, we hiked up the trail until it petered out into a maze of social trails of both the deer and human variety. Following a fair well-worn path we ascended the ridgeline and made it to the top.  Looking around the forest was now quite different as we had left the park boundary and entered into logging land.

While scouting the forest the group noticed that there was hardly any under brush and the tree stands of fir were so dense they’d shed their lower branches. The group had some inspiration to play a game of Spider’s Web, but the mentors called a circle to focus the group’s energy before we started playing games. The mentors reminded the group that on our last outing to Clayton Beach we had postponed shelter building to carve, in an agreement to try and complete one on our last outing. With shelter as our core routine for the day we turned the leadership over to the tribal elder to facilitate a decision on how we could best use our time and accomplish what we collaboratively wanted to do.

Through a great effort from the tribal elder and collaboration and compromise from the group, the boys decided to delve into shelter building for the first half of the outing, then play Spider’s Web in our current location, and to end the day with a small twig fire and a circle of thanks.

With our minds set towards shelter we left the forest and crossed the power line clearing in search of deciduous trees that would offer the best resources for shelter building.  Our front scout found a stand of Big leaf Maples growing on the fringe of the power lines and led the group off trail to reach it. One the way they encountered a large patch of Stinging Nettle. It is wonderful to watch the boys track the land. They noticed that this nettle patch had just started sprouting and was not typical of the fall season. These nettles were quite potent and left painful stings on their arms and legs. Once we had literally grasped the nettle the boys tracked the land for an ideal location for shelter.

Finding a prominence on the hillside the boys scavenged for downed wood using a pack saw to cut a backbone and Y poles. Inserting the pole into the ground the group found our prominence was actually a buried rock and we would have to move our location somewhere with more forest duff. Finding another location the boys noticed that this spot would expose them to run off from the hillside, so once the frame of the shelter was completed a few boys immediately started digging a trench on the high side for run off. Their construction was incredible. They wedged sticks horizontally across the trench walls to act as rebar and divert the flow of run off to follow down the trench with gravity. The boys worked diligently as a group on the shelter, spending an hour and a half of focused energy on the construction.

It was all going well until one Explorer accidently stepped on another’s hand and it escalated into a small physical confrontation. Pulling the Explorer(s) aside it was important to allow each boy the time to process, reflect, speak their truth, and find what it would take build community again and find conflict resolution. After a heartfelt discussion with both of them they came to three clear agreements that I think we can all take to heart: “I will believe you when you say it was an accident”, “I will treat you with respect and care”, and “I will forgive your genuine apology with grace”. It is moments like these on the land where outside elements of wind and rain fade away and we deeply connect to our mentees and the heart of the work we are doing. I can’t thank these boys enough for their efforts towards building peace and trust amongst one another.

Wanting to hold to our commitment the mentors gathered the shelter builders and had them stand back to take a gander at their work. Although we did not complete the shelter, the group is about 85% on their way towards being proficient shelter builders. This is a skill that will not only provide them a firm foundation on the land, but deep knowledge of place.

Heading over to the dense patch of forest the boys set up the course and got to playing. As they played a lone mentor gathered dead Western Hemlock branches for a small twig fire to close our outing and season. The forest was so dark that the boys began to look like shadows as they crawled and crept through the landscape.

Scraping away the duff layer a mentor took out a bow drill kit and managed to get a small but hardy fire. After calling the game to a close, the cold and wet Branch Hoppers spirits were lifted around the warmth and glow of the fire. It was a dear moment. The group huddled together as they roasted their apples and gave genuine thanks around the fire circle.

Brian and I deeply appreciate the time we get to spend with your Explorers. Our outing was a reaffirmation of why we do the work that we do and it is our strong parent community that gives us the grace and trust to be able to walk alongside of the boys as they explore, learn, grow, and experience together in the woods.

For more pictures from the day please visit the Branch Hopper’s photo gallery.