Branch Hoppers Explore Ridley Creek Trail #686

Kicking off their sixth year as a group in Explorers Club the Branch Hoppers climbed aboard our bus ‘Moose’ and we set out to explore Ridley Creek Trail #686 in the Mt. Baker Wilderness. After traveling down Highway 542 and roughly forty minutes down a bumpy logging road we arrived at the trailhead where the mentors laid out some expectations for the day. It was important to remind the Explorers that we were in a remote backcountry setting, the stakes were higher and the consequences greater. Empowering the group the mentors also told the boys that they felt they had demonstrated the leadership and awareness over the last year for them to feel comfortable taking the group to a location that remote.

The group did some great work in their opening meeting to anticipate the hazards we might face and come up with a game plan for navigating them. We signed in at the trailhead and studied the topo map and we were off! We quickly came to our first obstacle, crossing the main drainage of the Deming Glacier of Mt. Baker.  Looking at the creek bed it was clear that massive amounts of water moved through the area during late spring although only one channel of the creek was flowing at the time. During certain times of the year the entire drainage rages with torrents of rushing water, rolling boulders, and eroding creek banks. Our hope was that the log bridge over the creek was still intact after a year of late spring snowpack. With a little luck we found it and circled up before crossing.

Although the channel was only twenty feet wide the water was quite swift and a fall held the potential for injury. The boys crossed one at a time, making sure to unclip their hip belt buckles and embraced the number one rule of the wilderness, Pay Attention. They did an excellent job.

Safely across the drainage we headed up into a dense old growth forest rich with lush ecology of: massive Pacific Silver Fir, Mountain and Western Hemlock, Yellow Cedar, Queens Cup, Orchids, Creeping Raspberry, Fungus and Lichens of many varieties, animal sign, dens, trails, and massive snags and nurse logs. The mentors tried to encourage the group to take in the ecology and be present in the moment, but the Branch Hoppers were anxious to get to where they were headed and to socialize as a group.

Hiking along the forest birds called out as they gave thanks for the previous days rain and sweet smell of the damp forest refreshed us after over eighty days of summer drought. Our intention for the day was to climb over 1000 feet to the alpine meadows of Mazama Park for views of the remote valley, the Twin Sisters, and the Park Butte fire lookout. 

Stopping for a lunch break next to a beautiful flowing creek the group decided to play a few games of Hide! While one of the boys was hiding another came up and taunted him, this escalated into a physical expression of frustration on both sides. The result of the incident was tears, interpersonal conflict, and isolation. It was clear in that moment that the group was in need of a discussion to help mend the situation and talk about inclusion.

To begin our conversation the mentors pointed out the current conflict and the growing clicks within the group that were becoming more present as the boys got further into middle school. Going around the circle the mentors asked the group what inclusion and care for others meant, and if they had experienced both or the opposite within the group or at school. The boys shared stories and both directly and indirectly addressed some barriers to inclusion and interpersonal communication. It was powerful for them to reflect on the both the immediate consequences as a team working together in the wilderness and the long-term consequences within the interpersonal dynamics of the group.

The mentors asked for a commitment from the group to treat everyone with respect and care and to try to build relationships with one another. We were clear that this didn’t mean that everyone had to be best friends or we couldn’t have conflict, but it was more about modeling leadership and standards we hold as caring and committed community members.

This was a great time for the mentors to Segway into a simple, but effective leadership model that could help our group build back trust and support for one another. Parents please look over, The Leadership Challenge® Model, copyright © 2009 Kouzes Posner International and debrief your son’s experience with this conversation.

Pushing our way up the trail towards the alpine the boys mustered up the steep switchbacks and checked in with one another to make sure no one was getting left behind. We were roughly twenty minutes away from the alpine when the leader of the day called out that it was time to turn around. Although it’s about the journey not the destination, running out of time to make it to the alpine was a direct result of our valuable but costly time spent in circle working on group dynamics.

On the way back down to the river crossing the boys laughed and played with one another and made a solid effort to support and include every group member. This was refreshing to see and our hope is that it will set a solid intention amongst the group going into the BH’s second to last year in the BEC.

Safely across the log bridge the group spent some time exploring the fascinating volcanic rocks along the riverbed and soaking up views of the Deming Glacier and the jagged Black Buttes together in harmony. This was exactly the type engagement with the location that Brian and I had hoped for our outing, and it provided a strong finish to our day. Under the shadow of Mt. Baker we circled and shared apples and thanks for our time spent in the wilderness.

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

The Branch Hoppers make Char Cloth at Stewart Mountain

When an Explorer spends time in a natural environment they begin to recognize and anticipate the cyclical events by which the natural process follows.  The Branch Hopper’s outing at Stewart Mountain marked the revisiting of two such events. First, exactly one year ago the group explored the exact same location on the cusp of the Vernal Equinox. Second, it would be the third year in a row that the group had shared an exploration together on their consistent mentor’s birthday.

Circling up at the trailhead the boys were squirrely but managed to pull their focus together enough to formulate a plan for the day. The boys were anxious to head up into Stewart Mountain’s watershed and play a round of Spider’s Web. In keeping with our theme for the season the mentors had brought the materials to create Char Cloth so that the boys could add yet another tool to their fire making kits. Fire skills, along with a long sit spot, were the only two activities that the mentors were adamant about holding to.

With that we were off and the boys choose to hike directly up the logging road instead of using the engineered trail. The road was steep and soon the group was peeling off layers and guzzling water. In the early spring the fringes of the logging roads are a great place to track the seasonal changes that occur. Hiking along the boys ate the fresh Indian Plum leaves, noticed the nettle shoots popping up, and marveled at all the kinds of different buds sprouting on the trees and shrubs.

Just outside of Whatcom County Parks land the boys plopped down in the power line clearing and ate some lunch. Calling for the Tribal Elder the group choose to spend some time exploring the woods on the opposite side of the clearing to look for the ideal place to play Spider’s Web.

Crossing under the power lines the group noticed how many invasive species were growing. The mentors explained that anywhere the forest canopy was cleared left an opportunity for invasive plants like blackberries and Scotch Broom to capitalize. Across the clearing the group entered into the wood and quickly found a viewpoint that looked east into a valley that seemed rarely explored. Tracking the groups curiosity and desire to venture into uncharted territory the mentors could infer that these Explorers have truly internalized a wonder and interest for the natural world.

Back at our basecamp the group got to work creating Char Cloth for their fire kits. They did an excellent job being present for the process and holding their focus. As we worked the sun broke through the clouds and the group laid back in the grass and absorbed some much-needed vitamin D. Check out the steps to making Char cloth below, and don’t forget to share these with your Explorer.

Making Char Cloth

What is it?

• “Char cloth (also called char paper) is a swatch of fabric made from vegetable fiber (such as linen, cotton or jute) that has been converted via pyrolysis into a slow-burning fuel of very low ignition temperature.” — Basically, char cloth is created by combusting an organic material in a way that releases its gasses without burning it up completely.
• The resulting substance has a low ignition temperature — just a single spark or point of heat can start it burning. Once the char cloth has been set off, it will ignite your tinder easier than had you employed the original spark/heat source directly to it. Char cloth smolders longer than a match,

What do I make it out of?

• Make sure the fabric is 100% cotton, linen, or hemp. It needs to be a plant fiber for the pyrolysis reaction to work. A man made fiber will melt and a protein fiber like wool or silk won’t have the same chemical reaction.

How do I do it?

• Step 1: To ensure complete, uniform charring, cut your cotton material into strips/pieces that can be placed into your can without their being rolled or folded up.
• Step 2: Make a small hole in the top of your can with a nail or other tool. The hole will allow the smoke/gasses out of the can. You don’t want the hole too big, as this will let oxygen into the can, causing the cloth to burn.
• Step 3: Seal the container and place it on a small fire or a bed of coals. Smoke should escape from the hole in the can. If flames appear around it, that’s okay. Watch the can, and once it has stopped smoking, turn it over. It will begin to smoke again. Once this smoke has stopped, remove the can from the fire.
• Step 4: Inspect your char cloth. It should have turned black but not become ash, and feel semi-rigid without being brittle.

·       Step 5: Separate the pieces to give them a little air, and then either store them in the charred can (wipe off the soot and peeling paint) or in something more compact, like an old film canister (do they make those anymore either?).

As we packed up from our skills session a few boys ventured out to set up a game of Spider’s Web at a location they had scouted earlier. The course for the game proved to be quite challenging because the spider and the food source were situated on a knoll that gave the spider the perfect advantage for catching flies. This did not detour the flies and they put in a valiant effort. Calling the game early the mentors sent the boys out on a sit spot to do an activity called a sound map.

To make a sound map one needs to sit with their eyes closed and listen to the sounds of the landscape for five minutes. Then taking a piece of paper they draw themselves in the middle of the page and make a drawing in the direction that they hear a different sound. Spring is a great time to do this activity because of the abundance of bird language that fills the forest.

Coming in from their sit spot the boys circled up and showed off their maps. It was fascinating to see the boy’s different approaches to the process. Our BEC mentors have identified the need to bring more intentional programming around journaling opportunities for our Explorers on sit spots. We feel that it will provide the space for the Explorers to process through writing prompts and interact with the landscape in new ways.

We shared our thanks together as we passed around Mint Chip Sugar Cookies that Steve’s wife Danielle had graciously baked for the boys on behalf of his birthday. A few of the Explorers liked the treat so much they asked for the recipe (which we have shared a link to above). Our mentors are grateful to share in the cyclical tradition of birthday celebrations and in welcoming the turning of winter into spring with these fine young men. What a pleasure it is to walk beside them as they grow and mature together. Each passing year our relationship as mentors/mentees grows deeper and more meaningful.

For more pictures from our outing please visit the Branch Hopper’s Photo Gallery from the day.

An Exploration into Human Impact and Fire at North Galbraith Mountain Trailhead

It had been two years since the Branch Hoppers explored North Galbraith Mountain Trailhead. In the spring of 2015 the Branch Hopper’s began their carving journey in a valley tucked just southwest of the Birch Street entrance. The boys stood at the trailhead greeting passing mountain bikers, excited to reconnect with the place and delve into the skill of fire making.

The group hiked back into the forest for about ten minutes until they found a desirable place for an opening meeting. With only seven Explorers present handing out jobs was a breeze and the boys worked well together to come up with a plan for the day. The mentors were anxious to teach the group the advanced skill of fire by friction and had purposefully picked the outing location due to the semi recent logging that occurred and the opportunity to harvest off of its timber piles.

Hiking down a fresh mountain biking trail the group came to the edge of the logging clearing only to find a Black-Tailed Deer. The group was quiet and still as they watched the deer grazing on the grass and saplings that had sprung up in the clearing. It was a great chance to talk with the Explorers about the animals that lived on the fringes of the forest. Deer, porcupines, squirrels, raccoons, and crows are just a few of the animals that have learned to thrive and adapt in landscapes where broken sections of the forest canopy exist.

Walking through the logging land the boys said they felt like they were in Mordor from Lord of the Rings and marveled at the massive piles of cedar, maple, alder, and Douglas fir. The mentors told the boys to be on the lookout for a piece of seasoned cedar and Red Alder that was small enough to cut with a pack saw. This was also a great time for the boys to learn how to harvest Cedar bark from downed trees and stumps. The mentors

cautioned the group that this was not something we wanted to take from any living Cedar trees. It was challenging for the boys to identify the Alder from the Maple in piles with the similarity of their bark patterns. It was also fascinating for them to look at the ring patterns in the clean chain saw cuts of large Cedar stumps.

We carful navigated the log piles which were slippery due the misty precipitation falling from the sky; it seemed to saturate and permeate everything including us! We soggily carried the resources to the forest edge while tracking this problematic landscape. The group found a wealth of invasive species which seemed to cover the entire landscape, not to mention the ground water run off that flowed brown with the mixture of mud and topsoil.

It was at that moment the group realized that the valley which they had learned to carve and played Spider’s Web in underneath the shade of Vine Maples and Sword Ferns was also in fact one and the same as the valley they were currently in. Although they didn’t express it in so many words the heaviness and uncertainty was palpable. This was a great time to talk with a few of the Explorers about turning problems into possibilities and recognize that just like the deer we were using the altered landscape to harvest in its temporary larder.

What could we learn from this? First to recognize that our society needs to harvest some wood to build infrastructure, but in applying our mottos slow is fast and fast slow and all things are connected understand that we need to do so much differently and with much more thought and consideration. Turning the problem of logging into a sustainable possibility lies with our future generations ability to help influence and change these practices as a caring and aware community.

Arriving at the clearing’s edge we lunched and began to process the wood in preparation for our fire making kits. Splitting the wood was arduous and the group, including the mentors, seemed to lack awareness for the saturating mist that engulfed the forest. Taking stock, we realized that everyone’s layers were soaked and the boys were beginning to look cold. It seemed as if we were starting to lose our focus. A few boys worked on a shelter with the branches of a toppled Douglas fir while others took shelter under the umbrella-like branches of a mature Cedar tree while working on making a tinder bundle.

It was at this moment that the mentor had a revelation! Rather than persuading the boys to all work on fire by friction kits, allowing them to follow their own method in fire making would give them the focus and motivation to learn. Just like the BEC staff has preferred methods for making fire, so do the boys. It is our role to support and nourish those passions as mentors.

Our goal over the course of the next few outings will be to get the Explorers set up with their personalized fire making kits so that they can become proficient with them. It is far less important that the boys know every technique to making fire than it is that they internalize one method which could end up saving their lives in a survival scenario.

Holding to our commitment to have a sit spot we walked up the trail to the location where we held our opening meeting and spread out. Circling up after our solo time we went around the circle and shared our thanks and stated our intention to pursue a preferred method of making fire.

The Branch Hoppers have really been performing these last few outings. After five year in the program they have hit their stride as a group. They are working collaboratively and making an effort to including one another. Furthermore, they are vocalizing an internalized ethic for the natural environment that seems to contrast with their understanding and accepting of our impact and resource needs as humans. Our hope for the Branch Hopper is that this internal struggle will empower them to become stewards of the natural environmental and community members that will be better equipped to examine our current resource needs and the challenges that lie ahead with the tools awareness, balance, humility, knowledge of place and connection, and environmental and social justice.

For more pictures from our outing please visit the Branch Hoppers’ photo album from the day. Thanks!