Branch Hoppers First Exploration at the Rock Trail

The Branch Hopper’s very first exploration of the Rock Trail began with a muddy and bumpy ride up Cleator Road to the Cyprus Gate Overlook. Circling up at the trailhead Brian assured the group that there was a spectacular view of the islands and the Olympics from our vantage. However, it was hard to see anything with the thick bank of clouds engulfing everything around us.

Starting down the trail the boys found a great spot for our opening meeting. We had two new participants in the group so there was a need to introduce them to our BEC culture and outing sequence.

The mentors handed the jobs bag over to the group and the boys introduced the newbies to our jobs system and important safety concerns. It’s refreshing as a mentor to be able to hand these tasks off to the group. Not only are the boys able to explain the job functions, they now understand them as they relate to their interdependence as a cohort and the deep curriculum they foster. The mentors then took a moment to explain our skill for the season, The Art of Water. Our goal for the day to was explore the Rock Trail and navigate down to Lost Lake to harvest some water for tea.

As we hiked the morning air was cool and crisp. The marine layer shrouded the forest with a blanket of mist and the occasional sun break made the moisture on the leaves and spider’s webs glimmer in the light. Reaching the first staircase the group marveled at the steepness of the wooden steps as we descended down next to a sheer wall of Sandstone that was over forty feet high.

The engineering of the Rock Trail was truly a feat, the WTA should be proud of their work. Passing through the seemingly endless sandstone cliffs and folds we couldn’t help but immerse ourselves in the topography. The trail snaked back and forth and at one point paralleled the base of a cliff. A few of the Explorers who had been to the Rock Trail previously pointed to small erosion pocket in the wall. Looking closer we found the pocket opened up into a six by six foot cave!

The group spent about an hour climbing on the rocks and carving some small split pieces of a downed Cedar tree. As we sat the sky would go dark and heavy clouds would roll over, then sun would push back and the forest would flood with light. The mentors assessed that the boys could have stayed in this location all day but pushed the group to venture farther and remember the intention we set at the start of the day.

Following the trail we passed by a large patch of Nettles. Taking a moment a few of the boys sacrificed their hands to harvest the group enough Stinging Nettle leaves for our tea. The mentors encouraged the Explorers to notice all the signs of spring popping up in the forest: the Pink flowers of Salmonberries, the smell of Cottonwood Buds in the air, the bright green leaves of Skunk Cabbage pushing up through the wetland, and almost every shrub in the forest with new leaflets. This mentor is of the opinion that it’s the most wonderful time to be outside and the perfect medicine after the long and dark winter.

After almost a mile we came to the Lost Lake junction. Arriving at the North end of the Lake we had to pass through a maze of logs over a wetland. A few of our crew, including both mentors, ended up slipping and getting quite muddy. However, this is not unusual for the Branch Hoppers. Before we got to the lake we had an interpersonal conflict come up within the group. The conflict arose over the group not staying together and ended up in an argument and physical escalation.

Sending the rest of the group ahead a mentor worked with the two boys in order to resolve the conflict. It was not so much what happened that was important in the mentor’s eyes; it was how the boys were able to work through their conflict. Just to provide the reader with a little background, our mentors have been working with this cohort for over four years; and for the first time we noticed the boy’s ability to use the developmentally complex tools mentors have modeled for solving interpersonal conflict. Together the boys were able to: identity and recognize their internal struggle or conflict, name it and communicate it to the other person in a genuine and caring way, listen to the other’s struggle, and identify what it would take to mend or fix the issue. Wow! As a mentor this is the fruit of our labor and brings us great joy.

Passing through a maze of young Doug Fir and Salal the group navigated to the Eastern outpour of the lake. Following the drainage the group found a thirty-foot waterfall that was really flowing. The Explorers decided that this would be our turn-around point for the outing and spent awhile in free exploration around the lake.

Together we found a fast flowing and clean section of the outpour and filled our stove pot full. Sitting in a circle we went over how to set-up and light our MSR backpacking stove and shared some nettle-mint tea, apples, and gratitude.

Looking at our watch for the first time all day we realized we had an hour to get back; we would need to hike with some intention! Trudging up the hill we shed layers and worked up quite a sweat, stopping only once to drink water. Half-way up the trail Brian commented on the boy’s ability to muster their strength and how it showed they were ready for backpacking. Parents, if your Branch Hopper is ready to stretch their edge on a three-day backpack this summer, we highly encourage you to sign them up for our Baker River Ramble or Anderson & Watson Lake backpacks. Click here for a link to WE: Wilderness Exploration offerings for the summer of 2016.

Our mentors are thankful for such a wonderful outing, for new outing locations, for continued mentor/mentee relationships, and for the Branch Hoppers strong start to our Boys EC Spring 2016 season.

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