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!

The Branch Hoppers Explore the West Flank of Galbraith Mountain

The morning began with a deluge of wind and rain; the Branch Hoppers arrived at North Galbraith Trailhead well layered and prepared for exploration. Heading up the trail a few of the boys made a beeline for the lower bike jumps. Following their inspiration the group ran and played on the jumps. For Explorers and mentors alike it reminded us just how vital it is to run and be free in the woods.

Circling up for an opening meeting the mentors told the boys it was imperative that we did two things on the outing. First that we explore a new section of woods that another group of Explorers had found and second that we begin carving chopsticks. The mentors had spent some time crafting Cedar chopstick blanks for the outings with the intention of creating more focus around their seasonal skill of carving. Handing the circle over to the boys we tasked them with passing out the jobs. This proved to be difficult for the Explorers, not due the difficulty of the task, but in their inability to focus as a cohort. As mentors we always look for the powers in the boy’s challenges and the challenges in their powers. The Branch Hopper’s challenge lies in their struggle to take responsibility for their own actions and disruptive behavior while the group is trying to make decisions or share in circle. The group shows great leadership in many areas on our outings, but this continues to be a theme.

Their power in this challenge lies in their ability to let go of and reign in their individual impulses and desires and recognize how their actions are affecting others. Often times the Explorers disregard for each other and what the group needs results in their peers and mentors feeling frustrated and disrespected. We recognize that these boys are growing and learning and it is their consistent engagement with group process that will help them develop skillful interpersonal communication. Our expectation as mentors is not for the boys do this perfectly every time, but that they make a genuine effort to try. The unfortunate consequence of this behavior is extended circle time, which cuts into our exploration time.

After fifteen minutes we were back on track and our Front Scout led us down the trail towards the new location. After crossing the power line clearing the group headed up a dried creek bed and over a few small valleys.  As we hiked we were struck with how beautiful this patch of land was. The tall stands of Cedar, Spruce, and Cottonwood mixed with a lush ground cover of Fringe Cup, Vanilla Leaf, Salmon and Huckleberries were fragrant with the smells of spring. It felt as though we had the entire area to ourselves, our own little private forest.

The Explorers scouted out an open spot along a ridgeline and we got to carving. The boys practiced the delicacy and technique needed to carve a chopstick out of the soft Cedar strips. The first step in the process is to turn the wood into a cylinder and then start to taper one end down. As the boys worked a mentor carved a chopstick and sanded it down into a fine point to demonstrate the process. He then proceeded to work on his Fire by Friction kit. The boys were anxious to try to make fire, but the mentors encouraged them to continue to make their chopsticks and embrace our motto slow is fast and fast is slow.

Carving takes patience, focus, and practice; parents we encourage you set up a safe space at your home for the Explorers to practice. These basic knife skills are the foundation for many of the other Earth Skills we practice with the older groups. Carving also encourages creativity and helps the boys slow down. Although their hands are occupied their minds still have time to process, reflect, dream, and wander in a mental state coined by Rachel and Stephen Kaplan as “Soft Fascination”. Handwork is a powerful tool and in a natural setting it helps contribute to the restorative and therapeutic qualities that nature induces in these boys. To read more about this topic check out this article by Stephen Kaplan from the Journal of Environmental Psychology on “Attention Restoration Theory” or a book also by him and Rachel titled The Experience Of Nature: A Psychological Perspective.

The boys did some excellent work on their chopsticks and after a solid hour of carving we set up a game of Spider’s Web in the valley below. The boys called for a mentor to be the Spider and choose Brian because they thought he was less experienced. Little did they know every mentor the Boys EC hires becomes an expert at Spider’s Web. Our course was challenging and required careful route planning and stealth. Many flies fell victim to the spider’s keen senses. The mentors would like to commend the Branch Hoppers for playing the game with such enthusiasm and honor. They embraced the difficult course as an opportunity and played with maturity and integrity. 

Calling our game a little early we circled back up for a closing meeting. Sharing apples and thanks the boys signed a thank you card for the staff at SOG Knives for their generous donation they had been carving with over the last two outings. The boys expressed gratitude for Galbraith Mountain, Cedar, friendship within the group, their ability to participate in Explorers Club, and the beautiful weather. Brian and I would like to express our deep appreciation for the opportunity to mentor these boys long-term; for the opportunity to grow and learn with them, they are our medicine and part of our own restorative experience. We look forward to our chance to serve the land with the Branch Hoppers and the Connelly Creek Restoration Site next outing. Branch Hopper parents, thank you for building a strong community with your Explorers group. It is wonderful to see this group sharing experiences and friendships both in and out of the Boys EC. 

For more photos from the outing please visit the Branch Hopper’s photo gallery