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!

The Branch Hopper's first ever Exploration to Lookout Mountain Forest Preserve

The Branch Hopper’s arrived at Lookout Mountain Forest Preserve to a light drizzle and cool temperatures. Heading up the logging road the group looked for a spot to have their opening meeting. Finding a crowded stand of Western Hemlocks the boys circled up, nestling into the duff.

The mentors brought the groups focus towards our skill for the season, the Art of Water. Giving some thanks the mentors took a moment to talk about significance of our drizzly day. April’s high pressure produced the warmest temperatures on record in the 20^th century with over fifty percent less rainfall than average for April. Getting the boys to quiet down and listen the entire forest was literally singing with joy for the rain. The Swainsons Trush and American Robins buzzed around eagerly feasting on the plump Salmonberries and bathing in puddles. The forests vibrant shades of green had come back again and a fresh smell filled the air.

Four years ago the Branch Hopper’s Explorers Club journey began with a simple activity, moving water from one jug through a gauntlet into another jug with the end goal being that the boys realizing that water is precious. Although this activity has long passed from the boys’ memory, it is apparent throughout our many outings together that the group has fully embraced the power of the rain.

Once jobs were delegated we turned our minds to our location. Lookout Mountain is comprised of a vast network of logging lands and is a major drainage for Lake Whatcom, Samish, and Padden. It is important for the Explorers to understand this watershed connection and how rainfall moves throughout the landscape.

Packing up we returned to the logging road and peeled off onto the Waterfall Loop Trail. Cascading down on a bed of Sandstone the two-tiered falls was stunning at almost fifty feet tall. Climbing down the steep Arroyo the boys spent good deal of time following the creek in search of amphibians. Although we did not find any frogs or salamanders we did find a very interesting logjam with a network of tunnels to crawl through. Meeting back up at the falls overlook the Tribal Elder did an excellent job facilitating a decision regarding how we could use the rest of our outing time.  The group decided to spend fifteen more minutes exploring the falls and then to head back up on of the logging roads in search of a bigger creek that a mentor had scouted with the prospect of a game of Spider’s Web and sit spot.

Hiking up the logging road the group feasted on the abundant Salmonberries. We also harvested some Stinging Nettles and Western Hemlock needles to make our forest tea for closing circle. Hiking along with the Branch Hoppers provided some time for the mentors to check in with each Explorer. It became apparent to the mentors that these boys are both very excited and nervous for middle school. Questions like: will I be able to open my locker, will I be late for class, and will I fit in or be made fun of all came up.

The Branch Hoppers shadow of self-awareness is growing and with that comes self-doubt, power struggles, leadership opportunities, increased autonomy and responsibility, internal conflict, and experimentation with identity.  Our ability as mentors to provide the container for these boys to share open and honestly with one another as sensitive and caring males while they grow into this next stage of life is vital. Our mentors will be tracking this closely as we go on backpacks and explore together in the fall.

Arriving at the creek there was three-times as much foliage as when the mentors had last scouted it, causing us to change our route and find another location to bring our season to a close. Looking up the road the land started to get very steep and the Explorers would have to grasp the nettle as they sweated and strained in the final push up the terrain. This was difficult for the group, but provided an excellent physical challenge for them.

Breaking off from the logging road we hiked off trail until we came to an established fire pit most likely made by mountain bikers. The Explorers decided that this would be a great place to play a game of Spider’s Web and have our closing meeting. As Brian and the boys set up the game, our EMA for the day Logan Bartz and one of the Branch Hoppers got a small twig fire going in the pit.

After a few round of the Spider’s Web Brain sent the boys out on a sit spot while the mentors prepared for a closing meeting. As the boys sat the land was calm and still bringing the group’s energy down to baseline. Listening to the sound of the wind through the trees and the faint calls of birds through the forest the boys gathered around the fire. Although the fire was a powerful way to close the spring season it proved to be a bit of a distraction as the boys all wanted to roast their apples slices while sharing some thanks. Their thanks were however heartfelt and the mentors got some great feedback on what the group would like to do next season. A few of the locations mentioned were mud mucking in Mud Bay, intertidal exploration at Point Whitehorn, bouldering at Clayton Beach, and revisiting Lookout Mountain.

Brian and I are so thankful to be part of the Branch Hopper’s lives and are excited for them to step into new leadership as they enter into middle school and go on backpacks for the first time this summer. Parents thank you for your strong support of the program and for your dedication to helping your boy’s connection with themselves, their peers, and the natural environment.

For pictures from our Lookout Mountain exploration please visit the Branch Hopper’s photo album from the day.