Chuckanuts Explorations Camp #2 - August 1-5, 2016

Our August 1^st-5^th Chuckanuts Exploration Camp was a powerful experience; rich with natural history moments, group cohesion, expansiveness, and skill building. Throughout the camp Explorers and Mentors alike were reminded that we live in a beautiful area and in very close proximity to vast wild lands teaming with life.

Common themes throughout our camp were:

• The honesty and genuineness that the boys brought to our daily meetings, group decision-making processes, and interactions amongst their peers.
• The groups’ comfort level in the natural world and desire to fully immerse in it through longer sit spots and deeper naturalist connection.
• The boys hunger to refine their Earth skills craft and work with their hands for uninterrupted periods of time.
• The connection the group shared with our Explorers Club culture that allowed the mentors to give the group a great deal of freedom and responsibility. These boys are in touch with their emotions, understand how their actions affect others, are willing to step in as leaders, hold a strong edge for safety, are growing their awareness and focus, and care deeply for the Earth and one another.
•  Their need to unplug and decompress through extended free play and self-directed leadership and learning.
• Their desire to have autonomy and shared group experience so that they can bring their stories and experiences home.

Below is a day-by-day snapshot of our week together. For more pictures from the Chuckanut Explorations Camp please visit this photo album.  Thanks again for your support and participation in the program. 

Monday, August 1^st – 100 Acre Wood

We kicked off our five-day camp with a day of shelter building at a location familiar to most of the group. This day would be one of culture building, setting the frame for the week, and coming together as a group. Looking around the circle the mentors noticed that all the campers were part of the Explorers Club, but they represented five separate groups. After boys introduced themselves to one another they met a guest mentor for the day, Chris Wiebe. Chris informed them that she was Wild Whatcom’s newly hired Program Manager and was excited to hear their plan for the day. Tim let the group know that it was important that they modeled the culture of Boys Explorer Club because Chris was out to learn about what we do in the BEC.

The group spent a good portion of the day learning the Art of Shelter-Building. The best part about our summer camps is the time the boys have the time to immerse in the land and practice skills. This skill session was also great frontloading because it was clear from the get-go that this group wanted to learn carving. The shelter activity was a great way for them to model that they knew how to use sticks and be responsible for themselves.  

The boys built an intricate freestanding shelter and a textbook lean-to structure. It was great to have Chris along because she brought her shelter build knowledge gleaned from her time working at the Wilderness Awareness School.

Wrapping up our day the group navigated over to Hoag’s Pond and had a sit spot next to the stillness of the shore. Hoag’s Pond is an amazing place to observe Great Blue Herons and amphibians of all types. The boys got very quiet as they listened to the wetland.

Tuesday, August 2^nd – Whatcom Falls Park

The group arrived at Whatcom Falls excited for a day of swimming on the creek. Circling up Tim had the group work together and create a plan. They agreed to find a good swimming hole, go through the Art of Carving, and then play a game of Spider’s Web. After discussing the hazards of exploring the creek we were off and within ten minutes we came across a Barred Owl hunting Crayfish in the creek. The boys were fascinated and watched the owl for half an hour.  Their patience was rewarded when the owl swooped from a tree and snatched a Signal Crayfish from the water. Perching on a branch it broke the exoskeleton apart with it beak to swallow it down.

After this amazing nature connection moment we traveled down the creek and settled in to a nice spot along the river. The boys waded and climbed through the river boulders and found a deep long pool to jump in. They swam for over two hours while the mentors carved a model boat to send down the creek. The boys deemed it the SS Awesome and tested its quality through different sections of the rapids.

Gathering along the side of the creek the mentors introduced the group to the Art of Carving. Together we went over the different types of knives the boys brought brought, the safe positions to carve in, having an intention of what you are going to carve before you carve it, and that a knife was a tool not a weapon and they were responsible for it’s proper use and watching their Blood Circles. Parents, please ask your son to tell you about the rules for carving in Explorers Club.

The mentors paired boy who were experienced carvers with ones who had not carved. It was a powerful mentoring moment for the elder Explorers who were able to pass down their experience and knowledge. The boys switched between carving and swimming for the rest of the day. Closing our day with a circle the boys gave thanks for the creek and for the responsibility and freedom that came with being able to carve during the outing.  

Wednesday, August 3^rd - Nooksack River Delta

Each time the Explorers arrive at the Campbell’s house for a day on Bakerview Beach our mentors are reminded of the power of the Explorers Club community to rally together to provide the Explorers as rich an experience as possible. Through the generosity of the Campbell’s for the last six years more than 100 Explorers each summer have been able to access the Nooksack River Delta and the immense tidal flats of Bellingham Bay.

Looking out at the Horizon from the bluffs edge the Explorers starred out at a maze of shifting sands bars and low clouds that engulfed Lummi Island and the bay’s shoreline. Heading out onto the beach the group stopped to harvest some carving wood from the immense piles of driftwood that lined the beach. Using a technique the boys learned the previous day called “battoning” they learned to identify seasoned Western Red Cedar. Splitting the straight-grained cedar left a wonderful aroma in the air and the boys sat enthralled.

Heading North along the beach the boys skirted the estuarine ecosystem that was created by the out flow of the Nooksack River. This area is home to vast networks of Bull Rush and Cattail wetlands and salt marshes and teaming with bird and marine life. Coming around a corner the group rustled up twenty or more Blue Herons who were anxiously awaiting the low tide. Finding a base camp next to one of the main channels of the river we listened to the Marsh Wren in the tall grass and watched the Bald Eagles and Canada Geese congregate on sand bars. 

Immediately a few boys waded out into the river in search of a sand bar where they could build a sand kingdom. They asked the mentors to join them and could not figure out why they weren’t interested in getting wet. About twenty minutes later the boys came back to the group shivering, having learned the important lesson of thinking through the consequences of a decision before going for it. One of the number one rules of the wilderness is pay attention!

We must have spent a good two hours carving and engaging in free play in the sand. This location is truly expansive and lends itself to following one’s inspiration. Calling the group back together we lunched, hydrated, and applied another layer of sunscreen. By this time most of the boys had soaked themselves and had good deal of sand in their shorts and shoes.

Feeling the call to explore the group ran as far as we could trying to reach the edge of the tidal flats, while a few Explorers and a mentor stayed behind to continue carving. The group kept looking back at the others until they were mere dots on the horizon. Wading through brackish channels thousands of baby Flounders darted away from our feet, answering our question of why the birds congregated on the sand bar.

Two sand bars away from the tide line we were met with a deep channel. We had found it, the main drainage of the Nooksack!  We waded across it and almost sunk in to our chests. It was fascinating to watch the sand bars shape shift and change with the river’s current. Once we figured out the safety precautions we would need to take, the boys floated down the lazy river have the time of their lives. They also found the remains of a 48 foot wrecked sailboat buried in the sand. This landscape was indeed full of mystery.

We ended our day with a sit spot along the edge of the marsh and practiced our skill and agility in a few rounds of Otter Steals a Fish. What a day!

Thursday-& Friday, August 4^th & 5^th – Overnight at Larrabee State Park

The boys arrived on Thursday morning energized for the overnight. Loading up all our overnight gear into Steve’s car the group circled up for an opening meeting in the grass. The group had an important decision to make, whether or not to hike to Fragrance Lake or to go to the secret valley near Clayton Beach. With some collaboration and compromise the group decided to go to the secret valley for some games of Spider’s Web and to try and traverse the shoreline to Clayton Beach.

Hiking to the valley the boys stretched their edge learning to fox walk by a Bald-Faced Hornets nest that was directly next to the trail. Arriving at the secret valley the boys carved and explored for an hour. Bringing our group back together we set up a large Spider’s Web course in the valley and snuck and crawled our way through the Swords Ferns.

About a half a hour into our game the mentors came across a rare find, a Giant Pacific Salamander being eaten by a Garter Snake! It’s moments like this when you have to drop what you’re doing and investigate what nature provides. The Salamander was so large that the Garter was unable to swallow it and sensing our presence spit the Salamander out and scurried under roots exposed by the creek’s bank. The Salamander seemed to be fine and quickly disappeared under the rocks.

Calling a pause in the game so the rest f the boys could observe the mentors heard a loud crash in the forest. Giving a Crow Call the mentors did a head count and took the group to investigate the noise. To our disbelief a fifty-foot Cottonwood branch nearly a foot in diameter had crashed through the canopy and landed roughly 700 feet away from our base camp. This was a powerful reminder for the group of why we address the hazards of the location in our opening meeting and make a safe basecamp.

Ending our game we searched again for the Salamander but it was gone. Packing our gear up we searched for a fallen Cedar one of the boys had found and was interested in harvesting from for carving wood. Locating it the mentors weighted the decision to harvest from it, coming to the conclusion that it was in the park boundaries and would be an eye sore to other park goers.

The boys were disappointed but learned a powerful lesson of what it means to be a steward of a place in relation to our desire to harvest resources from it, and how that affects the greater community.

Coming back to our basecamp we came across an illegal fire ring with the remnants of a large fire. Feeling the call to do some service we removed the rock ring and scattered the charred woods logs. Finding some half burnt Cedar logs at the bottom of the pit the mentors split it up and gave the group some blanks for carving projects. The boys asked why it was okay to harvest this wood and not the other. The mentors explained to the boys that the charred wood would encourage others to have fires and looked out of place. This explanation sat well with the group.

Hiking back over to the campground the boys hydrated and mentors checked in and explained that campouts were different that day outings and would take considerable work and focus even after a long day of exploring.

Getting to the tent sites the mentors talked to the group about one of our mottos, We not Me. Rather than worrying about their personal gear the boys would need to carry the group gear over and work on setting up a kitchen and pitching the tents. Learning to balance the needs of the group vs. your own is a vital skill in being part of any community.

Tim asked the group to set up the tents and let them know that he would not help them for the first half an hour. The boys struggled through the process and got in arguments with one another. In the end they managed to accomplish 90% of the process by themselves, it was a great edge stretcher for them.

Once the boys’ personal gear was in order and their sleeping areas were set up it was nearly 7:30pm and the group was famished. Gathering for dinner we gave some thanks and filled our bowls. Feelings were mixed about the veggie pasta and red sauce but the boys learned to be thankful for the calories and finished their portions.  After dinner the boys again felt energized and we put them to work washing dishes and getting their smellables in order.

A few boys commented that they felt that a campout was just a lot of work and not a lot of play. A mentor responded back that the work was the reward and it was all about the way we looked at it. Gathering up the boys worked to make a bundle of tinder and battoned Cedar logs into in all different sizes for building the base of their fire.

Working for about a half an hour the boys managed to get a flame using a flint and steel. Way to go Explorers! As we sat around the fire the canopy grew darker and light illuminated the tree trunks around us. The boys gathering their dough sticks they had carved earlier in the day while the mentors kneaded a mixture of flour, corn meal, and water until it formed dough. Wrapping it around their sticks the boys cooked it and smeared it in layer of butter and brown sugar. This was a highlight of our day and gave the boys a big sense of accomplishment.

Sitting around the weaning fire the boys headed off for bed one by one. Once they were in their tents the boys lost track of their neighboring campers and got quite noisy. The mentors reminded to boys more than once that they needed to be respectful of their fellow campers.

Waking to the sun shining through the trees at 6:30am the boy spilled out of the tents and began getting ready for the day. About half the group packed up their gear and broke down their tents leaving ample space to roam and play before breakfast. The rest of the boys learned a powerful lesson about being efficient and focused, taking almost three and half-hours to break camp. Frustrated they asked why the rest of the group got to hangout while they worked. The mentors told them that they knew the answer to this question.

Once we had our traditional Explorers Club oats and the dishes were clean we got a small fire going for the purpose of learning the Art of Coal Blowing. The boys worked on carving spoon blanks as we built a coal base in the fire.

Carving out the rough shape the boys pulled a coal from the fire and gently pressed it against the portion of their spoon that would have a scooped shaped. Gently blowing on the coal they burnt out the shaped and scraped the ash away. They crafted some amazing spoons and should be proud of their work.

We did not leave the fire until it was time to close off our five days together. Gathering up for one last meeting we gave some thanks and discussed the powers and challenges of the camp. The boys talked about their difficult experience setting up the tents and how they struggled some days with dehydration and low energy. They also spoke highly of their experiences out on the tidal flats and rock hoping and swimming through Whatcom Falls. What really struck the mentors was their almost unanimous thanks for the time they spent together as a group, appreciation for the abundance of water as a life giving resource, and internalized sense of place and stewardship for the wild lands of Whatcom County.

 Tim and I are thankful for the week we spent together with these boys and for all of their families’ support for the program and efforts to facilitate the experience. We look forward to seeing them again for our BEC 2016/17 season!