Scouting Arroyo Park with the Daredevil’s Club

On a clear, frigid, nor’easter morning, the Daredevil’s Club met at North Chuckanut Trailhead for a scouting outing! In Explorers’ Club Scouting refers to an exploration during which we travel, or traverse, from one place to another. It involves dedicated supporters who can drop us one place and pick us up at another. Thank you parents and partners of mentors who helped facilitate this experience!

This was the day when we learned about and practiced the motto, Dance to the beat of your own drummer. We played a game that involved dancing, so that Asher could learn everyone’s name and we could simultaneously realize the value of being different. Asher is a member of the Firestalkers group and also involved in the Explorers Mentoring Apprentice (EMA) program. He joined us for the day and added tremendously to the DDC’s experience.

We started our hike up the hill and enjoyed a small lunch break at a quiet bend in the trail. Of course we played Hide and then Incoming because the surroundings were perfect areas to camouflage. Ask your Explorer the difference between these two games.

As we hiked onwards, Asher taught many Explorers about licorice root. The root is a part of the Licorice Fern (Polypodium glycyrrhiza) which is a native plant to the Pacific Northwest. Many Daredevil’s Club Explorers can recognize this plant and how to successfully and responsibly harvest it. Next time you are outdoors with your Explorer, please ask him to identify this plant and maybe you too can taste the sweetness that our environment has to offer!

A bit further up the trail, we dropped our packs, made a base camp, and played a wild game of Spiders Web. With two flags and two spiders it was a challenging round, and only teamwork could save the flies. Though the flies were the winners, all Explorers learned about the natural world by hiding and crawling around in the underbrush.

We gathered round and heard a story about a professor at Western who has gone legally blind, but now leads groups of “sighted” folks out in the woods and teaches them about birds and trees.  He “sees” with his other senses and teaches others to see in this way.  We discussed how important it is to have people with different ways of seeing and being in a group.

We then decided to experience a different way of seeing with a drum stalk. In this activity, blindfolded Explorers learn to see with their feet and trust their ears while scampering about slowly in the forest. The goal is to walk toward the drum beats they hear and to patiently study a landscape they can’t see. In the end their environmental awareness increases because they engage with the land with more than just their eyes. Apples awaited our arrival at the drum!

As Explorers figuratively danced to their own drum beats throughout the day, there were times of discord. But these proved invaluable experiences as we explored the theme of “escalation” and how to create a discourse of listening, compassion, and forgiveness. We are on the road to creating space for others to move to their own beats as well. And the words, “I’m sorry,” have become a part of the DDC culture.

As light faded into grey, our traverse ended with a sit spot by Arroyo Creek. For a couple minutes at the end of a long outing, Explorers had more time to hear their beat and connect it with the music of the natural world too. When we all got back together it was clear that the rhythms of nature, self, and community were running through us and that were open to hearing it. Our ending Circle of Thanks brought us back to the motto,Attitude of Gratitude.

Again, thanks parents and supporters for facilitating this traverse. And a big thank you to you Explorers for the courage to dance to your own beat and to accept the dances of others.

Please check out more images from this outing in the photo gallery. And be prepared for the next outing too! To get a richer understanding of Explorers’ Club and the themes that guide our activities please look at our mottos.

Exploring Old Growth with the Daredevil's Club

Until you actually experience it, walk through it, feel the ground and the barks of the trees, stand on top of a giant downed douglas fir, and smell the vibrant and strangely calm air, the term “old growth” is a distant, ghostly idea.  Old Growth is a term this Explorer, having been raised in the northeast, never heard until he came to Washington.  There is something so inherently different about this place.  It’s like the difference between a ten year old boy and a vibrant eighty year old man.  Such forests have been through the full major life stages, have undergone many rites of passage, have transformed again and again and found maturity.  So strange to think that we only have a few tiny pockets of true maturity left in the United States.  So strange to think that, almost entirely, the only forests we know are prepubescent or adolescent at best.

So, the Daredevil’s Club fittingly set forth to visit some of the only elders we have left, and they found themselves on their own journey of becoming.

We began in Stubbs, getting ready for a big trip.  We talked about the privilege and honor of going out this far and meeting such a place.  We considered the safety and what we might find.  As we rolled down the highway, we asked some questions.  Who might live there?  With the help of some field guides, we did some sleuthing and found out that we are visiting quite an extensive community of mammals alone.

The wheels of the bus continued going round and round, and so did our conversations.  Matt handed out some bones one by one and challenged the group with identification.  Who could it be?  Why were the bones shaped that way?  With the help of other Explorers, our wonderful mentor Jon-Erik, and our Explorers’ Mentoring Apprentice, Tristan, we problem solved and discovered.  Do Explorers remember who it was?  What did the three bones look like?  Anyone remember why the deer population plummeted on Sumas Mountain?

As we gained elevation, we found a fantastic first stopping point.  A natural spring in the side of the mountain is a delight that everyone should experience.  There is one right on Silver Lake Road.  Perhaps your Explorers can help you find it the next time you’re out that way.

We stopped by the Nooksack to check out what this amazing artery of the land is doing up high.  We then came to the ranger station and picked up Solstice.  Appreciating the rings of the old douglas fir round, we considered the quality of a circle and all the relationships it takes for a tree to grow.  With each holding on to a rope, we talked about trust and working together.  Explorers moved from being able to lean back to going down into a full sit and back up.  They could only do this together.  We continued with a game of Animal Name Tag… which helped Tristan and Jon-Erik out quite a bit, and was a lot of fun.

Finally, we made our way to the forest itself.  It would be wonderful to spend many hours there, but it is this Explorer’s experience that this location sucks the heat right out of you.  It is always an edge.  So, while time was limited, we had to make the best out of it.  The pictures can say more than these meager words, and nothing even comes close to the experience.  Walking on the shoulders of giants to say the least.  We gawked at, scrambled around, and hugged the mighty trees.  We then resolved to take a big hike while we still had time.  Considering navigation, time, and our body temperatures, we decided to just go for a while until the path stopped.  Those paths are tricky and great navigation teachers!  We did make our way to a wonderful clearing, amongst the giants, fed by a chrystal stream.  There we finished the time with a Sit Spot, just taking in that magical land.  Parents, please go there and experience this place for yourself.  It is worth it!

On the ride back, we talked about the day and the Sit Spot.  We also came across a relationship edge for the group.  Visiting those giant elders, we found ourselves directed to this vital point in the group.  A few harsh words, some tension between some Explorers, and we are challenged to transform and become.  Will we learn from the circle we made?  Will we be able to face our problems and grow, to become an Older Growth Group.  It is up to us.  This Explorer thinks we can do it.

Don't forget to check out pics from the outing in our Photo Gallery.

Low tide at Clayton Beach with the Daredevil’s Club

Though the rain threatened to make this adventure a wet one, as we gathered in the parking lot of Clayton Beach, the clouds broke and unveiled a wonderful day. The Daredevil's Club Explorers had the good fortune of having three mentors-in-training come along with them on this outing.  These three, from our oldest group of Explorers, were there to share their knowledge and skills, and to model what they've learned about the joy of exploring. Of course, they were also there to have a good time. As the Daredevil's Club Explorers gathered for their opening meeting, it was apparent that we had a great recipe for a good day.

We began our outing with the Human Knot. Explorers were given segments of rope and then gathered in a circle. Each Explorer then grasped the ends of different strands of rope. Once everyone had a good handhold they were given the simple challenge of untangling themselves without letting go of the rope. Contortion, confusion, a bit of chaos, and then a long, slow movement toward completion ensued. This activity would definitely put a smile him the face of any spectator.

Once thoroughly untangled, the explorers brought their minds together for the opening meeting. We went through our tradition of discussing safety, envisioning the day, giving out jobs, and making up an immediate plan of action. It was apparent from the get-go that the Explorers were not short on energy! No way! We cruised down the trail faster than this Explorer can ever remember having done so before. That is, until we came to the salmon berries. Our Daredevil’s Club Explorers then shape shifted into miniature bears, an animal form we have not yet explored but these young people seem to have mastered in the face of our first, native, delicious berries.

We continue down the path, and made our way to the tracks. Exploring by the train tracks yielded some perfect opportunities to go into a risk assessments. Our vision for Explorers is to give them the power to be able to skillfully and safely assess the risk of any situation they find themselves in. So we gave it a shot. Of course, theory is nothing without praxis.  Our assessments did not mean that we do nothing. Explorers got their hands dirty, dived into play and life, but did it safely.

Then came the low tide! This Explorer has learned that it is folly to attempt any scheduled organized activity for the first hour of encountering an open beach.  There is so much to do, so much to explore, and so much joy to be had with open, unbridled exploration. We found such neat stuff! Check out the photos. Check out the video. Wow!

After a decent amount of time, we gathered up again. We talked about what we’d done so far and all the interesting things around us. We then came back to the risk assessment, highlighting the cliffs as an example. We talked about S.T.O.P. as a good way to assess risk.  S meaning Stop. T meaning Think. O meaning Observe.  P meaning Plan. A good and simple tool for all explorations.

Then it was time for big game!  This Explorer shared a story about sleeping outdoors just before his wedding. It served as a framework for the game:Cougar, Lone Wolf, Coyotes.  Our mentors in training proved to be powerful opponents and provided us with the hardest game yet in Explorers. We played for quite some time. When the day finally winded down and we had a chance to discuss, we found that the most challenging games, and even the games that we don't win, can still be some of the finest.  We had an ending meeting including a circle of thanks for the entire season and for the day. This was an excellent day! Much thanks to all the Explorers for your wonderful work in the world! Much thanks to all the parents for your enduring support!

And be sure to check out pics from the day in our Photo Gallery.