The Cave Dwellers carve, play and lead at Lookout Mountain 11/12/16

We didn’t accomplish everything we planned to do on Saturday. The beautiful waterfall tucked into the lower reaches of Lookout Mountain? Not happening. That epic game of Spider’s Web that is always in the back of our minds? A victim of other priorities. Sounds like the outing was a bit of a bust, no?

Au contrare! An outing design element employed by Boys Explorers Club mentors is known as the 50/50 rule. We plan for the entire day, but anticipate that 50% of that plan will be sacrificed to such factors as the weather and, more important, the inspiration of the group. We don’t want to turn a blind eye to the interests and motivations of the boys so we can check a box on our plan. The plan was: carving; Spider’s Web; Hungry Hungry Marten; waterfall. We carved and played many very fun rounds of Hungry Hungry Marten and came away fairly well pleased with ourselves.

We achieved another important objective on Saturday as well. The Cave Dwellers have lots of experience with Boys Explorers Club culture. It’s time for them to take on more responsibility and to enjoy the associated freedoms. So we made a change; the mentors selected the Tribal Elder, who then assigned jobs and led a discussion of our plan for the day (see above). These tasks are usually handled by a mentor. 

So, we layered up and off we went into the rain, looking for sticks that could be carved into digging sticks. We soon reached our “base camp” with materials on hand; while mentor Tim erected a tarp shelter, mentor Brian organized what turned out to be several fun games of Hungry Hungry Marten.

Steady rain for the first few hours of our day didn't dampen the Cave Dwellers' spirits. Here we get a look at our opening meeting, largely led by our Tribal Elder.

Searching for sticks appropriate for crafting digging sticks, which can be your best friend when nature calls.

What makes for a great Hungry, Hungry Marten location? A mix of natural cover and the fast access of the trail provided several strategic options for the "squirrels" trying to get to the tree protected by the Marten without being "eaten". In this case, the tree in the center of the photo, guarded by the Explorer in red, was excellent.

Thanks to mentor Tim's tarp shelter, we were able to duck out of the rain for some serious carving. 

Great technique! Note how he has good balance, his legs are spread wide to avoid accidental slip cuts, and he's focused on his cut. Awesome work.

The term "dry" is relative sometimes.

Not sure what's happening here, to be honest.

Oh, and several Explorers (and mentor Tim) had fun with a game called Ninja.

Our trail blazing Tribal Leader suffered a few bumps as he adjusted the mantel of leadership looking for the best fit. As our motto points out: We’re All Teachers And all learners! It’s not “ARE you smart?” but “HOW are you smart?” Everyone has much to share, and we're all "smart" in a variety of ways. We draw upon Multiple Intelligence Theory in all our wanderings. Mistakes are teachers too! He’s to be congratulated for embracing the challenge and setting the bar forhis peers.

Note: The mentors were prepared for some soul-searching discussion of last week’s election results. We were prepared to frame our discussion in the spirit of another of our mottos - Build Bridges Not Walls Which are we building in how we speak and act toward others? We endeavor to create a culture of kindness and respect. "Never look down on anybody unless you’re helping them up." –J. Jackson  However, the election wasn’t front of mind for the boys (as best we could ascertain) so we didn’t press it. 

Photos here. This outing completed our fall season. Remember, though, that we're now operating on a full school year schedule. So, please mark your calendars for Sunday, February 12, 2017 for our winter outing. Not sure of the location and other details yet. Watch for a note with winter and spring schedule and local information and check the Cave Dweller web page for updates. 

The Cave Dwellers Visit Their Namesake on the Rock Trail

On an overcast Sunday morning, the Cave Dwellers were united atop Chuckanut Mountain with a brilliant view of Bellingham Bay as the backdrop. Despite the lengthy drive up the re-vamped road, the view always makes it worth the trip, not to mention the incredible Rock Trail that was the whole reason for coming here in the first place. With some mentors ailing from illness, the Cave Dwellers got to meet a new mentor, Ethan, who would accompany them on their exploration of their namesake: CAVES! Having a new mentor along for the outing was a great opportunity for the Cave Dwellers to demonstrate what it means to be a member of the Boys Explorers Club. We had a lot in store for the day and before we hit the trail we discussed the game plan of searching for caves, playing games, and taking some time to revisit carving. Despite the cloud cover atop Chuckanut Mountain, looking down to the San Juans we could see sunlight breaking through ushering in the prospect of good things to come.

Best view ever for opening circle!

Admiring the sandstone cliffs

Cruising down the trail in search of caves

Once we hit the trail the massive sandstone cliff faces and steep stairs forced us to slow down and appreciate the beauty of the landscape. Water droplets pitter pattering down the mossy rock faces generated a subtle auditory backdrop that was overcome by the laughing and hollering of Explorers as we played games of HIDE!, journeyed alongside the cliffs, and eventually discovered a series of caves. Clamoring inside, boys took turns sheltering inside the deep sandstone caverns and got in touch with their inner Cave Dweller. After the excitement of the caves wore off, our explorations carried over into the surrounding landscape; deep valleys of dense Sword Fern, giant boulders covered in moss and Licorice Fern, and plenty more.

Clamoring into caves

Almost there!

Cave Dwellers in their natural habitat

Next in line for the day was games! Circling up the Cave Dwellers showed off their group decision making skills to Ethan who was thoroughly impressed at the group’s ability to collaborate, compromise, and come to a consensus on how to spend the rest of our day. We decided to jump right into an expansive game of Spider’s Web followed by a quick carving session before pick up. The game of Spider’s Web was a great time to crawl through Sword Fern, work together as a team, and overcome a persistent Spider to win after nearly an hour of intense nature play. Afterwards the group debriefed and this time they impressed Tim with how grateful they were to one another for the great game. Everyone thanked the Spider for how well he played and the Spider couldn’t say enough about how he appreciated the tough, yet fair, competition of the flies who persevered and eventually overcame. Going back a few years, this group would have been quick to get in an argument over the rules or fairness, but today they showed just how much they had grown both as individuals, and also as a group.

Adventuring over boulders

Admiring the expansive valley

Harvesting Licorice Fern

With the end of our outing drawing near, we hustled back up the trail and found a good clearing off trail to re-visit carving. A quick review of safe carving practices, a discussion about different types of wood and their properties, and we spread out for a brief carving session. Despite dealing with a challenging wood in Big Leaf Maple, the boys all demonstrated patience, skill, and a deepened comprehension in the basics of carving as they worked on carving cylindrical, tapered, chopsticks. But before we could get very far it was time for closing circle. Again, Ethan was impressed by the genuine, thoughtful statements of gratitude that each Cave Dweller shared as we passed around the apple slices. Again, demonstrating a depth of character and compassion, the Cave Dwellers left the mentors proud of how much they have grown over the years. This group is truly coming into their own now and it shows in a multitude of ways. With another outing coming up next weekend, we can’t wait to get back out exploring with this incredible group of Explorers! 

Make sure to check out the rest of the photos from our album here!

Sharing our Spider's Web stories and congratulating one another on a good game

Practicing our carving skills

The sun even came out to warm us as we worked on our chop sticks