We have several wonderful navigation tools at our disposal these days. Compasses, topographical maps and global positioning (GPS) technology have saved many lives over the past few decades. And we need to be conversant in their use as we venture into the backcountry.
However (‘fess up, you knew there was going to be a “but”), any tool is only as good as the awareness, the attention, the focus we bring to its use. We learned that early in our relocated, snow-enhanced, navigation-focused Cave Dweller outing on November 4. After an impromptu snowball fight in the parking lot...
 |
| A forest of white...spectacular! |
we checked the trail map and decided to navigate (our skills emphasis for this outing) to EMS Checkpoint A, then B, then C and back to A. With this ambitious plan in place, we started up the trail and quickly got “lost”. Admittedly, the mentors hadn’t yet provided the map and compass we had in our packs, but a closer study of the trailhead map would certainly have helped us decide which way to go at that trail intersection. Mentors Tim and Brian couldn’t resist mentioning that, when trying to find your way in the backcountry (as in many situations in life), fast is slow and slow is fast (motto).
With that point made, we checked the topographical map and set a course toward checkpoint A. Our improved focus helped us decide our direction at the next junction, but didn’t help a whit when we soon encountered runners participating in the Bellingham Trail Marathon/Half Marathon. Note that the best GPS wouldn’t have helped either. While this was a risk free dilemma, it did provide a challenge similar to a washed out bridge or other unpleasant surprise that is all too possible when hiking in the backcountry. As we would do in the face of an actual backcountry surprise, we circled up and decided to abandon our checkpoint goals and head to a site away the marathon route to regroup and have lunch.
Weather reporters would have you believe that it wasn’t snowing for our first several hours in the Chuckanuts, but we were consistently experiencing falling snow. Be it a scampering squirrel or the slightest breeze, the snow layered on almost every branch was liberated little by little to simulate the real thing. We ate lunch in this most beautiful of winter scenes, then teamed up with another Explorers Club group, the Sculpins, for an epic snowball fight.
While that was going on, a few Explorers made tea for the cold and wet combatants in a preview of another of the wilderness travel skills we’ll take on this year — the backcountry kitchen. Hot tea warming our bodies and souls, Mentor Tim taught the Cave Dwellers how to find a bearing using a compass.
We’re a lot about skills this year. We took a pass at purifying water in September. Navigating was our focus on Saturday. Next will be shelter, then fire and finally cooking. We’ll layer the skills as we go along so that the Cave Dwellers will be better prepared for hiking/camping/backpacking come June. Along with these skills, we’re challenging them to lead their peers in building their self-reliance. A tall order, no doubt, but the Cave Dwellers are embracing these challenges with their usual humor.
Next outing: Sunday, December 3, 10:00AM-3:00PM; Stewart Mountain. Have a look at the rest of the photos from Saturday’s outing.
