The Cave-Dwelling Hairy-Legged Vampire Bats (formerly Raccoon Kits) challenge Arroyo Park

The Raccoon Kits have a new name - They are now the Cave Dwelling, Hairy-Legged Vampire Bats! Say that 5 times fast! The mentors will no doubt refer to them as the Cave Dwellers for short. Last Spring, the boys decided they weren’t kits (babies) any longer, having been an Explorers Club group for 2 fall and 2 spring seasons. They had recently found a cool cave on Galbraith Mountain. You can imagine how it developed from there.

After deciding this in our opening meeting, we proceeded the “back way” from the N. Chuckanut trailhead parking lot in search of salmon inChuckanut Creek. We’re the Explorers Club - why take the established trail when you can explore your way to your destination, right? Well, the trail soon splintered into bushwhacking, following the creek in search of a place to cross so we could pick up that established trail. Funny thing, our beloved November storms have worked their magic; our “bridge” (log across the creek) was under fast moving water so we couldn’t even contemplate crossing there. We searched further, picking through thick underbrush that included WAY too much Devil’s Club, but the only other crossing we considered we decided was unsafe. So, after an hour or so of our “shortcut”, we were faced with a somewhat gut-wrenching decision. Do we press on, further stretching our edge to conquer this unexpectedly challenging route? Or is it wiser to retrace our steps to the trail we know will lead us to our goal, the salmon struggling upstream? Tim and I didn’t plan this into our outing outline, but we welcome any opportunity to work with the explorers to deal with the unexpected. In this case, we employed the STOP (Stop, Think, develop Options, make a Plan) model for handling difficult situations in the wild. Strung along a hillside while peering through the underbrush, we quickly discussed our two options and decided to turn back. The Cave Dwelling, Hairy-Legged Vampire Bats were disappointed, but showed they’re earning the name change as they reacted with good spirit to our decision.

Our planned skills work for the outing was our final shelter building exercise for the fall, but the explorers had done their work for the day with all that bushwhacking so the mentors scratched that element of the plan and presented a second decision as we had lunch - proceed straightaway to a game of Spider’s Web or check out the salmon and then play the game. This time, we were sitting comfortably along a creek not far from the trailhead, so Tim and I simply asked our Tribal Elder for the day to lead the decision process toward consensus. Most of the Cave Dwellers wanted to hike to the salmon run first, but we had a dissenting opinion. Following our flow of asking for input, discussing pros and cons, putting it to a vote and resolving differences to reach consensus, the Tribal Elder managed the process with little input from the mentors, another sign of maturation that supports relinquishing the group’s original name.

Our new course set, we hiked the “regular” trail to Arroyo Park where we were excited to see several salmon struggling against the swift-moving creek on their way to spawn. A few Cave Dwellers wanted to catch a fish but were thwarted as their prey’s focus on that next jump drew him/her away from the muddy shore. I wouldn’t have put money on all the boys coming away without getting soaked in the stream, but that is just how it turned out.

A mental check of our plan (current version!) prompted us to move back up the trail in search of a proper Spider’s Web course. We found our spot and set up the playing field as rain began to fall. Contrary to the weather forecast, we had sidestepped rain to this point. Hundreds of dripping ferns and numerous fallen trees provided so much cover for stealthy flies that the spider had lots of trouble identifying them, but that didn’t stop him from calling us all out repeatedly. Several of us got close, but none close enough as the rain intensified.

The outing had an odd emotional flow to it. We were excited to finally select a name that spoke to our shared experience and the explorers’ growing capabilities; our bushwhacking was first thrilling then disappointing; watching the salmon was humbling as they followed their instincts with all their energy; the game of Spider’s Web was a bit unsatisfying as we got “this close” to the prize only to be turned away. You could say it was a little slice of life, I guess. Through it all, though, the Cave Dwellers embraced change and faced both the good and bad with maturity beyond their years. 

Our Fall schedule concluded with this outing. The mentors are looking forward to more fun and growth come Spring! Check here for the rest of the photos from our day. 

Join us for the Co-op's Community Shopping Day - Saturday, November 21. Shop for Thanksgiving – or just grocery shop at either Coop and 2% of total sales that day will be donated to Wild Whatcom.

The Art of Water with the Raccoon Kits

Sunshine greeted the Raccoon Kits at they arrived at the edge of Arroyo park for their final outing of the season.  These boys have been through tremendous weather this season and a hearty dose of sunshine was well deserved!  Mentors Greg and Brian were eager to take advantage of the perpetually wet Chuckanut Mountains to show the boys some of the Art of Water. 

After gathering up we hit the trail and quickly discovered that as a group of 12 we were taking up a lot of room on the trail and needed to focus on some travel etiquette.  A spontaneous game emerged where the boys and the mentors tried to spot other trail users first.  If the boys spotted the runner or mountain biker first then they collected a point and if the mentors saw them first then they got the point.  After about fifteen minutes it was clear that Brian and Greg had underestimated their opponents and were losing badly!

A quick stop for lunch along Chuckanut Creek provided much needed energy.  And it was time to look deeper at the Art of Water.  Living near a temperate rain forest it is easy to take our abundance of water for granted.  We looked closely at the creek and despite its clear running water it is not clean enough to drink.  The Raccoon Kits offered up lots of different ways of cleaning water: Filtration, boiling, chemical purification.  We also realized that all of them required some tools.  Boiling requires a pot and the ability to make a fire or operate a stove.  To filter water you need a filter and the skills to disassemble, clean, and reassemble the filter.  Chemical processes require the chemicals and a careful understanding of how they work!

After our lunch stop we followed the path across the bridge and began to climb up the steep sides of the Chuckanuts.  These mountains are literally carved from sandstone and as such they seem to absorb a tremendous amount of water.  It has not rained significantly for a couple of weeks and still the mountain is draining water.  Our hike took us through different zones of plants, which can be extremely helpful in locating water.  In a wet place like Arroyo Park there is literally moss everywhere, but Salmon Berry, Devil’s Club, Skunk Cabbage, Giant Horse Tail, and sedges are all good indicators that there is an abundance of water in the soil and may indicate a nearby wetland or stream.

Our pace perfectly matched an important explorers club motto “It’s about the journey, not the destination” .  Our loose goal of getting to Chuckanut falls was fading as we climbed logs, scrambled up glacial erratics, and played hide.  The mentors were pleased to let the boys roam the forest and investigate the myriad of interesting and unusual things around them.   As we climbed up through the forest we realized our time was slipping away and before long we would need to have our closing meeting. 

At a gentle shelf in a mature Douglas-fir grove we invited to the boys to do a sit spot among the ferns and towering trees.  Greg prompted them to reflect upon their first year of Explorers Club as the Raccoon Kits and all the adventures they have had.  The boys sat quietly for about 10 minutes and when they finally heard Greg’s crow call (our signal to gather) we were ready to have our closing meeting.  We looked back at our Fall and Spring season and shared our gratitude’s for the forest, explorers club and each other.  Greg informed the boys that they had truly accomplished an important milestone because now that they had accomplished their first year, they would no longer be the youngest group in the fall.  This news seemed to give them some additional strength and after gathering up all of our things we headed back down the switch backing trail and eventually to the parking lot where we were met by eager and smiling families.  Thank you Raccoon Kits!  This has been such a great year.  You have begun an exciting journey and there is much look forward to.  Thank you for a strong finish to our season and we look forward to seeing you around in town and on the trails this summer!

Finally, the mentoring team would like to thank the parents and families of the Raccoon Kits.  We couldn’t do this important work with out your support, and we deeply appreciate your trust in us as we work with your sons.  There are some photos from the outing posted as well please have a look!