Second time's the charm: Jumping Mice explore N. Galbraith Mountain

Welcome to the Jumping Mice’s first Explorers Club Spring season! We gathered at N. Galbraith trailhead and immediately expressed thanks for the mostly calm air. The anticipation was palpable after our last Fall outing had to be moved from this location literally last minute due to high winds.

We were looking at two new faces as we sat in circle for our opening meeting. Mentor Conor joined us for just this day, subbing for Bobby, who has replaced Finn. The boys will get to meet Bobby when we venture out again on April 29. And Elliot (no, not that Eliot) is a new explorer in our group, but you wouldn’t know it from his quick integration with our culture and games. Welcome Elliot L!

Never Eat Soggy Waffles!

While in circle, we began our skill journey for the spring - navigation. Our task was made more difficult by the overcast sky. When thinking about the cardinal directions of North, East, South and West, as we were, it’s helpful to be able to glance at the sun to establish south and take it from there. Failing that, we looked for other clues such as the Canadian Cascades, which were peaking out from under our beloved “blanket” of clouds to the north. We finished with a handy way to remember the 4 cardinal directions - Never Eat Soggy Waffles!

Who needs a bike?

A short walk into the park brought us to our first planned “drop-your-packs” spot - mountain bike jumps that we prefer to run! If there’s a better way to get the “wiggles” out, I haven’t found it. We even put a cherry on top of that treat with a game of Hide!

While we were raising our heartbeats, an explorer suggested we investigate a cave and cool bridge he knew about just up the hill. Totally unable to resist the sound of that, we scrambled up to see a sheltered spot under a large boulder, then found the bridge. We weren’t able to determine exactly the purpose of the bridge built into the side of a hill, but we agreed it was cool.

Following lunch, Conor brought us back to navigation by explaining how indigenous peoples

Lewis and Clark's crew?

developed a navigational technique known as Story Mapping, or Songline. This ingenious process involves creating a story for each significant landmark along the trail and linking the stories together to create a route that can be followed on the return trip. Our Tribal Elder helped us decide whether to create one story as a group or 14 individual stories. The explorers did a great job of deciding on a compromise - one small group and several individual stories. With that plan set, off we went to find that great Spider’s Web spot I mentioned in my reminder note.

Connecting....

Since the EC was last to this spot out of the way of mountain bikers, an access road has been constructed, presumably in preparation for home construction. For us, that was more reason to celebrate this place by engaging in a few great games of Spider’s Web, which we did. The boys are figuring out that stealth is the best strategy as the flies sneaked their way to victory in the first game. The spider upped the ante in the second round, which ended in a draw. We finished our games with just enough time to test our story maps as we hurried back to the trailhead.

The Jumping Mice are a very special group of boys….but you knew that already. What I’m referring to here is the group’s special place in the culture and lore of Wild Whatcom and Explorers Club. By virtue of their name, they will always be associated with the definitive Native American story of The Jumping Mouse. In the story, a very industrious mouse hears a call to venture beyond his comfortable life in pursuit of a better day, a more meaningful way. His journey is marked by menacing, even terrifying happenings. The mouse perseveres, stretching his edges and even sacrificing himself for other, seemingly more important “brothers” he meets on his journey. Finally, he is rewarded for his courage and caring sacrifice. Although just a simple mouse, he proved himself to be a creature of character who comported himself with honor. 

The better to hide from the Spider!

We read the story of the Jumping Mouse during our outing at N. Galbraith on Friday. This group is working hard at self-regulation during our circle times, but we had very little talking over each other during the story (admittedly, they were eating lunch, so their attentive behavior might not have been totally due to the dulcet tones of my captivating story-telling!). We’ll read the story each season as we watch these boys grow into honorable young men.

For now, enjoy more photos here. We’ll see you at our next outing - Friday, April 29th, 10:00-3:00pm, Traverse: Sehome Arboretum (Lower Parking Lot).