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). 

The Jumping Mice adapt to stormy weather conditions

One of our mottoes in Explorers Club is the following: It’s About the Journey, Not the Destination We describe that classic adage this way - The point is to awaken to what’s around us, to revel in discovery every moment, not to arrive to a particular place. We are where we are going!

Apropos for the Jumping Mice’ last outing of their first season together as we first changed our planned

We haven’t lacked for weather this fall, have we? Wild Whatcom’s first day of outings this season was cancelled and the outings rescheduled due to high winds and the storms have been pretty persistent since. This outing was no different. With high winds forecast, we decided to play it safe and switch from our planned exploration of North Galbraith to a trek through Whatcom Falls Park to the relative safety of the open fields ofBloedel Donovan Park. We also recruited the explorers to track the weather. Awareness of the vicissitudes of our natural surroundings is a key component of self-reliance in the outdoors.

We were living in the moment as we continually made decisions with a literal eye to the surrounding treetops. Decisions are difficult in the best of conditions; factor in the age of the boys and add in the fickle weather and the decisions get trickier. A greatexample was the conversation we had about weather the “spider” for our Spider’s Web game should be a mentor, our Explorers Club Apprentice (EMA) Xavier, or one of the explorers. Underlying the conversation if the question of weather the Jumping Mice were up to the challenge of being the spider. Stepping up to that role is a bit of a rite of passage in Explorers Club; the Jumping Mice are just finishing their first season together. We discussed; we voted; we made suggestions; we voted again. This went on for 20 minutes or more. Frustration started to set in. Our circle got less and less circular. With no resolution in sight, nature stepped in as the tips of the conifers were seen to sway more dynamically. We decided not to decide, but to move along to be closer to Bloedel Donovan Park. The boys might understandably see it as time not well spent; you and I know the boys matured a little in that half hour as their edges were stretched in their common effort.

Another Explorers Club motto, The Trail is the Teacher, states: “On the trail, as in life, the lessons emerge as we walk our individual and collective journeys. Everything that appears and unfolds along the way – whether happy or sad, joyful or difficult – is a teacher. Lessons are often unexpected (and sometimes unwelcome) but we learn to use them as opportunities to learn and grow.” Frustrating and inconclusive as that experience was, the lessons it taught were apparently fresh in the boys’ minds when we soon stopped at a crossroads to address another question: Do we go left to our stated goal of Bloedel-Donovan or right, which promised better Spider’s Web locations? This decision we reached in about two minutes when an explorer suggested we might be able to play the game and then double back to the park. So, to the right we went in pursuit of the game we’d been anticipating for a few hours. Spoiler alert: we never doubled back!

Unfortunately, our reward proved elusive once again as our search came up empty and it began to feel like we were going to go home frustrated. Showing admirable resilience, the boys opted to play a few games of Fire in the Forest in the grassy area near the fish rearing ponds. It was following those games that mentor Finn came to the rescue by suggesting we could play Spider’s Web in the trees behind the toddler playground, a classic case of mindful attention to place. To be honest, the playing area for the first game proved inadequate, so we pivoted the course deeper into the trees. Our next game lasted just a few minutes as the spider (mentor Brian) forgot where the “food source” was! Hmmmmm. The third time proved to be the charm as all players turned it up a notch, with much darting through the trees and even some slow, steady progress as the Jumping Mice starting catching on to the natural advantages of camouflage and stealth. By this time, the rain had begun again (note: the wind never was a significant factor) so our walk back to the N. Galbraith trailhead was true to the saying on Wild Whatcom apparel: It’s raining, it’s pouring, let’s go exploring!” A fitting end to the Jumping Mice’ first season together.

As I plan the spring season, an exploration of N. Galbraith is top of mind. For now, it’s time to bring a close to a fun first season. Over the next few seasons, I expect the Jumping Mice to morph from a collection of individuals looking to play and learn in the outdoors to a cohort of mindful young men. Unfortunately, they’re going to have to do that without mentor Finn, who has moved on to full time work with the Department of Natural Resources. My thanks to Finn for his naturalist knowledge and dedication to the explorers.

Don’t forget to check out our slate of winter outings here. And look here for the rest of the photos from our Dec. 5 outing.