Salamander Efts Fire up the Bow Drill at Lake Padden

Meeting at Lake Padden on an early March morning, we arrived in the presence of light rain and snow. However, even in these mixed conditions, the first signs of spring were apparent. Skunk Cabbage poked its head out of the depths, Indian Plum was leafing out, and a group of robins squabbled over some territorial dispute. In contrast, the last time we were here was in the torrential downpours of early October. As this group grows older we as mentors like to hand more of the group process and decision making over to the boys, and, with only four Salamander Efts on this outing, group decision making went quickly. We discussed our options and decided to head southeast along the trail for some tracking and exploration, meanwhile looking for a place to settle down and work on skills.

Heading out for the day

We took a circuitous path through the woods, clambering over and across logs. We climbed down giant root balls and circumnavigated a swamp. Along the way we encountered a great diversity of sign as well as bird life. We encountered the sign of almost every woodpecker species native to our region, and were surprised to have close encounters with three of those species: Hairy, Downy, and Pileated. It is a great joy as a mentor to see these boys progress and how well they can make their way through the woods on their own when compared to some of our younger groups. After about an hour of exploration we decided it was about time to find somewhere flat and dry to settle in and practice our skills.

Red-breasted Sapsucker sign. These are rows of sap wells the bird has drilled into a living tree.

Sign of a Pileated Woodpecker. Notice the rectangular shape of the holes.

Beginning with our last outing, the Salamander Efts have begun working on the Art of Fire by Friction. This skill is an almost perfect incarnation of our seasonal focus, the Art of Thriving, in that it is built upon a foundation of many other skills, and symbolic of their mastery. From awareness of fire conditions, to harvesting and carving the components, to coaxing the coal into life and blowing it into flame, the boys must draw upon almost every other skill we have previously practiced in Explorer's Club. It is also a skill that requires a great deal of patience, perseverance, and self-motivation for success. The Bow Drill challenges even those most skilled and experienced in the outdoors.

Setting up shop.

We found someplace as dry and clear as we could and set up base camp. Our conditions were somewhat challenging to say the least. With a full night of rain and snow the forest was dripping wet and after just a few minutes of sitting down it started to feel rather cold. Starting a fire even by traditional methods would be difficult. However, something we know from the past is that when we need fire the most, conditions are often are often also the most challenging, even more so with Fire by Friction. These challenges were taken in stride as we moved out to collect materials. The Bow Drill has four major components: bow, spindle, fireboard, and handhold. We all collected these components and began shaping them to our basic needs.

Firing up the Bow Drill in the rain.

Once our sets were crafted we started putting them to use, burning the spindle into the handhold and fireboard. After learning the proper form, dealing with loose strings, wobbly spindles, and cracked fireboards, we realized this skill might not be as simple as it initially looks. Although none of us created a coal this day, we learned a lot about the physics and mechanics of the Bow Drill, which is the foundation of future success. We learned that this is a skill that very much relies on form over force, and that a well crafted and smoothly operated kit is the key to success. Our goal is for every one of the Salamander Efts to succesfully make fire with the Bow Drill by the end of this season and we will continue working on this skill each time we go out.

Crafting kits and working on form.

We rounded out the day with a sit spot, spending around 15 minutes in silence and solitude contemplating our day and our time with Explorers Club. As this is the Salamander Efts last season with Boys Explorers Club we wanted the boys to think about what their time here and their experience with the natural world means to them, and what lies in store for them in the future. For our next outing we will be traversing Chuckanut Ridge and hopefully delving deeper into these subjects as well as continuing to perfect our Bow Drill technique.

Hairy Woodpecker lets us get a good look at him.

Check out the rest of the photos from this outing here.

 

Salamander Efts Find Their Namesake at Lake Padden

With the rain pouring down the Salamander Efts arrived at Lake Padden knowing they were in for a wet one. Luckily, being comfortable with a cold, wet forest is part of being a salamander and today this group lived up to their name. We were at Lake Padden because of some unfinished business that we left from a spring outing where we got a start on a group shelter but never finished it! Trekking through the downpour, and up a fresh flowing stream that was at one time the trail, we clambered off trail up a steep hillside and at the top found our old shelter right where we left it!

Taking shelter under the tarp for lunch

Getting to work on the roof of our shelter. Giant slabs of Douglas Fir bark made for nice shingles.

Gathering together we decided to set up a tarp shelter to keep us and our gear dry during the outing. This was a great practical pop quiz for the Salamander Efts who managed to get a somewhat passable tarp shelter up before they hunkered under and ate lunch while the mentors and a few of the more determined Explorers put the finishing touches on the shelter utilizing a few specific knots like a Trucker’s Hitch and similar adjustable knots to get the desired tautness of a quality tarp shelter. With our tarp set up we set out to put a roof on our shelter. Gathering more sticks and proper latticing material the structure of the roof was finished. Next onto covering the roof. With some puzzlement one Explorer discovered an old Doug Fir log allowed us to break planks of bark off that we shingled on the roof. Next for debris we scrounged around scooping up armfuls of duff to add insulation to the roof. While doing this we discovered our group’s namesake… twice! Not one, but two separate species of salamander were discovered. What a fitting way to wrap up our outing.

We found or first salamander while gathering debris for our shelter.

Out second discovery of a different species of salamander.

 See if you can figure out which species we discovered on our outing using this guide!

With the roof on, we reflected on what we had accomplished, and what we could improve upon. Again, work ethic and feeling a sense of urgency to complete the shelter was missing this outing. Of course our time on outings is often valued for the fun that can be had goofing off with friends in the forest, but it is important to get into the right headspace when you’re practicing survival skills. We practice so that when we are faced with a real situation we have the confidence in our abilities to stay cool and calm under pressure and execute the skills necessary to stay safe and sound. Luckily, we have plenty more outings to continue to grow and learn how to practice with a purpose. In the end, the Salamander Efts survived, if not thrived, during the rainstorm finishing the roof to their shelter while discovering two species of native salamander along the way. Despite some moments of getting lost in goofing off, when called upon to get it together this group rallied and finally finished what they started in the spring.

With the roof on we reflected on our work and took a moment to review important keys to a survival shelter

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

Salamander Efts Explore The Rock Trail

Up and up the Salamander Efts went along the twisting, pot hole infested road on their way to the Rock Trail. If the bumps and bounces didn’t wake them up, the army of gnats atop the mountain certainly caught their attention. We could only admire the gorgeous view out onto Chuckanut Bay and the San Juans for a few seconds at time before needing to swat at the swarm of bugs. Finally everyone had arrived and it was time to hit the trail.

Getting out of the parking lot, we moved down the trail keeping an eye out for a good location for an opening meeting. While admiring the transitioning forest, we discovered numerous signs of spring in fresh growth, flowers, and a variety of birds that have returned north after vacationing south for the winter. With a nice clearing in sight we hopped off trail and circled up. Despite our relatively small group, the boys were rather chatty in circle were finding it much more amusing to goof off and try and get some laughs than to focus on making a plan for how to spend our day. The mentors took moment to discuss what truly listening to someone means, how you listen with not only your ears, but with your body, your eyes, and most importantly your heart. The Salamander Efts took to this advice and soon realized that focusing on one another and collaborating on our plan for the day meant more time playing in the woods and less time sitting in circle with a couple of grumpy mentors.

With a game plan figured out, we hit the trail and were soon making our way down an impressive series of staircases that the Washington Trails Association (WTA) had spent many laborious hours putting in. Little did we know we would be able to thank them for all their hard work just a little further up the trail where they were working on finishing up a section of trail. But before that we were stopped by the first major rock formation along the Rock Trail. A large sandstone cliff left us trying to answer a variety of mysteries. Some of us took the time to analyze the layers of sediment that had accumulated to create the Chuckanut Sandstone. Others got out our native plants field guide and took some time identifying a variety of fern species growing on and at the base of the sandstone. Finally it was time to continue on.

Stopping along the trail to check in with the WTA personnel we made sure it was clear to hike past and as we continued along our way thanked everyone for all of their hard work. Dropping into a valley we discovered half a dozen or so gigantic boulders amongst the forest floor. We had to stop and check them out so we trekked around a few and just beyond one of the boulders was a perfect place to set up a base camp. Hanging out for a bit to eat lunch we re-evaluated our day and decided to play some games to get to know this incredible landscape a little better and then have some free time to carve and explore. The game for the day was Eagle Eye where one Explorer is “it” and others must hide in a radius around him. Every round they must move closer and closer without being spotted. The kicker is that the time to move closer while the Eagle has his eyes shut diminishes each time until the final round where you must jump out of hiding, tag the Eagle, and get back into hiding. This is always a great game and forces one to read the landscape, planning movement from one hiding spot to another. The plentiful Sword Fern and young Western Hemlock provided excellent cover and the rocky terrain made this a fantastic game of Eagle Eye.

After some free time for carving, crafting, and exploring our surroundings, it was time for a Sit Spot. It had been awhile since the Salamander Efts had the opportunity to partake in a Sit Spot, so this seemed like the perfect occasion. The sun had come out and was illuminating the freshly grown Big Leaf Maple leaves so they popped a brilliant bright green. Along the forest floor were oases of sunshine where gaps in the canopy let the warm light through. Everyone spread out and found a comfy spot to hunker down for about twenty minutes or so. As we calmed our voices and bodies the birds and other creatures of the forest began to come out. Woodpeckers, Winter Wrens, and even a few mystery birds began calling out to one another while foraging for food. It truly felt like spring was finally here. With a quick closing circle and some apple slices in our bellies we packed up and trekked back up the trail. Even though we didn’t hike the entire trail, we found that the mysteries and simple pleasures of exploration that lay just off the trail can sometimes be the true treasures of the day.

Make sure to check out the rest of the photos from the days outing here.