The Alevin Explorers arrived at Cascades Montessori in a
whirlwind of energy and immediately started a Fir Cone war. Looking about the
mentors were unsure that the group was ready for the responsibility of an overnight.
Loading up onto the bus we waved our goodbyes and were off.
Arriving at Racehorse Falls the group was anxious to pull
their packs off the bus, but the mentors held the group, reminding them we
needed to focus on the We before the Me.
Heading down the path to the falls the group navigated over a massive log jam and
wondered how they would carry the group gear over the obstacles.
Hiking along the creek the boys found a perfect site that
could fit five tents and raced back to the bus to grab the group gear. Feeling
their hunger they struggled to set up the awkward tents and quickly learned
that their desired tent locations might not have been the greatest place to
drive in tent stakes, and that a rain fly needs to be taunt in order to work. When
our tents were at last pitched we ate lunch by Racehorse Creek and settled into
the land.
The boys asked the mentors if they were fine to freely
explore and the mentors encouraged the group to make a plan for the day. They reminisced
on their last summer’s backpacks performing backcountry living tasks in the
fading light. The group circled up and decided to head up to the falls to
freely explore until mid-day and then head back to camp to get all logistics in
order.
Hiking up to the falls the group turned over rocks finding
all types of fossils revealing palm frawns and sticks embedded in the shale.
On January 5, 2009 a ‘pineapple express’ storm smashed into
the Pacific Northwest from the subtropical Pacific and began delivering a
deluge of rain and warm temperatures to the deeply snow-covered foothills of
Whatcom County. The accumulation of water in the saturated snow and heavy
runoff resulted in hundreds of debris flows and slope failures across the
region. The largest landslide occurred on the afternoon of January 7th in
the Racehorse Creek drainage. Unlike virtually all other landslides associated
with this weather event, the Racehorse Creek landslide involved deep bedrock
failure, releasing around 500,000 cubic meters of rock (akin to more than 20,000 dump-truck loads of rock and timber).
The slide left behind a 90-foot-high vertical wall crosscutting bedding planes
in Chuckanut Formation sandstone and
shale.
Reaching the waterfall the group marveled at the horseshoe
like shape of the riverbed and the cascading falls. The boys climbed and
explored to their hearts content and decided that the overcast day did not lend
itself towards a swim in the pool below the creek.
After making the push back to camp the boys scattered and it
was time to bring some focus to the rest of our day. Circling up we appointed a
tribal elder, who with the groups help, determined that we had five tasks to
complete before night fall: setting up a kitchen, digging a sump, getting our
smellables in order, harvesting water for dinner and drinking, and clearing a
fire pit as well as harvesting dry Cedar off the river bank. Once the tasks
were delegated the mentors sat back a waited for the group to engage.
All in all we would say the boys efforts were quite varied,
but over the course of three hours they managed to get it all done. Calling the
group together a few of our appointed chefs got dinner going and revisited stove
usage and kitchen safety. The mentors reminded the group that a campout is
quite different from a day outing. On day outings we play quite rough and there
is a real need to scale back on overnights because of our proximity to
definitive care.
Circling up we gave some thanks and ate our delicious “thanksgiving
meal”. About half-way through dinner the boys started to feel rain. It is a gift
to get out on the land with boys who are so in tuned with the natural world.
Immediately the boys ran back to their tents, grabbed their rain layers, zipped
up their rain fly’s, and got their gear in order. It’s moments like these that
let the mentors know that the boys are ready for bigger adventures.
Once our dishes were washed and our kitchen was put away the
group worked to split the strait grained Cedar we had harvested to create a
tinder bundle for our fire. Leaving it up to the group the
Alevin were able to
get the fire going with a flint and steal. We circled up around the fire it to
work on some skills. Coal-blowing is a technique used to make anything from spoons
and bowls to dugout canoes. Taking small coals out of the fire the boys pressed
them against the Cedar blanks gently blowing and igniting the wood. Moving the
coal away the boys scraped out the charred wood, leaving a depression that
would make the scoop part of their spoon.
After some focused skills work the mentors asked the group
to put away their projects and bring their focus inwards towards the fire. The
mentors explained that this upcoming year would be one of transition for the
group, and when it came to a close in June 2017 the boys would no longer be the
Alevin group but instead would transition into the Four Shields program.
Part of this new Four Shields experience would be engaging
in a process the mentors call Council. Council is simple; it is a
time to openly and genuinely engage with one another. It is a time to share stories,
wisdom, and to process. There are three rules of council: speak from the heart, listen from the heart, and get to the heart of
the matter. The mentors explained to the group that life is a dance between
the sacred and the profane. The group asked what profane was. The mentors
explained that profane moments in our day were the times we spent playing
games, making fun of each other for doing something silly, and the time spent
squirreling. Council on the other hand is ancient and sacred.
Our focus in council for the evening would be two-fold. The
first would be to remind the group of their opportunity to serve their younger
BEC community as EMA’s. This is the work we do for our community and how we get
outside of ourselves and give back. It is also a great way to reconnect with
the loss of childhood that many of the Alevin are experiencing as their lives
shift and change in middle school.
The second topic was regarding what our mentors call the
cultivation of the scared male. The mentors asked the group what their
experience in middle school was like and to reflect on how males treated each
other in their day to day lives. Not surprisingly the group reflected that
there was a lot of ego, disingenuous behavior, bullying, and engagement in a
culture that promotes violence, assimilation, mistreatment of women, and power
grabbing.
Our goal as mentors for the Alevin is transitioning them
into arriving adults who are able to walk forward in life with genuineness,
care, integrity, peace building, and a tool kit that helps them navigate what
mentors call the cultural wilderness. One mentor shared a story from a middle
school experience where he had to make an extremely tough decision that he
didn’t feel he could go to his parents to help him make. He elaborated that
life in the front country is a culture wilderness and often one that we wander
alone or with our peers. The decisions and challenges we face in this
wilderness are not always black and white, and it takes a great deal of
strength and fortitude to navigate these hurdles with integrity and honor.
After Council the boys were exhausted and tired of holding
the strong focus in the rain. The group settled into their tents and we
listened to the sounds of the Coyotes in the distance and rainfall against our
tents as we drifted off into sleep.
Waking the next morning we broke camp, made breakfast, and
reignited our fire for another focused coal-blowing session. We spent the rest
of the day on the creek exploring and ended our day with a nice long sit spot
and a circle of thanks before heading back to the bus. We had every intention
of swimming at the falls, but an event where a rock that was skipped carelessly
ricocheted off a larger rock in the river hitting an Explorer in the ankle
prevented us from navigating back up the creek. It was an important reminder of
the scaling back that mentors mentioned in the previous day. Our mentors are
extremely grateful for the time we spend out on the land with these boys and
look forward to a great 2016-17 year with the Alevin Explorers.
For more picture from our overnight a Racehorse Falls please
visit this photo album.
