Deming...er, Fragrance Lake - The Barred Owls go in search of snow. Unfortunately....

The Deming Homestead Eagle Park is described by Whatcom County parks as, “Fields and forests edge the North Fork Nooksack River surrounding the park. Sunny picnic tables invite a leisurely break any time of the year, but the greatest attraction occurs from December through March, as majestic bald eagles congregate here to feast on spawned salmon.” It’s also a great spot to work on tracking and just getting lost in the natural environment.

However, we woke on Saturday to a forecast of hazardous road conditions, so the mentors decided to forego our planned visit to Deming and stay close to town rather than venture out the Mount Baker Highway. Instead, we hopped into Merkle, one of Wild Whatcom’s two trusty buses, and headed to the Lost Lake/Clayton Beach trailhead to begin our hunt for snow in the Chuckanuts. 

There was no sign of snow along the Interurban trail as we started up toward Fragrance Lake, but we were hopeful. In fact, hope turned to confidence when we encountered a former Girls Explorers Club mentor coming down the trail. She informed us that there was indeed snow at higher elevation. Energized by this “intel”, our pace quickened. It’s a steep hill, though, and soon we stopped for a rest, lunch and exploration break. 

We pondered whether this would be a good spot to play Spider’s Web, but decided to press on in search of the elusive snow. About half way to Fragrance Lake there’s a spur to a lookout. We elected to follow this path for the view and in the belief that it might provide an excellent Spider’s Web location. The view was nice but a surfeit of downed trees precluded playing the game. Oh, and still no snow. And it was getting to be time to consider reversing course so as to be at the trailhead at the appointed time. 

So, to review: no eagles, no snow, no game. 

The Fragrance Lake trail has some pretty steep spots. It's a good idea to take a breather every little while. As we say in Explorers Club, "Fast is slow and slow is fast".

Here's our rest/lunch/exploration spot. Well, more than just this "nurse rock", of course, but the boys were quick to climb atop....

...and just as quick to explore these moss-covered boulders.

You can still see hints of what the old growth forests were like, with massive trees, boulders and streams coexisting in a natural symphony. Beautiful.

Mini-grand canyons were meant to be leapt across, wouldn't you say? Check out the video below for a better appreciation of this activity.

Foggy, but still awesome.

Finally, our long awaited game of Spider's Web.

Here's a first...the spider won! Ask your Explorer how that happens.

Interestingly, the boys weren’t deterred by the repeated failures. They called Hide! several times, explored when given the opportunity, and chatted as usual. 

It wasn’t the plan for the day, but what we mostly wound up doing was wandering — getting lost in the moment and the location. This is actually something we strive for in Explorers Club, so we embraced it as we headed down the hill. Without consciously deciding, we fell into the EC motto to Be Here Now, which helped us as we returned to our lunch spot and organized that elusive Spider’s Web game. 

As expressed by the motto It’s All Part of It, we accepted the frustration of our repeated foundering and kept our perspective. Sure, the snow gave us the slip (the only snow play took place in the parking lots at either end of the bus ride) and we saw not one eagle, but we were with friends in the splendid Chuckanut Mountains - so much for which to be thankful. 

You won’t be surprised to learn that there are more photos. 

The Barred Owls meet again on January 22. Here’s the club’s updated page for details. Have a peaceful holiday.

Serving Connelly Creek with the Salamander Efts and Barred Owlets

The headline might read “Connelly Creek Restoration Work Continues Apace”. Because it does, in part thanks to the efforts of the Salamander Efts and Barred Owlets on Saturday. Reed Canarygrass was “walked down” (it turns out the grass cutting we did in the fall was misdirected effort that actually encouraged growth!): bark mulch was shoveled, hauled and spread over the flattened Canarygrass: Himalayan blackberry was clipped and hauled off. TheConnelly Creek restoration site (see Happy Valley Park on the map) is better off for the strong effort put forth by these two Explorers Club groups. Service is an integral part of the Wild Whatcom mission. This work is a good thing and would make a nice story in the local newspaper.

At Wild Whatcom, we expect and strive for more, however. And for this outing, the deeper story is more nuanced. So let’s look past the headline by reviewing my admittedly arbitrary benchmarks for a service outing. 

Focus/hard work - Once I’ve seen three 60 - 80 pound boys struggling under the weight of a trash can full of bark mulch, I can’t easily question effort. However, pull the camera back during the outing and the boy sitting in a tree comes into the picture, as do the boys battling each other with bark chips as projectiles. Much work was done but the effort was inconsistent across the members of the Salamander Efts and Barred Owlets and rippled unevenly across the afternoon. 

Teamwork - I bring you back to the three boys carrying the loaded trash can. Two boys couldn’t carry that can, nor could the three of them get it to where it was needed without active communication. Likewise, a sole explorer couldn’t have dismantled a roughly 10 by 10 foot section of blackberry on his own. The mentors saw many examples of excellent teamwork throughout the afternoon. We were especially proud to observe the older Salamander Efts modeling good work habits for the Barred Owlets. 

Initiative - There’s a small ditch that bisects the work site about 3/4 of the way back. Thanks to explorers’ efforts over the past several years, most of the blackberries have receded to beyond the ditch. At one point a few hours into the outing, I jumped (ok, stepped) across the ditch to check on the blackberry work, only to find 3-4 explorers slicing through thorn-thrusting vines with the intensity of a family of beavers in spring. Rather than cut across the front of the infestation, they were tunneling from two directions and working back through the segregated area to clear a small room size area in a single effort. Nice work! I’m sure the two boys sitting along the creek, Huck Finn style and out of sight, would agree that the blackberry ravaging boys were making a real difference.

Task completion - Those who were part of the initial effort to restore Wild Whatcom’s Connelly Creek service site to ecological balance tell me the area was all but covered with invasive plants, such as Himalayan blackberry, and human trash (broken bottles, discarded beverage cans, car parts, piles of nails, and the like) when they first arrived. Well over half has been cleared and native trees and shrubs planted. Even since I joined the effort in the fall, the improvement is dramatic. Saturday’s work pushed this effort forward. It is gratifying to see the progress: these explorers are to be congratulated. 

Integrity/Honor/Respect - More could have been done on this day, however, with greater focus and discipline. There was too much squirreling out; too often did I turn to see bark being hurled at another; too often were individuals content to allow others to carry the load. I, for one, was disappointed.

Of course, what is life if not a succession of trials offering lessons and the chance to do better next time? The boys are young. This is the time for them to learn the satisfaction that comes from performing well and honorably. We’ll be back at this soon with more opportunities to help carry the heavy trash can and cut the irascible berry bushes. 

And, no doubt, I’m right in there with the boys. I can think of several times during the outing where a guiding word from me might have encouraged an explorer to lend a hand rather than squirrel out or start a bark battle. Fortunately, I get to put my lessons to work soon as well. Life is forgiving in that it offers second, third and, sometimes, fourth chances. Now there’s something for which we all can be grateful!

The Salamander Efts get back to it on Saturday, May 30, with an exploration of Blanchard mountain's alternate incline trails. Click here for the schedule.

The Barred Owlets pick up their water curriculum on Saturday, May 30 as well, when we traverse from Marine Park in Fairhaven to the Connelly Creek location. You'll find that schedule here.

Finally, check out the photos from our service work here (Salamander Efts) and here (Barred Owlets). See you out there.