Deepening the Skill of Navigation with the Firestalkers

There are many types of navigation in our human experience of this wild and mysterious world. Through sufficient time and effort, and a vast lineage of insights and skills, humans have navigated themselves to the moon, across the Antarctic, under the deep oceans, and across the Himalayas. We navigate the tremendous forces of our social interactions through ancient technologies like council practice, villages, and ceremonies, and in our more modern tools of Facebook, fashion, forums, and Skype. We are constantly navigating our internal landscapes of emotion, intellect, body, and spirit.  We are navigators, and a good navigator knows the tools and has the internal skills to use them appropriately.

So, we began our first outing after Ozette with attention to navigation. So many of the Firestalkers are on the edge of a very new school environment, and that means some potentially disorienting experiences. We all had an intense experience in Ozette. Even the weather seemed to have just shifted to a new season. Though we knew a good check-in was necessary, we also knew that sometimes the best way to deal with disorientation is to just dive in. So, instead of beginning this outing with a big meeting, we took out our blindfolds and tried something very crazy and completely new. Blindfold capture the flag. Yep. You read it right.  Yes, it was even crazier than, I think, any of us could have conceptualized. And it was a great start! This game may very well manifest again in the future.

After four rounds of ridiculousness, we all gathered up. We did do our check in, ate a little food, and considered navigation. We unpacked just a bit, and recognized that this season will be focused on this skill. The Firestalkers were then given their next two missions: 1) find the group of youngest Explorers on the other side of 100 Aker Wood. 2) Find maps of Winchester Lookout that have been hidden somewhere in that area.

After a little discussion, we headed off. We attempted to stay moving west-northwest, and, momentously, managed to travel further than any other group ever in the history of the entire program.  After some plant ID and navigation skill considerations, we finally came to a recognizable area. We heard a group of kids to the west, and were debating whether or not they were our quarry, when we heard someone yell, “Hide!”  Everyone burst into a smile. That was a group of Explorers for sure! We got closer and then went off in pairs, trying to sneak up as close as we could to the Salamander Efts. The terrain was hard, the kids were alert and ready, but Firestalkers did a good job. The inside scoop is that, in the closing meeting, about half of the Salamander Efts reflected on how inspired they were with the sneaking skills of the Firestalkers.

Eventually, all but one of us was caught, so we gathered up to have a formal meet and greet and to say our thanks before we went on our way. Thanks, Salamander Efts, for your great work!

The next mission was finding those maps. We knew where the first ones were, but the rest were songlined in a string of clues. Here the Firestalkers managed to accomplish another first by navigating off trail for longer than any other group ever has. This is just the beginning, Firestalkers.

Serendipitously, our last map was located very close to where we had dropped our packs (this was not planned, by the way…) Once we had found them all, we looked at the time and realized we had to get going. We jogged back in no time and left room for a good closing meeting and a circle of thanks.  Four hours goes by fast.

Thanks so much, Firestalkers, for a great outing.  It’s so much fun to get out there with you, and we can’t express to you enough how much you are responsible for the quality of the entire program. You started Boys Explorers Club, and it is growing in so many ways because of you.  Feel some pride in that, please, because you’ve earned it.

Thanks to you, parents, for all your great support.

Please check out the pics from the outing in our photo gallery.