Tuesday, February 27, 2018

Pine Martins explore Samish Park



I am constantly amazed by all of the incredible areas we have for exploring our natural world.  It seems that every week I am fortunate enough to explore a new area.  February 11 with the Pine Martins was one of those days.  I was lucky enough to join them on an adventure to Samish Park.  I had never been there before and it was so fun to explore with them. 

opening circle

We met in the parking lot of Samish Park and found a nice grassy area to have our opening circle.  We passed out jobs and talked about some of our favorite animals and discussed their “nature superpowers.”  After a brief discussion we headed out, and immediately started hiking up and up. 


Samish Park is 26 acres of forested land tucked in the Chuckanuts on the North end of Lake Samish.   The hiking is steep, and there are a number of streams running down the hillside. The Pine Martins were witness to some pretty cool waterfalls and got to work out some strong hiking muscles.  The Explorers did great.  

Great place for a snack

About half way up we took a nice break on a huge rock jutting out from the hillside.  The Pine Martins collaborated and compromised on whether they wanted to continue on the trail or take a more direct route to the top, up the right-of-way.  They decided as a group to hike the trail for a couple more switchbacks then to finish the hike by taking the pipeline clearing. 

Strong hikers!

When we reached the top of our hike we set up a nice basecamp and went about exploring the area and setting up some firm boundaries for the explorers.  Some of the boys found a great area for spider’s web, and we had a really fun and challenging game with the entire group.  

The food source!

After our game of spider’s web, we circled up for some lunch and introduced tracking to the Pine Martins.  As a group we talked through some basics and why it is a skill we teach.  We then broke up into two groups and played a really fun tracking game.  The first group waited at base camp for 15 minutes, while the second group hiked out towards the parking lot.  After the allotted time the first group then tracked the second group to their hiding place.  We then switched roles.  The Pine Martins met this tracking game with tons of enthusiasm and humor.  We all realized just how difficult tracking is.  Especially when there are lots of old tracks in the area.  

Which way did they go?

The outing was ended with a very respectful closing circle.  Thanks Pine Martins for a great day exploring. To view more photos from this outing click here.



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