The BEC mentoring team would like to thank all parents, volunteers, staff, and Explorers for making our Baker Lodge 2015 weekend a possibility. Parents, thanks for your spirit of exploration, for your care and support for the Explorers, and for your willingness to gather as a community and work towards common goals and shared values. Explorers, thank you for your inspiration and play, for your ability to work together as group, for your eagerness to include each other in the experience, and for being flexible and modeling great attitudes given this year’s snow pack. Finally we would like to thank the Mountaineers and their volunteer staff, Susan and Hugh, for all their work and dedication in keep the amazing facility running and our experience so rich and full year after year.
At around 5:30pm on Friday, Explorers and parents started to arrive in the Mountaineers parking lot, while the mentors prepared our annual, and not to be missed, burrito buffet. The group was shocked to see that the path to the lodge was free of snow and dry. Once the majority of the group was settled into their bunks and oriented to the lodge we gathered in the dinning room and shared a circle of thanks. The Explorers finished dinner relatively quickly and bussed their plates, anxious to find a spot to sled.
Gathering our headlamps, shovels, and sleds the group scouted for our annual night sledding location. Night sledding is a wonderful tradition passed down through the oral history of our program. This year in particular the mountains graced us with amazing weather. Clear skies and cool temperatures brought in by a north wind made for amazing stargazing. This was coupled with a waxing gibbous moon that cast beautiful silhouettes off of Mt. Shuksan and Sefrit.
With a little luck the boys found a spot where there was still enough consolidated snow to make a sledding run. When the first Explorer tested the track it was slick and fast. The parents decided it would be best to have a few adults at the end of the run so the boys didn’t end up in a tree well. Together the group worked on building up banked turns to avoid the saplings that has been buried in previous years. Parent would relay an “all clear” call up the track and a lone headlamp would snake down through the darkness.
We sledded until about 10:00 o’clock and quickly retired to our shared sleeping quarters. Just as night sledding has become tradition for our weekend, so has the symphony of snoring that comes from the men’s berths at night. Sharing the lodge’s limited space for the weekend is a great way for us come together as community and more subtlety helps us recognize how lucky we are to have so much autonomy and freedom in our lives and how fortunate we are to have all that we do. 
The kitchen crew woke up before first light on Saturday morning and the smells of pancakes, sausage, and eggs drifted throughout the lodge. The sunrise over the Nooksack Circe and the White Salmon Glacier filled the dining hall with light. After breakfast the cleaning crew got to work and we packed our gear for a full days worth of exploration.
Circling up outside the lodge we slathered on sunscreen and went over some mountain safety. Heading out from the upper ski areas parking lot, we were on a mission to find the perfect sledding hill and explore the landscape. Although the snow pack was too shallow to build snow caves, the group did find a couple of suitable hills after about fifteen minutes of hiking. Setting up a base camp the boys got to work smoothing out the sun-cupped hillside by steamrolling the bumps and using their bodies as shock absorbers. After about two hours worth of sledding and lots of wipes outs we grouped back up and ate some lunch.
Listening to the Explorers and parents talk about how we wanted to best use our time it was clear that feelings were mixed. Once we were fueled and hydrated the boys circled up in a typical Explorers Club fashion to make a group decision. Our eldest Explorers did an excellent job modeling circular leadership and helping to facilitate our group decision-making process. In the end the Explorers made the decision to split up into two groups, one would hike up to Artist Point and the other would stay at the sledding hill and play some games. Great work Explorers!
Trudging up to Artist Point the boys stretched their edges climbing the steep slopes. Tried, sweaty, and triumphant the group reached the top and their effort was not in vain. Spectacular 360-degree views into some of the most rugged and remote regions of the North Cascades greeted them. Once the group had their fill of the vista they sledded, glissaded, and skied down to meet the rest of the group. Needless to say the trip down was much faster than the trip up!
Meanwhile at our basecamp the other group was busy creating an igloo structure; working tirelessly to cut blocks, stack them equally, the fill the crevices with snowy “mortar”. The Explorers made quite a productive quarry, making sure to take breaks to play a few rounds of Spider’s Web for the first time ever in the snow! It filled the mentor’s hearts with joy to see the parents crawling and sliding on their bellies as they tried to avoid the hungry spider gaze. Play is important for us all and it was powerful for the boys to share one of their most prized games with the Dad’s. As we sat and regrouped a hungry flock of Gray Jays flew up and raided some of the boy’s lunches, they even landed in one Explorer’s hand!
Exhausted and sun soaked the group migrated back over to the lodge so the dinner crew could help with meal prep. Sharing a hearty meal together of pot roast, mashed potatoes, and salad, parents and Explorers alike sat back and relaxed; full and contented with the day’s events. The group spent the next few hours lounging, talking, and playing boards games while watching the alpenglow turn Mt. Shuksan deep oranges and pinks. Of all the things that we do at the lodge this is one of the most important. It is one of the only opportunities the mentors have to spend some uninterrupted time getting to know families, sharing stories, and visioning for the future of Wild Whatcom. Building relationships and strengthening bonds and trust between parents and mentors is what has allowed our program to function as it does and we are so grateful for this support.
Once the sun had set and the Explorers had their fill of conversation we headed out for a second round of night sledding. The track was even slicker than the first night and the boys had a great time pretending the mentors were bowling pins as they flew down the track. The sounds of laughter and friendship filled the crisp air. Crawling into our bunks the second act of the snoring symphony was even grander than the first.
The next morning the group rallied to take care of the Lodge clean up, cook another amazing breakfast, and get our gear packed; but not before the adults had their fair share of French press coffee. By 10:00am the group was outside of the lodge ready to depart. Sharing our last circle together the group gave some thanks. It is in these moments when it is crystal clear that we are building an intentional community of caring individuals. What a pleasure it was to spend a weekend with all the Explorers and families. To connect deeply, to laugh and play together, to engage in exploration and adventure, to unwind and decompress, and share and recognize this amazing wilderness that lies just outside of the Bellingham area. Watching the last of the families head out in their cars the mentors were reminded of a quote by John Muir, “Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop away from you like the leaves of Autumn”.
For more pictures from Baker Lodge please visit our winter photo gallery.
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