The Vespula Veterans Summer was a gift. These boys found their stride and, in many instances, directed themselves through the journeys of skills, exploration, service, and connection. There were many times when the mentors paused, looked at one another, and shook their heads, a smile on their faces, wondering at the spontaneous highly focused carving time or act of service that we found ourselves partaking in. This was a summer of adventure, of deepened connection, knowledge, and skill, of service, of play. We performed better and better as a group, many navigated their way deftly through pieces of the Earth Skills Journey (including eating with chopsticks that they carved), we learned camping skills, stretched out edges of hiking, and deepened our awareness. A great camp overall.
We began our summer with an outing to the 100 Acre Wood, our EC home. Here we introduced the Earth Skills Journey, which will unfold throughout the EC seasons to come, and many embraced the challenge. We also got quite a few opportunities to experience and understand the concentric rings of action and response that ripple through the forest and how to read them. Games abounded, of
course. Spider’s Web took on new dimensions and we began to consider the underlying structure of it with an intent to eventually empower this group with the ability to design games. A lot of group process work marked this first day, and it sparked deep conversation and many actions toward working well as a team. This first hurdle was an essential part of the whole week, as it created a response of community bonding. Throughout the week, we came to crossroads, often literally and sometimes more internally, and it was up to the group to decide as one. The Vespula Veterans rose to the occasion.
course. Spider’s Web took on new dimensions and we began to consider the underlying structure of it with an intent to eventually empower this group with the ability to design games. A lot of group process work marked this first day, and it sparked deep conversation and many actions toward working well as a team. This first hurdle was an essential part of the whole week, as it created a response of community bonding. Throughout the week, we came to crossroads, often literally and sometimes more internally, and it was up to the group to decide as one. The Vespula Veterans rose to the occasion.
It has been this Explorer’s experience that attempting to encapsulate all of the experiences of each day would yield an outing report of such length that we might have to begin awarding literature credits to parents and participants who dare to read such chronicles in their entirety. But don’t worry. Niether do you have the time nor I the resolve to make this happen. So, you’ll get a pointillist overview of the week. Here it goes:
Carving chopsticks, butter knives, and spoons, coal-blowing, playing crazy challenge course games, discovering new paths in the 100 Aker Wood, visiting Hoag’s Pond, covering ourselves in the many pigments of earth and berry, attempting to ascend the hill at the 100 Acre and
avoid Drew’s eagle eyes, learning to locate a coyote by listening to the birds, taking a big hike and learning how to prepare, epic games of Hide, eating tons of wild edibles, finding a barred owl and hearing the bird language around it, learning all kinds of new plants, swimming in cedar lake, discovering carnivorous plants, a silent walk for part of the way down the big trail, discovering the shelter building area and working on our own shelters, digging out the old stumps, a crazy adaptation of Spider’s Web, learning our own ripples through the forest and how to minimize our impact, discovering a brand new area, piling 
in Stubbs and adventuring to Hovander Park and Tenant Lake, the perfect service project of bending the knotweed, the frogs and beavers, the game of Where’s My Egg?, fire by friction, carving and coal-blowing even more, setting up camp at Tenant Lake, meeting the recovering crow, going into the interpretive center, really getting to know that crow!, discovering the wetland, cooking and tent craft, a night walk, lighting swamp gas on fire!, rallying in the morning, adventuring through Point Whitehorn, a long, wonderful ending by the water, the honoring ceremony for each and every one of these
great boys.
avoid Drew’s eagle eyes, learning to locate a coyote by listening to the birds, taking a big hike and learning how to prepare, epic games of Hide, eating tons of wild edibles, finding a barred owl and hearing the bird language around it, learning all kinds of new plants, swimming in cedar lake, discovering carnivorous plants, a silent walk for part of the way down the big trail, discovering the shelter building area and working on our own shelters, digging out the old stumps, a crazy adaptation of Spider’s Web, learning our own ripples through the forest and how to minimize our impact, discovering a brand new area, piling in Stubbs and adventuring to Hovander Park and Tenant Lake, the perfect service project of bending the knotweed, the frogs and beavers, the game of Where’s My Egg?, fire by friction, carving and coal-blowing even more, setting up camp at Tenant Lake, meeting the recovering crow, going into the interpretive center, really getting to know that crow!, discovering the wetland, cooking and tent craft, a night walk, lighting swamp gas on fire!, rallying in the morning, adventuring through Point Whitehorn, a long, wonderful ending by the water, the honoring ceremony for each and every one of these great boys.
Wow! What a week. We are truly thankful for this experience. We are truly excited for this upcoming Fall and the ever-richer journeys to come. Much thanks to all the Explorers for your willingness to embrace life. Much thanks to all the parents for your enduring support!
Don’t forget to check out pics of our outing in our photo gallery.
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