Wilderness is not a luxury but a necessity of the human spirit, and as vital to our lives as water and good bread. –Edward Abbey
Arriving at Samish Woods after completing the Ozette Passage I was reminded that often times when we venture out into wild places we don’t look particularly different upon our return. We may be a little dirty or weary from the journey, but largely we appear unchanged. Perhaps we ourselves are unaware of the imprints that wild places leave on our sprit. Often we have stories so large that it becomes difficult to convey them with the words of our daily life. With this in mind I hope to share the essence of our trip.
Expeditionary Behavior (EB), this was the core of our experience at Ozette, and the fundamental lesson that the mentors continually returned to. We define EB as caring for the group and all its needs just as you would for yourself. All our daily chores were an opportunity for practicing good EB: filtering water, preparing meals, setting up and taking down tents, packing up packs, carrying group gear, and traveling as a group. This is the most important skill we can carry forward to future journeys. As those parents who witnessed the boys unloading Stubbs after a 15-hour day of traveling can attest to, the members of the Ozette Passage brought back a strong culture of good expeditionary behavior to their community.
Our journey began in the front-country navigating logistics and preparing equipment for the backcountry. By having the boys participate in some of the prior planning the mentors were able to plant a seed for how critical proper prior planning is to a successful wilderness journey. The boys spent the first two days of the trip navigating this part of wilderness travel and found it challenging at times. Learning to set up tents, run stoves, organize food, and properly pack backpacks isn’t as glamorous as crossing a headland, but they are crucial aspects of a backpacking trip on the Olympic coast. Logistic days can be filled with a sense of impatience, but at breakfast on our departure morning several of the boys mentioned that they appreciated being involved in the logistics when we gave thanks before eating. This early stage of preparation lets the boys take on much more leadership in the backcountry.
After a restful sleep we all awoke and packed up our camp. Front-country gear was organized and put away on Stubbs and all of our backcountry gear was packed up into our packs. Each person on the trip found a way to carry some group gear. Just before crossing the Ozette River we spotted a river otter swimming around. We quietly watched it swim and forage along the bank and were eventually rewarded when it caught a fish and consumed it in the water. We shouldered our packs and headed out across the bridge that would mark our first threshold of the trip from the front-country to the backcountry.
After setting up our camp and stowing food in the bear canisters we headed north up the beach in search of the Ozette Memorial and any other interesting things we might see along the way. The memorial was up on the bank next to a deteriorating ranger cabin. It was about eight by ten feet large and made entirely of cedar. Four stout cedar posts made the corners and hand-hewn beans with many adze and axe marks made up the rafters and joists. The roof and sides were long split boards of cedar. Outside the memorial’s open doorway were huge pieces of bone from some large whale’s skull, while the inside was filled with bones. Most of them were from marine mammals like seals and sea lions, but there were several whale vertebrae, ribs, and skull fragments. A small plaque commemorates the peoples who lived historically on this land. Each and every member of our group was struck by the power of this small memorial.
With dawn came the roar of the small stove and sweet smells of Explorers Oatmeal—quick cooking oats fortified with flax seeds, coconut oil, brown sugar, chopped ginger, and cinnamon. Even those who don’t typically eat oatmeal enjoyed the hearty, warming food. We broke camp and headed down to the beach and began our second leg of the trip, a 3.1-mile beach walk. Our goal was to reach the Wedding Rocks by lunch and our camp at Sand Point by early afternoon. Our packs felt heavy and the shifting gravel beach was difficult to keep a steady pace on. Huge downed trees made interesting obstacles that had to be gone around or under (they were enormous). Lunch at the Wedding Rocks was short and sweet as we began to feel the push and pull of the tide as it slowly rose and pushed us up closer to forest for our last stretch of beach before Sand Point.
Obtaining water in the backcountry is one of the daily critical tasks. In the Ozette triangle region the Park Service recommends filtering or boiling the water over using chlorine or iodine chemistry, as these will not kill cryptosporidium, a nasty little protozoa that nobody wants to ingest. The challenge of the Ozette region, especially after an unseasonable dry spring, is that the water is filled with tannins that rapidly clog filter cartridges. The tea colored water we filtered looked pretty unappetizing, but was delicious tasting! Our water source at Sand Point was the most difficult to filter, but we found a beautiful clear and free flowing stream next to our camp at Yellow Banks.
Our evening at Sand point was damp from the ocean mist, but after we ate a simple meal of ramen noodles, broth and sautéed carrots, onion, and sweet potatoes we gathered for an evening council on the beach. The boys prepared a small space using logs to protect us from the chill of the wind and damp mist rolling off the ocean breeze. Our Council ritual is simple. First we gather in a circle and light a smudge. The smudge is a mixture of Big Leaf Sagebrush, White Sage, and Sweetgrass. We place a small amount in an Abalone shell and light it with a match. The mixture burns briefly and then smolders giving off a sweet smoke. This shell is then passed around the circle and each member of the council blows on the ember and passes the smoking abalone shell along his arms and legs. It is almost like bathing. This ritual is a way of preparing for the council and brings deep focus to every single person in the circle. We discussed many things in our council space, but mostly we talked about things pertaining to Expeditionary Behavior. We used the council to form plans for the next day or discuss important decisions about the trip. After discussing the day’s journey and the challenges of the next day we retreated from the beach through the wall of Salal to our snug tents; the sounds of the waves lulling us to sleep.
Steve and Greg awoke early and every Explorer was up and breaking camp by 6:30 in the morning. After another hearty round of EC Oats we headed out on the broad expanse of sandy beach to the south of Sand Point. The firm sand was so easy to walk on and it was a joy to walk side by side with heavy packs and take in the magnificent views of the Yellow Banks, our second headland.
South of Sand point there is very little day hiker traffic. Once you have decided to round the Yellow Banks headland you are committed. The tides will not let you go around headland if they are too high and you have to wait until the tides are below 5’ before you can safely attempt the crossing. We had two high and two low tides a day: a High High, Low Low, Low High, and High Low. The lowest tides during our journey were in the morning with the first high tide coming about six hours later in the early afternoon, so all headland crossing were going to have to be done early in the morning. This feeling of commitment and exposure intensifies the need for good expeditionary behavior, because careless behavior from one individual can put the whole group in jeopardy. The boys were well prepared and with a dogged focus they carefully picked their way across slippery rocks, ankle deep gravel, and through tunnels to reach the other side of the headland. There was a sense of deep satisfaction as the boys set foot upon a beach that had never been visited by another Boys Explorers’ club backpacking trip!
The camp at Yellow Banks was nestled in the beach logs several feet above the high tideline. Small platforms made for cramped spots for tents, but without too much fuss the tents were secured and rigged for strong winds should they unexpectedly arrive. The sun on the beach invited the boys to play in the shallows of the gentle shore break. A game of wading and standing atop a small and short log ended quickly when a wave finally floated the log and bumped it into the toes of one of the members of our group. Despite wearing water shoes the log had bent his toes in a way that caused lots of pain when he walked. Steve and Greg utilized their WFR training and preformed a complete patient assessment; testing the toes for usability. Using a bucket found on the beach we created a cold soak for the patient’s toes and administered some Ibuprofen. The other boys watched quietly and were eager to include our patient in several games of cards while he soaked his foot and rested. After a few hours our patient was hobbling around glad to be free from the icy cold bucket of water!
Our Council that evening was somewhat somber. Steve and Greg presented a change of the itinerary to the group that would create a safer exit for us all. Originally we had planned to have a layover day at Yellow Banks and spend much of it having some longer solo time on the beach and on the final morning we would rise very early and walk back around the headland to Sand Point and then across the final leg of the triangle to Stubbs. The pace of the final morning was the critical factor in our decision and we all agreed that it made the most sense to rise early and head back to Sand Point in order to break the trip up and not have to keep a quick pace on the final morning with a potentially sore foot in our team. The way in which our group responded to this decision showed tremendous maturity.
After council the mentors made a final check on the rising tide. We diligently made sure that every tent was well above the high tide line. While watching and assessing the waves we noticed that down the beach where a neighboring group had camped a flurry of activity had erupted. Headlamps were switching on and appeared to be making trips from near the water to higher up on the beach. It was clear that they had not planned their camp adequately and had been woke by the rising tide at the door of their tent. For two cold misty hours Steve and Greg sat quietly on a log next to the tents watching over the slumbering boys. It was a sobering thought to imagine waking to a cold wave splashing over you while snug in a sleeping bag. It was also a great affirmation that careful planning and camp selection pays off. Finally the tide began to recede and Steve and Greg retired to their sleeping bags as the moon emerged from behind the towering spruces above our camp.
On the morning of July 1st we broke camp and the boys quickly packed up camp and we headed north around the headland, this time avoiding the small tunnel through the sand stone and staying on the rocks. One wet rock sent an Explorer down on his knee and was a great reminder that slow is fast and fast is slow. Fortunately he was able to sit and rest for a few minutes and then cautiously make his way along the rest of the slick rocks unscathed. For the final leg of the hike back to Sand Point Steve and Greg facilitated a solo hike on the beach. The process is simple, the Explorers wait in a group and one at a time they are released giving them spacing between each other. Greg headed out first and after five minutes of walking he placed a stick with a blue plastic bottle on it in the sand. The first explorer then walked until he passed it, which then signaled the next Explorer to begin his walk. So eventually all the Explorers were sandwiched between Steve and Greg in a big long line that stretched for half a mile along the huge expansive beach. At they end they all grouped up to Greg at the other end and quickly circled up to share some brief thoughts. After living and traveling in close quarters it seemed like the perfect time and place to create a little solitude for the boys.
Our final day in camp was spent exploring the sunny beach, carving, gathering water, and preparing and cooking falafel. The sun drained our energy and when the cool air of the evening arrived we had our final council of the trip. We had the boys’ construct a medicine wheel oriented to the cardinal directions and asked them to decorate it with things they gathered on the beach. We reflected on the trip together and Steve and Greg shared with the group that they had all become wilderness travelers. They had crossed beyond a headland that required total commitment to their group and their own skills and had safely navigated their way back. The mentors also shared how it can be difficult to re-enter into the front-country with all the conveniences and people after traveling simply in a small group. The rising of the full moon over the beach was a great finale to a wonderful day in the backcountry.
On the morning of our final day the land offered us one final lesson: we should always be vigilant about safety in the backcountry. We had a close call eating breakfast. Our group gathered for our Explorer’s Oats with the intention of sitting on a log together to say a farewell to the ocean before we walked back through the woods to Stubbs. As customary the mentors served the boys first and were just walking to join the boys when a low “thunk” came from the beach followed by cries of “Steve!” and “Greg!” The mentors rushed the ten steps through the Salal that formed a wall between the beach and our camp. They found boys standing on the beach and one with his leg trapped under a huge log. Quickly Steve and the boys lifted the large log and the leg was freed. The soft sand prevented the leg from getting seriously injured and the only injury the Explorer sustained was a small scrape on the heel. We all breathed sighs of relief that nobody was seriously hurt. We debriefed with the boys immediately and reflected upon how despite walking and sitting on that very log the previous afternoon, it shifted when we all sat on it. It was a great reminder that we cannot take our safety for granted and that traveling in the backcountry simply requires an extra measure of caution.
Our journey back along the boardwalk was beautiful and we soon arrived at Stubbs. We packed up and headed out from Ozette, making a brief stop at Lake Crescent to swim and wash away the grime and sand from the journey. We enjoyed the comforts of pizza while waiting for the ferry and a smooth crossing. We arrived at Samish Woods Montessori at dusk and were greeted by smiling parents eager to hear stories from the trip. Wilderness Travelers! Thank you for putting forth so much effort to the group. This was a fantastic trip full of joy, beauty, and deep care for one another. It was an honor to serve as your mentoring team on this journey. Heartfelt thanks to the families of these wilderness travelers; your support of this program and these trips is deeply appreciated. Working with your sons is such a privilege. They are very fine human beings indeed!
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