Roosevelt Elk Calves Practice the Art of Shelter

The Roosevelt Elk Calves stampeded into the Parking lot at the base of Galbraith mountain on the clear but cold first day of November. This is the time of year when the transition from fall to winter seems almost complete, with the temperatures dropping and most of the leaves on the ground it is the perfect time of year to dive into the Art of Shelter building! This patch of woods is perfect for shelter building; large rolling hills located above lake padden with a mainly coniferous forest, but a healthy smattering of big leaf maples and other deciduous trees to provide ample debris.

We entered the Forest and found a place for our opening meeting. For the day after halloween and the effects of a massive sugar intake the night before the boys were surprisingly energetic yet focused. Steve and I started to talk about shelter building and the boys were immediately excited about building a shelter. We quickly talked about what kind of things we should be looking for in a good shelter spot (dry, lots of materials, hidden from the trail.) and what kind of things we should avoid (low spots that collect water, dead or partially fallen trees.). We all bounded off through the forest in search of the perfect spot. Soon we found one; Flat, open, in a hidden spot, plenty of good sticks, and huge Big Leaf Maples that had just dropped their leaves.

 After dropping our packs we spread out through the forest; some of us gather ridge poles and supports, others gathering rib pieces, and still others collecting “Y” poles to create the entry way. for a good twenty minutes we all gathered materials. When we all finally reconvened we had assembles a good pile of rib poles, sturdy supports, and long strong ridge poles. The boys were really motivated to start building and after looking at a simple diagram steve had brought the boys started laying sticks and pounding supports into the ground. It was really amazing how quickly the main structure of this shelter came together. The motto “Many Hands Make Light Work” has never been more true.

Soon we have the structure completed and begin gathering large armloads of Big Leaf Maple Leaves, releasing the damp earthy smell held inside. We take a break and steve tells us the story of Tom Brown learning the art of shelter  building by watching the Squirrels. We Continue to work. Armloads of Leaves, growing shelter, disappearing sticks, laughter, sweaters and coats full of leaves, how much light is in the shelter? Trying out the shelter, could you spend the night in this shelter? More debri, Working in teams, Lots more debri!, How long would it take to build this shelter with just one person? How long to build a shelter for all of us? what does a squirrel's nest look like?, many many armloads of debri, how much debri do we need on the shelter?

The shelter is now looking a lot more like something you could spend the night in. about two and a half feet of debri cover most of it and we have been working for about two hours straight. We take a break and begin to talk about how we want to spend the rest of the day. There is discussion of playing some games or working more on the shelter. After a mostly self facilitated conversation the boys decide to split in half with those that want to playing spiders web and the other half to continue working on the shelters. It took a little bit of time but it was really nice to see the boys reach this decision on their own.

In closing meeting we all admire the shelter we worked on that day as the boys swap stories from spiders web and shelter building. As we are giving thanks i am really struck with how focused and respectful all the boys as they give thanks and listen to each others words. These boys are really growing and becoming a very strong group. Parents you shout try to talk your sons into showing you our secret shelter spot, it is truly an impressive shelter. And explorers next time you are out with your family on a hike maybe you can share your knowledge of shelter building and survival.

Make sure to check out our photo gallery for more pictures!