The sun was out and shining on a warm spring day as the Gray Wolf Pups began to arrive at the Clayton Beach parking lot. Mentors Greg and Matt were eager to head into the forest, explore some new places, and play some games! As soon as the all the boys had gathered we held our opening circle. Matt and Greg quickly facilitated a round of names, and a few essential jobs. Then without too much delay we left the hustle and bustle of the parking lot and headed up the road.
At our first junction we stopped and did some group decision-making about which direction we wished to explore. The Explorers did a blind vote and we headed off the road and onto a deer trail. The expansiveness of the road disappeared and soon we were pushing through tangles of fallen trees and walls of salal. The boys eventually emerged onto a huge fallen Douglas fir and we promptly set down our packs and enjoyed some lunch. While some boys ate others explored the forest around our lunch spot. The thickets of salal had shifted to tall firs and an understory dominated by sword ferns. The party of boys exploring covered a lot of ground and discovered we were next to a creek and near the trail to Fragrance Lake! The boys and mentors agreed that this might be the perfect place to play spider’s web!
Spider’s web is a fantastic game that combines capture the flag and Hide! The game is played in a patch of forest that offers some cover to sneak around and hide behind. The players choose a person to be the Spider, who is trying to capture all the flies. A fly is captured when the spider spots him and calls out “Back to the web!” That fly is then stuck in the web (a tree or bush designated by a bandana) until he is either waved off by free fly, or all the flies are captured. While the spider is trying to capture the flies, they are sneaking, often crawling, towards the “food source”, often another bandana. Playing with two food sources forces the spider to move around the playing field and prevents the spider from sitting next to the food source. If the flies can capture the food source and bring it back to the web undetected they win. A single round can be over in 5 minutes, but often a single game can be an hour or longer!
This game, which is a favorite of explorers and mentors alike force all of us to practice moving slowly and quietly in the forest. While increasing our stealth makes for progressively more challenging games of spiders web, it also has the benefit of helping us move unnoticed in the forest allowing us to see more on our travels. Spider’s web also forces both the spider and the flies to activate thier senses in an effort to pick up disturbences in the landscape and give away thier opponents position. Stretching and strengthening our senses helps us see and experience more when we venture out our door everyday.
Matt and Greg were excited to provide a space in our outing to play spiders web for hours. Boys this age need to have a chance to lose track of time and get lost in big game outside. Playing several rounds also allowed the Gray Wolf Pups to learn a lot about what makes for a fun game of Spider’s web. What variables make it more or less challenging? How can the land provide advantages or challenges for the spiders and flies? After several hours the mentors and the boys had lots of answers to these questions. The game also brings up discussions that are challenging for the boys. Some boys are persistent and follow the same paths over and over eventually getting frustrated at their lack of success. Others experience the frustration of being stuck at the web with no one around to help them off. These can often lead to conversations about fairness.
All too soon it was time to form a circle and begin our closing meeting. We took the opportunity to talk about the games we played and what we learned. As always we shared what we were thankful for and enjoyed some apple slices together. A short walk brought us back to the road and eventually to the parking lot where families were waiting eagerly to hear stories of the day.
A big thank you to the explorers for an epic game of spiders web! And another deep thank you to your families for all your support. We couldn't do this work without you.
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