Berkeley Stairs & Captain's Report ~ ExGld
Greetings Explorers!
The last couple of weeks have provided a healthy dose of contemplation for many of us. I heard from a number of you expressing your appreciation for having the Explorers Guild, for those that reached out thank you.
Our dispatch today looks forward and backwards. Our next event we’ll be the Berkeley Stairs expedition slated for Sunday, December 1st (which you can read more about it below); but we also have the Captain’s Report for the Social Dancer badge.
Berkeley Stairs - December 2
Several years ago, the Explorer’s Guild discovered some of the little known histories of the Berkeley Stairs on a research expedition. Captain Lark is excited to revisit these sites and stories with members of the guild, new and old.
Our timing is good, given the recent push from the Ernie Mirador Appreciation Society to rename several city landmarks in his honour. This begs the question though: what is the true story of Ernie Mirador and the stairs?
We need an expedition team of Explorers to follow up and complete this research! For those of you joining, you’ll hear first hand accounts of the vital nature of the stairs to the community and also hear about the current work being done on them. You’ll also get to appreciate the many sights of the hills, find some waymarks, embrace the brisk fall weather and enjoy a day out with the Explorers.
This expedition is happening on Sunday, December 1st with a meetup time of 11am at the North Berkeley BART station. As parking is limited in the hills, we’ll meet there then carpool up to the trailhead together.
You’ll need to pack
lunch
water
jaunty hat
layers
Good walking shoes.
If you’re interested in joining, let us know ahead of time so that we can plan carpools accordingly. Specifically, let me know if you plan on driving or carpooling/BARTing in. You can also join the slack channel #1201-berkeley-stairs
This will be an excellent expedition full of stories and mystery!
Social Dancer: Captain’s Report
The evening was blustery and cold as the explorers gathered together in the aptly named Snow Park November 2nd. As I was familiar with the energy requirements of a contra dance, I was sure to fortify my fellow explorers with rations. That done, we crossed the line in the sand. Our goal for the evening: earn our Social Dancer Badge.
We began in this endeavor by learning some of the history and social norms of our chosen dance style for the evening, contradance. Paying special attention to the expectations around consent and kindness on the dancefloor, we quickly achieved the first two tasks needed for our badge. And it was a good thing too, because the weather was against us. Lashed by the bitter wind we retreated to the shelter of the dance hall. Once admitted, we joined with the larger Circle Left contra dance community, and were guided by our caller, Doe Taryn. They walked us through the basic moves with kindness and grace.
With our initial introduction and soundchecks complete, we set forth to cut a rug. Doe and the evening’s musicians, Will Wheeler, Ben Jackson, and Scott Jespersen, provided structure and a sonorous sonic backdrop for the Guild and the larger community. Our explorers boldly took to the floor, not only dancing with each other, but also accepting invitations from non-explorers. Many would even go so far as to ask a stranger to dance!
With Ben’s fiddle ringing in our ears we convened at the halfway break to say our Semper Explorandum together, and award the Social Dancer badge to our hardy crew. We were joined by several curious dancers, who congratulated us on our journey and welcomed us into their beloved community.
Many thanks to Drew who helped lead this expedition and cowrote the field guide. Thanks too to Byz for the badge design and a special welcome to Doe Taryn who went out of their way to welcome the Guild, and has joined us as an Explorer!
Signing Off, Captain Lark
With the coming rains this week, I hope you all stay dry and warm, and we’ll hope the sun graces us again soon.
Semper Explorandum Explorers!