Berkeley Stairs - April 2018

On Saturday, April 21st, seventeen (+ Cricket the adventure dog!) dashing explorers came together in an effort to discover the Berkeley stairs anew. With Field Guides in hand, the troupe made its way to the base of the Mirador Path. We had a rather daunting task ahead of us which was ascending the Berkeley Stairs.

Right away we were thrust into a feeling of potential dread, what had we signed up for? I kept scanning the group and ensuring that everyone was ok. Did we bring enough water? What about snacks? Luckily as each set of steps reached a plateau, we were typically greeted by a waymark and a story which gave us time to collect ourselves and rest for a bit.

The story of the stairs was surprising. As we discovered more about the life and history of Ernie Mirador, the great Berkeley stair builder, we were also greeted by the sounds of the Berkeley Hills residents who've lived in the neighborhoods for years. The connection people have with these small access corridors along with the work done on them by organizations such as the Path Wanderers was inspiring. The thought that's been rolling around in my mind all day is how: important it is that we use public space granted to us, otherwise we might lose it altogether.

Zepheer noted that over the last year, this has also been the third set of stairs in the Bay Area that the Explorers have gone off to understand better. The waymark system, available to everyone, provides a wonderful interaction point for all and perhaps some day this system could be at all three, providing a trilogy of stair expeditions for all who wish to discover them.

As a last note, we also got to acknowledge eXmarksthe for her work towards the Captain's Honours. The troupe all lined up along the stairs, and as we went through each of her steps of progression, we all took a moment to recognize the work she's put in; including her earned badges, the expeditions she's led and the special personal flairs she's added to the role. After this, I administered the Captain's Oath, and with that the Explorers Guild now officially has two captains for the modern era. We in the Explorers Guild salute and congratulate eXmarksthe and look forward to the many adventures ahead.

Also we acknowledge some more badges earned in the last month (or so).

Captain's Honours - eXmarksthe
Skills Badger - eXmarksthe, Wisp
Radio Operator - Panopticon
Labyrinth Keeper - Panopticon, Zepheer
Light Guardian - Panopticon, Zepheer
Solar Historian - Salty Dutch, Ryshili, MacKenzie, Denorae, Sindra, MS Robot, Zepheer, Frequency, Dr. Professor, Turtle-ish, Wisp, eXmarksthe, Scylla and Lark
Forager - Lux, Denorae, MS Robot, Panopticon, Zepheer, eXmarksthe, Wisp, Turtle-ish, Pounce, Nova, Sindra, Scylla, Ben, Binary, Leikkisa, Dr. Professor

Congrats to all!