AMC Outdoors, November 2001

As we hike from Zealand Falls Hut on the fourth day of our course, the mood of the group is generally upbeat. Some feelings have been strained by the constant role-plays and the long, hot trek, but the luxurious rest stop at the hut, where we soak weary limbs in Whitewall Brook, seems to revive everyone's spirits. It has been a long day, but the gradual stroll from the hut along an old railroad grade is a delight. Just one more night to go.

However, like most everything else we've encountered, things go awry. Just before we reach the parking area, we enter a protected forest, which prohibits camping within a quarter mile of the trail or running water. Our hearts sink. The designation makes sense — it discourages people from driving up Zealand Road and immediately setting up camp along the trail.

So with light just starting to fade, and people dealing with fatigue, hunger, irritability, muscle aches, bug bites, and dehydration, we're faced with the daunting task of finding a suitable campsite. It is, I think, the perfect microcosm of the course — coming to grips with the spectrum of reactions, personalities, natural obstacles and resources, and regulations, all while maintaining safety and a positive experience for the group. Today's leaders, Kern and Behroozi, have their work cut out.

The group's response to this latest dilemma exemplifies our growth toward becoming a true team. Davis, Simmons, Kern, and I quickly form a scout party, and we begin to search for a site off a little-used cross-country ski trail. The only one we find is questionable at best. When we report back to the group, indecision reigns. Then Broderick provides our escape hatch.

A trail volunteer walks past, and Broderick reminds us that we need to use "all" of our resources. Kern chases after the volunteer, who suggests looking for a site off an old access road less than a mile down the trail. Moments later, we're on the access road, heading toward camp.

"I think the idea is to get you frustrated, to push you past that point, and teach you to deal with it," says Kern.

The Imperfect Storm
That night, sitting around a campfire, our nerves are frayed, but we manage to joke around as we sip our hot chocolate. It's clear that the group has developed mutual respect. We're no longer a collection of individuals, but more of an extended family with common traits and important differences. One member, who was asked to perform a number of particularly nasty role-plays, like needling slower hikers, is distraught about being singled out and never having a chance to work through those feelings.

Hogan acknowledges those concerns and reveals his own frustration that he and Broderick couldn't get our group to "storm." The "storming," or adolescent stage, is critical to the MLS model of group life cycles. The model consists of four distinct stages of group development: infancy/forming to adolescence/storming, then to adulthood/performing and finally transforming. Hogan says he first noticed a lack of storming during the early "Fishing Trip" game, which is why he mentioned ours was "a very interesting group." Storming refers to the period where group members subjugate their own identity for the good of the group. As the MLS manual states, it is the "conflict between autonomy and affiliation."

"The idea," says Hogan, "is to take you outside your personalities, needs, emotions, and egos, and focus on the group, and use the resources of the group to get over it. Even when we had conflict you didn't want to hurt each other. But without conflict, without that ignition, it's hard for the group to progress."

However, as members in our group said, there is a difference between the concept of storming and its practical applications. To some, the likelihood of storming might well depend on the relative maturity of the individuals involved. "I always think to myself, 'Is this conflict going to help or not,'" says Behroozi. "You have to be very careful before you go into some places."

"Forcing storming is detrimental to the group," Davis says later. "If the cause of the friction is artificial, there's no way for the group to work through it. I think it's perfectly normal for a group of nice people to go on a three- to five-day trip without getting on one another's nerves. We all know how to get along with others well enough to put our differences aside for a few days."

 Leader of the Backpack intro  |  Invitation to Adventure  |  Nuts and Bolts  | 
Everyday Interruptions  | Turn Me Loose  |  Safety, First and Foremost  | 
The Road from Here  |  Tips for Leaders