The Wilderness Lodge

The Sentinel Rangers spend most of their time outside of any community and their primary gathering place is the Wilderness Lodge. Here those who can will gather 4 times a year to conduct the business of the group.
The lodge is not a large or fancy structure, in fact it is designed to be moved from time to time to limit the impact on the environment that permanent camps and structures can have. The form changes based on the place where it is built, steep roof in wet or snowy places, or a well-hidden tree house in the deep forest. It can even be mostly mud bricks where other materials are lacking, or a structure with a boathouse if located on a body of water.
Some features of the lodge that persist from structure to structure include a large central fireplace for the council gatherings and the induction and promotion ceremonies. It is also used for group cooking. There is room to lay out bedrolls, and a separate room used as an infirmary. Most rangers who gather at the lodge prefer to camp outdoors.
Certain portions of the lodge are important enough that they are moved from place to place as the lodge site changes. These include the trunks that contain the records of the Rangers, the flagstone that marks the entrance to the lodge, and the assemblage of intricate knots that are a visual representation of each member, current and former, of the Sentinels.

Purpose / Function

The focal point for the quarterly gatherings of the Sentinel Rangers, a structure meant to be temporary, that is rebuilt in various locations as needed.

Alterations

The building changes each time it is built anew, as local materials are used.

Architecture

This changes all the time. Some versions include the following:

• Log cabin, made from young pine trees.
• Adobe or unfired mud brick
• Tree house
• Dugout in a hillside
• Cabin formed from planked lumber

History

Since the founding of the Sentinels they have met in wilderness camps on a regular basis. Currently it is usually 4 times a year. From the beginning it was determined that there should be no fixed permanent location for their lodge, the only permanent location is a small office in town.
This has resulted in the wilderness lodge as a movable headquarters, it has been located in the Cloak Forest, the Dragonbone Mountains and other locations on Egg Island The decision of the next location is made by the senior Rangers.
There have been generations of Rangers and dozens of lodges in a multitude of places.

See Summercamp 2020 for all my articles.

by Guille Pozzi

Type

Lodge, Cabin