This is a two or three week course paddling and backpacking through the woods and lakes of western Maine. It is a heavily forested area and a classic wilderness experience. It is ideal for younger teens seeking challenge and tools for success in high school, sports teams and beyond. 

Youth Courses
Youth courses are designed for younger teens and offer opportunities for real adventure. The freedom, beauty and challenge of Outward Bound is a perfect way for teens to prepare for the greater and greater challenges facing them at home. Canoe the endless web of glacier lakes and pristine streams at the headwaters of the wild rivers of Western Maine and New Hampshire. Master the skills you need to paddle, pole, line and portage ancient water routes traveled by the Abenaki Indians. Explore the craggy ridges and towering forests of the famous Carter-Mahoosuc and Bigelow Mountain Ranges with everything you need in a pack on your back. Trek through tree-shrouded valleys and over 4,000-foot summits.

Course Area - Your wilderness classroom will be the lakes and mountains of western Maine. The course begins near Newry, Maine, and travels mostly in the Androscoggin watershed, the Mahoosuc Mountains and the White Mountain National Forest. The Androscoggin is fed by Aziscohos Lake, the Magalloway River, and the Rangeley Lakes Cupsuptic, Mooselookmeguntic, and Upper and Lower Richardsons. Native Abenaki tribes used the Androscoggin as transportation between winter habitats inland and summer living on the coast and as a source of food. Later the flow of the Androscoggin River was used to move logs to mills downstate during the logging boom of the nineteenth century. These days recreationists, fishermen and scientists primarily use this beautiful region

Course Description
Travel expedition-style with a pack on your back or in tandem (two-person) canoes. "Expedition-style" means that you will leave base camp on the first or second day of your course and not return to it until the end of the course. You will travel with all the food and equipment you need to conduct your expedition: stoves, tents, food, etc. Your group might occasionally sleep at the same campsite twice, but generally you will be moving to a new campsite every night as you hike and paddle along your expedition route.

If time and conditions allow, you may learn to paddle whitewater at Errol, Pontook or the Magalloway River. Paddling whitewater in a tandem canoe involves learning to communicate effectively with your paddling partner, as well as perfecting several steering strokes. After practicing swimming in whitewater, you will learn how to scout and run rapids, as well as how to rescue yourself and your canoe should you tip over.

NOTE: Virtually all airlines, except United and Southwest, REQUIRE that travelers, age 14 or younger, flying without a companion over the age of 18 pay for their Unaccompanied Minor service. This fee ranges anywhere from $40 to $75 each way. In most cases, the Unaccompanied Minor service is OPTIONAL for travelers between the ages of 15-17.