From two-day courses to month-long programs, wilderness medicine training programs are designed with different levels of adventurers in mind. Discover which one is best for you.  Imagine: It’s day three of your long-awaited backpacking trip. Your group is 15... READ MORE

Semester Alum, Mac Gaither provides a bird’s eye view into his expedition learnings through his own words and photography. It was day 59 of our 63-day Leadership Semester program. We’d climbed mountains on top of mesas, canoed the Lower Canyons... READ MORE

This post was originally published on July 6, 2015, and updated on July 1, 2021. “Gap year experiences invariably serve to develop some of the non-cognitive skills that current research are showing predict success better than IQ: motivation, optimism, grit,... READ MORE

Dear 2021 Graduates, I just returned from a five-day backpacking trip in the Los Padres National Forest with a group of high school students from the Midland School. While not instructing Outward Bound courses, I’m the Dean of Experiential Learning... READ MORE

No two leaders are the same, but confident leaders tend to have these five traits. From communities to organizations, a confident leader is a person who can shape and guide individuals while making decisions to keep the world moving. They... READ MORE

A few minutes into your Outward Bound course, you may think, “I’m nervous. I’m excited. I hope people like me.” A few days into the course, you may think, “I can’t do this. My body can’t do this. I want... READ MORE

My high school experience was mundane and ordinary. I enjoyed my time in school, participated in sports and extracurricular activities, but I wasn’t excelling. My time in the classroom felt mandatory and uninspiring. I was going through the motions to... READ MORE

Each year, high school seniors and young adults are tasked with discovery to find the perfect answer to “what’s next?” Throw a global pandemic into the mix—and the social responsibility to take a stand both with your actions and your... READ MORE

You decided to take the leap—you applied for a long course. Welcome to the first of many steps taken in courage along this journey. You probably felt the rush of adrenaline flow into your fingers as you clicked the submit... READ MORE

I recently arrived at the Outward Bound basecamp in Big Bend, Texas to embark on a staff expedition. Right from the start, the sun was gleaming. Our crew looked in awe of the mountains that towered around us—the Chisos range... READ MORE