Baltimore Instructor Kevin Neff is like most Outward Bound Instructors – he’s connected to helping students discover more in themselves. We caught up with him in the field during a course just like this to talk about outcomes, and what it’s like to be an Instructor.
Explore, climb and hike a stretch of the Appalachian Trail through Maryland and Southern Pennsylvania.
Welcome to the historic Appalachian Trail (the AT) – a diverse and challenging trek that stretches over 2,200 miles from Maine to Georgia. You and your crew will pack all your food and gear required to live on the trail for eight days before leaving the base in Baltimore. During the expedition, you’ll take turns sharing important roles for your crew such as cook, navigator and leader of the day. Your expedition also includes a day of rock climbing in Michaux State Forest, home to three unique climbing sites.
NOTE: For the health and safety of students and staff in the COVID-19 pandemic, students may be required to travel to course start by private transportation. Please work directly with your Course Advisor for your course for the most up-to-date and regionally-focused travel options. All students and staff must provide a current negative COVID-19 viral test result before arrival to course and/or consent to having a COVID-19 test administered at course start. Outward Bound requires students and staff to follow COVID-19 protocols for 14 days prior to course start and while traveling including physical distancing, wearing a mask in public, and frequent and thorough handwashing.For complete “Health and Safety Practices for Outward Bound Expeditions,” click here.
This course starts within the next week. Please call us at 866-467-7651 to assess the possibility of applying for this course!
Classic Courses
Are you ready to take a journey that will change your life? You won’t look at day-to-day drama the same way after you’ve conquered a high mountain ridge, made a boat obey your command in windswept waves or slept under the stars watching bats swoop overhead. Joining an Outward Bound expedition changes you. Your crew, your Instructor, your route and your adventures will have a profound and lasting impact on you as you rise to meet exhilarating natural challenges in some of the country’s wildest places.
Build skills, form connections: Learn and practice wilderness, teamwork and leadership skills. Find connections with your crewmates based on support and respect (and fun too!), and in the thick of challenges, discover there is more in you than you know.
Value strengths and strengthen values: Uncover your unique character strengths, develop your leadership abilities and learn how to let compassion in to everyday life by pushing your own limits and working alongside your peers.
Demonstrate mastery: As you gain confidence in new skills, take on more decision-making responsibilities. Work together to achieve team goals, solve problems and succeed both as individuals and as a group.
What you’ll learn: For Middle School students, heading away from home means taking on new responsibilities and expectations with crewmates who are strangers when you first meet and trusted teammates by the end of your expedition. It’s all about confidence.
After you come home, many of the character, leadership and service traits you uncovered on your expedition stay with you, helping you navigate your daily life with more resilience and success.
Photo courtesy
of Dalton Johnson
Photo courtesy
of Dalton Johnson
Photo courtesy
of Dalton Johnson
Photo courtesy
of Dalton Johnson
Backpacking
Students learn how to hike effectively and efficiently as well as how to set up and manage trail campsites each night. As the team overcomes numerous expedition challenges, they develop a greater belief in themselves and trust in one another. Successful completion of this course requires more than the mastery of technical skills. It also requires adaptability, decision making and teamwork. The Appalachian Trail is a footpath that runs from Georgia to Maine, and is the crown jewel of trails in the United States. Students backpack for five days in the wilderness of western Maryland and southern Pennsylvania.
Photo courtesy
of Dalton Johnson
Photo courtesy
of Dalton Johnson
Photo courtesy
of Dalton Johnson
Photo courtesy
of Dalton Johnson
Photo courtesy
of Dalton Johnson
Photo courtesy
of Matt Freiere
Rock Climbing
During the expedition, students take a break from hiking and spend an afternoon rock climbing. This challenging activity pushes students out of their comfort zones and helps develop trust among crew members. Students rely on one another for support and encouragement to reach the top of cliff faces and crags.
Photo courtesy
of Ben Worden
Photo courtesy
of Ben Worden
Photo courtesy
of Ben Worden
Photo courtesy
of Ben Worden
Photo courtesy
of Brock Jones
Service
Service projects are often integrated into Outward Bound expeditions through coordination with land managers, conservation groups, government agencies or social service agencies. While on expedition, students are encouraged to practice service to the environment and their team by sharing responsibilities and following Leave No Trace ethics. Outward Bound expeditions are designed to cultivate a service-ethic and, thereby, to inspire students to return home as agents of change in their communities. Many students will also have a chance to work on an ongoing project inside of the park where Baltimore’s Campus is located. The project aims to make Baltimore one of the nation’s only urban bird treaty cities through a collaboration with Baltimore Wilderness Coalition, and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.
Solo
In order for profound learning to take place, there must be time to reflect on the experience. Solo is that opportunity, and that time can range anywhere from 30 minutes to 24 hours. It is a chance to experience solitude in the wilderness without distraction while also taking a break from the physical rigors of activities. Students experience short periods of time away from their group throughout the course for reflection. These “mini-solos” are at solo sites chosen by Instructors to provide as much solitude as possible (within emergency whistle-signaling distance of other group members). Participants have all necessary equipment, food and water during their Solo time, and safety is always the top priority.
Outcomes
Helping students and their families see positive development in character skills is a key component of Outward Bound courses. Each student will complete a 19-question self-assessment designed by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health to measure growth in four specific socio-emotional skills: conflict management, emotional self-efficacy, grit/resilience and problem solving. After completing the course, students will receive a Report Card that illustrates the improvement in these areas, as well as a written narrative from the Instructor that highlights additional takeaways for the student.
Photo courtesy
of Zach Shenal
Photo courtesy
of Zach Shenal
Photo courtesy
of Zach Shenal
Photo courtesy
of Dalton Johnson
Course Area
The Appalachian Trail in Maryland follows a 41-mile route along the backbone of South Mountain, a north-south ridge that extends from Pennsylvania to the Potomac River. The AT varies in elevation across the state from 230 feet to more than 1860 feet. The trail extends to the north into Southern Pennsylvania’s Michaux State Forest where Outward Bound students in this area will rock climb at one of three sites: Annapolis Rocks, Shaffer Rocks or Pole Steeple in the nearby Pine Grove Furnace State Park. These regions are the ancestral lands of the Massawomeck and Piscataway nations.
SAMPLE ITINERARY
DAY 1
Course start, introductory lesson is backpacking, begin hiking
DAY 2
Introduction to rock climbing and belay technique
DAY 3-5
Backpacking, lessons in map/compass travel & advanced camp craft
DAY 6
Rock climbing and rappelling, solo
DAY 7
Backpacking final challenge, return to base, clean and de-issue gear, service project
DAY 8
Personal challenge event, graduation, depart for the airport
Course Stories
Baltimore Instructor Kevin Neff is like most Outward Bound Instructors – he’s connected to helping students discover more in themselves. We caught up with him in the field during a course just like this to talk about outcomes, and what it’s like to be an Instructor.
If you are ready to enroll on a course click the enroll button next to the course you wish to select or you can enroll over the phone by speaking with one of our Admissions Advisors (toll-free) at 866-467-7651.
To secure your spot on a course you must submit an enrollment form and $500 deposit that is applied toward the total cost of the course and includes a $150 non-refundable enrollment processing fee.