Backpacking

Students will travel into the heart of the Sierra Nevada where they’ll learn Leave No Trace camping and travel skills, outdoor cooking techniques, map and compass use, creek crossings that are often void of bridges, route finding and how to set up shelters in the backcountry. Although rare, patches of snow may be found at higher elevations. 

In addition to technical skills, Instructors will teach and facilitate the interpersonal skills needed for students to function effectively as a team, accomplish goals and tackle new challenges. Challenges on course are designed to compel students to draw upon inner resources and develop trust in one another. One example of on-course challenges is a peak attempt. With lighter packs, participants will often start before sunrise to summit a mountain and are rewarded with 360 degree views and an incredible sense of accomplishment.

As skills and experience increase, Instructors will turn over more responsibility to the crew. Students will eventually make navigation decisions, plan routes and set up camp.

Service

Service to others and the environment is a core value of Outward Bound and is integrated into each course. Participants follow Leave No Trace ethics and do acts of service while leading and supporting fellow participants. Designated service projects are coordinated with land managers like the US Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and National Park Service to collaborate on land restoration projects. As they see the impact of their actions first hand, students develop a value of service, and transfer this desire to serve their communities once they return.

Solo

Outward Bound believes in order for profound learning to take place, there must be time to reflect on the experience. During course, the Solo experience offers the most impactful chance for this to occur. It is a chance to experience solitude in the wilderness without distraction while also taking a break from the physical rigors of course. Students are separated from their group for a period of time which depends on course length and Instructor assessment of group capability. Solo sites are chosen to provide solitude. Participants have all necessary equipment, food and water. The maximum time for Solo on this course is 48 hours.

Outcomes

This course pushes participants physically, socially and emotionally. With a longer course length, participants dig deep and achieve a higher level of mastery of both technical skills needed to travel in a crew and the social and emotional skills to be a positive member of the group. Additionally, this course aims to provide space for LGBTQ+ youth to explore how their identities intersect with their desire for personal growth and development. Participants will gain both technical and personal skills that they will be able to take back to their community, school, and work.

Course Area

The Sierra Nevada range is California’s backyard and wonderland of wilderness, waterfalls, lakes and peaks. It’s an enormous range – spanning more than 400 miles from north to south, and 70 miles east to west. Courses take place in the southern and western parts of the Sierra: Emigrant Wilderness, Ansel Adams Wilderness, Yosemite National Park and Sequoia Kings Canyon National Park. 

Summer in the Sierra is mostly sunny, with occasional rain and cold evenings. Snowfall is unlikely, though June courses may traverse atop lingering winter and spring snow. Summer temperature tends towards the 70s to 80s during the day, dipping into the 30s to 50s in the evening and night. These regions are the ancestral lands of the Northern Paiute, Western Mono/Monache, Me-Wuk (Central Sierra Miwok), Eastern Mono/Monache, and Tübatulabal nations.