Backpacking

Backpacking is an ideal combination of team and individual elements. The mountains of Maine are rugged and wooded, and the trails are remote, narrow, and often steep. At times students travel on wilderness footpaths, while at others students navigate off trail. On clear days the group is rewarded with spectacular views from mountain peaks. Living and traveling with just what one can carry on one’s back is a simple existence, in which small choices can make great differences. To live well in the outdoors, all crew members must share the chores that turn a camp into a home, including setting up tents and tarps, creating a kitchen area, taking a turn fetching water and cooking satisfying meals.

Rock Climbing

Among the mountains of Western Maine are many granite cliffs, known locally as “Little Bear,” “Bald,” “Table Rock” and “Square Ledges.” Students learn to use climbing equipment, tie knots, climb and belay each other, while Instructors provide overall supervision of the site. Climbing hones and develops balance, coordination, flexibility and grace on the rock. Depending upon the expedition route, technical rope activities may include a “via ferrate” or “Tyrolean traverse.” Climbing presents many individual challenges for students, while the team must work together to set systems up, communicate clearly, and support each other throughout the climb.

Solo

The Solo experience provides an important break from the rigors of the expedition and gives students the opportunity to reflect on their Outward Bound experience. With sufficient food and equipment, students will set up camp at sites of their own, using the wilderness skills learned during the first half or two-thirds of the course. The time students spend on Solo depends on the length of the course. On one-week courses, solo is four to12 hours long; on courses three weeks or longer, solo will be up to 72 hours. 

Often located along beautiful shorelines or peaceful rivers, campsites are chosen to offer as much solitude as possible (yet within emergency whistle-signaling distance of other group members). Most students spend their Solo time journaling, drawing, or just thinking and resting as they process lessons of the course to focus on their goals for the future. Instructors check on each participant at least daily. 

Course Area

The mountains of western Maine and northern New Hampshire comprise the northern end of the Appalachian mountain range. Within this region, the White Mountain National Forest, the Appalachian Trail, the Carter-Mahoosuc Range, the Grafton Loop Trail, and the Caribou-Speckled Mountain Wilderness all offer classic backpacking terrain, and numerous vertical crags, making the region a rock climber’s destination. These spruce-fir and hardwood forests are home to hundreds of species of birds as well as moose, deer and black bear. Rushing waterfalls, clear twisting streams and spectacular views from rocky summits reward backpackers ready for adventure.