Sailing

Traditional 30-foot sailboats encourage teamwork and leadership like no other classroom. On an open boat with no cabin and no engine, the group will live closely together using only wind and oars to power their way. As they rotate responsibilities during this expedition, students learn the crafts of maneuvering under sail, coastal navigation, rowing and living aboard a small open boat. At night, students sleep on deck under a tarp, taking turns at anchor watch under brilliant night skies.

On this course, students:

• Learn to navigate using a map or a chart and a compass to arrive accurately at the day’s destination over mountains and across open water.
• Adjust sails properly for sailing at different angles to the wind, and execute sailing maneuvers like tacking and gybing, which turn the boat through the wind
• Move the boat under oar power, coordinating all of the rowers' movements so that the oars splash as one, precisely maneuvering in and out of secluded anchorages
• Live (cook, eat, sleep, work and learn) with the group in the backcountry, contributing energy and ideas, sharing tasks and responsibilities and relying on each other.

Canoeing & Whitewater

Wilderness canoe expedition skills are essential to the outdoor educator. Students learn the skills of portaging (carrying the canoe on one’s shoulders) and lining (guiding the canoe down un-runnable rapids) as they travel through some of the amazing waterways of Maine. In learning to work and communicate well with their paddling partner each day, students discover the power of truly working together.

Expedition canoeing in Maine also means paddling white water. During the canoe expedition the group learns how to scout, paddle and manage open canoes safely in Class II rapids.  

Students learn the following skills:

• Canoe paddle strokes
• Tandem open canoe maneuvers
• Identifying river features
• Scouting rapids
• White water management
• River rescue

Wilderness First Responder Certification

Wilderness First Responder (WFR) certification is recognized as the standard level of expertise in backcountry first aid. This nationally recognized program trains participants to respond to emergencies in remote settings. Half of the 80-hour curriculum students spend completing practical skills, case studies and scenarios designed to challenge their decision-making abilities. The other portion of training includes standards for extended care situations. In this phase of the course, students develop the following skills:

• Patient assessment
• Knowledge of body systems
• Equipment improvisation
• Trauma management
• Remote medicine
• Responses to toxins
• Wilderness protocols
• Wilderness rescue

Backpacking

Backpacking is a great combination of team and individual elements. In the mountains, students learn map reading, cooking, how to pack and adjust their pack, foot care, hydration, knots and navigation on- and off-trail. The mountains of Maine and northern New Hampshire are rugged and wooded, at times muddy and steep, with bold granite summits and views that stretch to the horizon.

Rock Climbing

Rock climbing sessions take place at the many granite crags and cliffs that make northern New England a world-renowned climbing destination. Students learn how to properly use harnesses, helmets, ropes and belay devices. They start with the basics of tying into the rope and safely belaying each other, and practice efficient movement over rock using techniques of friction, edging and crack climbing. As the group builds experience and skills, they learn to build anchors, rappel and develop more advanced climbing techniques. Students will practice setting up ropes and climbing at various sites.

Solo

The Solo experience provides an important break from the rigors of the expedition to give students quiet time to reflect on the Outward Bound experience. With the basics of food and equipment, and with safety a top priority, students will take some time away from the group to be alone at sites of their own, using the wilderness skills learned during the first parts of the course. Often located along beautiful lake shorelines or peaceful rivers, Solo sites are chosen to offer as much solitude as possible (yet be 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 learned and focus on their goals for the future. Instructors check on each participant at regular intervals. The time students spend on Solo depends on the length of the course. On courses longer than three weeks, Solo is up to 72 hours long.

Course Area

With its intricate and indented shoreline, the Maine coast is a unique segment of the North Atlantic seaboard. It is renown among sailors for its picturesque beauty, abundant bays and harbors, rocky islands and quiet coves. The Outward Bound course area covers nearly 200 linear miles of the Maine coast, with countless rivers, bays and islands to explore. The rocky, spruce-covered islands are the summits of a prehistoric mountain range and generations of inhabitants have made their livelihoods here. Evidence left behind on the islands reveals the historic presence of indigenous Abenaki camps, pre-colonial fishing communities, post-colonial timber and farming operations and early 20th century granite quarries. Cold, nutrient-rich waters flow from the Canadian Maritimes and make the Gulf of Maine home to a wide range of sea birds, harbor seals, porpoises and whales. 

The latter part of the course will take place in the mountains of western Maine and northern New Hampshire which 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. 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. These regions are the ancestral lands of the Wabanaki Confederacy, which includes Abenaki/Abénaquis, W∂last∂kwiyik (Maliseet), Penobscot, and Passamaquoddy nations.