Students will receive individual instruction and test their skills against the vertical cracks, steep faces and boulders of the Central Cascades and the desert landscape of Joshua Tree National Park. Students will focus on skills associated with technical rock climbing, including knots, anchors, movement over rock, top rope, belaying and rappelling techniques, use and care of harnesses and other equipment. An emphasis on climbing site assessment and management will ensure participants go back with sound judgment to implement safe and challenging experiences. Participants will have ample opportunity to actively improve their personal skills with various types of climbs including, face climbs and cracks, that involve many different climbing techniques. 

Students will travel on the river in four to six-person paddle rafts, and learn to “captain” (maneuver) their paddle raft team through Class II to III rapids. After lessons in basic river travel and safety, students will learn to read currents, anticipate obstacles, and scout rapids. Students will also learn river hydrology, swimming in currents, and paddle techniques. There may also be an opportunity for short day hikes.

The Wilderness First Responder (WFR) certification is a hybrid learning environment, with some time spent online before the course, along with partial in-person learning. During this portion of the trip, students learn advanced backcountry first aid and evacuation techniques. Each day, time is devoted to lectures and exams as well as practical hands-on sessions and rescue simulations. Evenings are reserved for study and assignments. Full participation is required. Upon successfully completing and passing the course, students receive WFR, Anaphylaxis, and Basic Life Support-CPR certification cards. These are the industry-standard medical certifications required for professionals working in the outdoors.

The desert backpacking section of the course includes both on-trail and off-trail terrain. The trails, when present, are usually of high quality. The off-trail routes can be especially challenging as these routes travel through boulder-filled canyons and across vast desert plains. Students will work to develop sound navigational skills as they practice using their map and compass in a new environment. They will continue to build relationships with their group members and further their efficiency traveling and functioning as a unit. It’s difficult to backpack in Joshua Tree because of the lack of freshwater, but our Logistics staff make it possible by placing water and food caches around the park to enable extended backcountry travel through this unique wilderness.

Service to others and to the environment is a core value of Outward Bound and is integrated into each course. Groups follow Recreate Responsibly ethics as part of their service to the environment and engage in acts of service while leading and supporting fellow participants. Seeing the impact of their actions firsthand, students develop an ingrained appreciation of service and transfer this desire to serve their communities back home.

Deschutes River, Oregon
The Deschutes River is part of the national Wild & Scenic Rivers System. The river flows north from the Oregon Cascades to the Columbia River and then on to the Pacific Ocean. The Lower Deschutes is a popular river for both whitewater rafting and fly fishing. The river is spring-fed, which results in an unusually constant water flow and cold water. Excellent geologic evidence is present all around this area. This course will travel the entire 96-mile stretch of the Lower Deschutes. The rapids on the Deschutes are rated to Class IV, mostly Class II-III, and are excellent for learning paddle skills, hydrology and teamwork. The group camps each night along the banks of the river. The Deschutes River Canyon has a long human history boarding the reservation of the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs for the first 60 miles, and follows a railroad for much of the length of the Lower Deschutes. These regions are the ancestral lands of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs and the Tenino nations.

McKenzie River, Oregon
The McKenzie River flows down the west side of the Central Cascades. This 90-mile tributary to the Willamette River, travels through forests of Douglas fir, western hemlock and western red cedar. Chinook salmon and trout populate this popular fishing river.  During this section of the course, the group will do day trips on the river, testing the skills learned on the Deschtues. The McKenzie River is part of the ancestral lands of the Kalapuya and Molala peoples, who traveled nomadically along the river banks.

Smith Rock State Park, Oregon 
Smith Rock State Park is a world-renowned climbing destination that attracts climbers of every ability level. The Crooked River winds its way through the canyon, and to the west, the snow-capped volcanoes of the Cascade Range rise on the horizon. One of the most striking features is a prominent spire, Monkey Face. Given the dry and temperate climate, rock climbing is feasible most of the year. This park is the ancestral land of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs - the Warm Springs, Wasco and Northern Paiute peoples.

Joshua Tree National Park
Joshua Tree National Park is famous for its high desert moonscape, where rugged mountains and desert plateaus were sculpted by wind and rain. Three distinct ecosystems come together to form this land of extremes: the dark, cold, star-filled nights against warm sand and boulder-filled days. This landscape has been an important touchstone for a variety of Native American tribes over the centuries, including Cahuilla, Chemehuevi, and Serrano people, as well as the ancient Pinto culture that preceded them.

Weather
In Oregon, temperatures typically range from freezing to 70 degrees Fahrenheit. The Oregon course area is primarily on the eastern side of the Cascades, and thus tends to be drier; however, rain and thunderstorms are not unusual. Conditions in Joshua Tree National Park are generally dry and rainfall is sparse, though unpredictable, irregular, and sometimes persistent thunderstorms do occur. Temperatures can vary, averaging 50-80 degrees during the day to a cool 30 at night and potentially hitting 100 early or late in the season.