Desert Backpacking, Canyon Backpacking, River Navigation, Service, Whitewater Rafting, Rafting
PRICE
$7,395
PROGRAM
Pathfinder
AGES
18-25
LENGTH
30 Days
START LOCATION
Leadville, CO
END LOCATION
Leadville, CO
i
SEASON(S)
Fall
Spring
CERTIFICATIONS
Wilderness First Aid
SKILLS
TECHNICAL
Basic First Aid
Basic Paddle Strokes
Campcraft
Food Preparation and Cooking
Knots
Leave No Trace Methods & Ethics
Map and Compass
Navigation
Outdoor Emergencies
River Reading
Safety and Risk Management
Self Care
Travel Techniques
Water Safety and Rescue
INTERPERSONAL
Character
Communication
Conflict Resolution
Independence
Leadership
Problem Solving
Resilience
Responsibility
Self Awareness
Self Confidence
Service
SHARE
Testimonial
"That night I told everyone when we were sitting around the fire, reflecting on our day, that I was surprised that they were comfortable with me captaining them. Some people jokingly said that they were not, I fully expected that. But once the laughs died down, I had 14 people looking back at me smiling, complimenting me on my bravery and capability. I have never been more taken aback and appreciative than during that group reflection period." - Parker Mikesh, Outward Bound alumnus
Thoroughly immerse yourself in the landscape of the desert southwest by experiencing the canyons on foot and by raft, and find clarity for yourself along the way.
Discover your strengths and learn skills that will shape your future on this 30-day rafting and canyon backpacking expedition. Backpack in the canyons and out across the mesas. See countless stars dotting an inky black nighttime sky in one of the darkest places in the U.S. Stop along the way to explore amazing archeological sites or stand on top a summit, gazing over 100 miles in every direction. Experience the discipline of rock climbing or the rush of rappelling. Encounter exciting rapids that compare in scale to those of the Grand Canyon. In the nearby canyons, explore fantastic rock shapes carved by the whimsical forces of nature. At every step of the journey, focus on leadership skills such as communication, collaboration, decision-making and conflict resolution – skills you can fall back on in many situations throughout life.
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!
Pathfinder Courses
Sometimes you don’t know where you want to go in life until you spend a few weeks in the middle of nowhere. Pathfinder expeditions give you time and space to understand what’s important to you and the skills to get there. Over the next 30 days, you’ll rise to meet natural challenges, becoming accustomed to setting goals, making decisions, and recovering from set-backs, all of which help clarify bigger choices that await you in life beyond your course.
Build skills, form connections: Learn and practice wilderness, teamwork, adaptability and leadership skills. Participants will have the opportunity to chart a path and pursue it with their own motivation as extra fuel.
Value strengths and strengthen values: Resiliency to recover from set-backs is a treasured and useful skill that will play a part in any Pathfinder expedition. Participants will explore answers to their most pressing questions about what they value, where their strengths lie and what direction their lives will take next.
Demonstrate mastery: As students gain confidence in new skills, they will take on more leadership and decision-making responsibilities and gain a deeper understanding of who they are as individuals. The entire crew will work together and individually to achieve goals, solve problems and succeed.
What you’ll learn: After spending 30 days in the wilderness, you’ll have mastered multiple outdoor skills and you’ll know what it takes to traverse mountain passes, climb the steepest cliffs and successfully navigate the challenges of the natural world around you. You’ll discover more about your true self and what you want to achieve, how you overcome setbacks and, most importantly, how to move forward to reach important milestones.
Return home after broadening your horizons, learning how to adapt to new environments and trying untested possibilities, with an action plan for the future. With newfound leadership potential, self-awareness, and problem-solving skills, you’ll be ready for your next big step.
Photo courtesy
of Katie Gregory
Photo courtesy
of Katie Gregory
Photo courtesy
of Scout Sorcic
Photo courtesy
of Scout Sorcic
Photo courtesy
of Steve Creech
Photo courtesy
of Dave Erbe
Photo courtesy
of Olivia Schneider
Rafting
Each day on the river is spent learning to recognize and navigate various obstacles and hazards in the river, and how to anticipate the forces of the current from upstream. Students will work to become a team, coordinating spacing and paddle strokes. They will have an opportunity to be the captain of their raft and practice new skills as they maneuver through rapids and flat-water sections.
In places, the canyon rims rise hundreds of feet above, enclosing participants in a remote world of rushing water, delicate ecosystems and unbelievable beauty. Most courses get the opportunity to take day hikes away from the river and up to the canyon rim. These hikes provide amazing views, a change of pace and often the chance to see Native American archeological sites, petroglyphs, pictographs and strange but beautiful geological formations.
Photo courtesy
of Steve Creech
Photo courtesy
of Amy Lones
Photo courtesy
of Amy Lones
Photo courtesy
of Kelly Crandall
Photo courtesy
of Cara Befort
Photo courtesy
of Steve Creech
Photo courtesy
of Steve Creech
Photo courtesy
of Meagan Macomber
Backpacking
Backpackers carry everything they need - food, shelter, clothing and gear – allowing them to go deep into the wilderness where few people go. Students feel a sense of freedom from deadlines and task lists as they grow accustomed to eating when hungry, setting up camp when tired, and having complete control over what they accomplish each day. The simplicity of hiking gives students the opportunity to focus both internally on their own thoughts, as well as externally to connect deeply with others as they talk, sing, play games and spend time together without distraction.
The course begins with lessons in basic travel and camping techniques. Along the way, students learn Leave No Trace techniques, map and compass navigation, camp craft, and get a feel for the human and natural history of the area. Students spend time in an incredible area of the Southwest, sleep under the stars, feel the sunshine on their face, and maybe watch a few sunsets over this simple but magical landscape.
The expedition includes at least one peak attempt. Peak attempts are major enterprises and typically require early morning starts and take all day to complete. Weather or other factors including group dynamics and physical ability may preclude even an attempt to ascend a peak.
Photo courtesy
of Cara Befort
Photo courtesy
of Kelly Crandall
Photo courtesy
of Griff Jones
Photo courtesy
of Griff Jones
Photo courtesy
of Steve Creech
Photo courtesy
of Scout Sorcic
Rock Climbing
In the canyons or on the river, students spend a day experiencing the thrill and grace of rock climbing or the control and exhilaration of rappelling. This is a great opportunity for students to challenge fears and push themselves to do things they never thought possible. Rock climbing or rappelling instruction is for all levels and includes basic climbing techniques, helmet and harness use, climbing commands and belaying.
Photo courtesy
of Kelly Crandall
Photo courtesy
of Griff Jones
Photo courtesy
of Griff Jones
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 as service to the environment 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. Some projects are more social services based, in which students may visit a nursing home or hospital to provide service there. Students develop a value of service, seeing the impact of their actions firsthand and transfer this desire to serve their communities back home. Past projects have included working on a goat farm, building trails, cleaning trash and debris from natural spaces, working with a local community garden, and removing invasive species.
Solo
In order for profound learning to take place, there must be time to reflect on the experience. Solo is that opportunity, and can range anywhere from 30 minutes to 24 hours or more, depending on course length and type, as well as the competency and preparedness of the student group. Weather and time permitting, 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. Many students use this reflection time to make decisions about their future, journal and enjoy the beauty of their surroundings unencumbered by the constant external stimulation of modern life. With all the food, skills and supplies they need, students are given a secluded spot to reflect alone and are monitored by staff throughout the. Students find that Solo provokes profound and powerful learning in a short period of time and often becomes one of the most memorable parts of an Outward Bound experience.
Wilderness First Aid
Students will spend three days in the Moab, UT area, learning about wilderness medicine. They will have the opportunity to gain a Wilderness First Aid (WFA) certification during this course, which is considered a standard for many entry level jobs in the outdoor Industry.
Outcomes
Whether an 8-day course or an 80 day course, all Outward Bound expeditions are focused on building character and leadership skills. Short courses are a great option for students looking for an introduction to the outdoors or for those who need a quick recharge. On shorter courses, students learn camping and expedition basics, as well as the skills specific to the course activity, such as climbing or rafting. Students get to know fellow crew mates surprisingly well as they share this immersive and intense experience.
On longer courses, Instructors progressively hand over more of the decision making and leadership of the expedition to the crew, allowing each person to test the new technical and interpersonal skills they have learned. Through the dynamics of an evolving group setting, students have more freedom to investigate who they are and how they want to develop personally. All along the way, students will experience a wide variety of some of the most beautiful wilderness in the US and the world.
Photo courtesy
of Steve Creech
Course Area
Canyonlands, Utah
The most spectacular aspects of the Utah landscape are the hidden treasures found within its vast canyon networks, formed by millennia of wind and water. The Canyonlands of Southern Utah are stunning, mysterious and wild. Archeological sites and rock art from the Ancestral Puebloan and Fremont Native Americans who roamed these lands over 800 years ago still abound in the canyons. The canyons are composed of a spell-binding labyrinth of alcoves, fins, pinnacles, buttes, towering walls, ledges and arches just waiting to be explored. Canyoneering courses also venture into narrower, deeper chasms two feet wide with walls several hundred feet on each side. These sandstone slot canyons are a geological playground for scrambling, teamwork and rappelling. These regions are within the ancestral lands of the Núu-agha-tʉvʉ-pʉ̱ (Ute), Southern Paiute, and Pueblo nations.
Cataract Canyon of the Colorado River, Utah
One of the most rugged and beautiful canyons in the West, Cataract Canyon, cuts through the heart of Canyonlands National Park. Natural wonders and ancient archeological sites are found in the canyon on the way to the confluence of the Colorado and Green Rivers. The Colorado River roars through 31 exciting rapids that rate with those of the Grand Canyon in power and difficulty, including the famous Mile Long Rapids and “the Big Drops.” These regions are within the ancestral lands of the Núu-agha-tʉvʉ-pʉ̱ (Ute) and Pueblo nations.
San Juan River, Utah
The San Juan River in southern Utah is a major tributary of the Colorado River, flowing 83 miles through the deeply incised sandstone slick rock country of the Colorado Plateau in numerous tight bends. The San Juan is world-renowned for archaeological sites of the Fremont and Anasazi, featuring both petroglyphs and spacious cliff dwellings, accessible on side hikes from the river. The San Juan River is also well known for its exquisite natural scenery deep within the towering canyon walls. These regions are within the ancestral lands of the Núu-agha-tʉvʉ-pʉ̱ (Ute), Diné, Pueblos, and Hopi nations.
SAMPLE ITINERARY
DAY 1
Course start, gear check, team building activities
DAY 2-10
Canyon backpacking expedition: hike into the desert carrying everything you need. Learn about the natural and cultural history of the Southwest. Develop wilderness skills such as camp cooking, Leave No Trace, and navigation.
DAY 11-15
Service in Moab area and La Sal wilderness: rebuilding trails, removing invasive tamarisk or visiting Youth Garden Project. During this time you will also complete a Wilderness First Aid course.
DAY 16-24
Rafting expedition, either Cataract Canyon or San Juan River. Grab a paddle and learn to read the river. Enjoy the exhilaration of the rapids and the teamwork of paddling together.
DAY 25-29
Canyon backpacking final expedition: return to the canyons and test your skills as your Instructors take the backseat. Depending on the group’s mastery and cohesion, you may even travel independently of your Instructors.
DAY 30
Course end challenge event and departure to home
Testimonial
"That night I told everyone when we were sitting around the fire, reflecting on our day, that I was surprised that they were comfortable with me captaining them. Some people jokingly said that they were not, I fully expected that. But once the laughs died down, I had 14 people looking back at me smiling, complimenting me on my bravery and capability. I have never been more taken aback and appreciative than during that group reflection period." - Parker Mikesh, Outward Bound alumnus
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.