Texas Big Bend Canoeing for Veterans
Challenge yourself and explore the rugged canyons and the winding Rio Grande with a crew of fellow veterans on this seven day canoeing expedition.
Amidst the vast landscape of the Rio Grande River, learn to paddle and whitewater canoe through the canyons of Big Bend National Park. Throughout the course, the crew works as a cohesive unit, scouting and running rapids and exploring the rugged terrain of the Rio Grande. Fighting a head wind and navigating rapids to find the next campsite offers unique challenges where you and your crew will rely on each other to succeed. The evenings offer an opportunity to reflect, share life stories and sleep beneath a starlit sky with the camaraderie in the desert and canyons reminding us why we lead lives of purpose and service.
NOTE: Outward Bound strongly recommends that all students be vaccinated against COVID-19 and up to date as defined by the CDC prior to arriving to their course start. For all open enrollment courses beginning on or after April 15, 2023, Outward Bound will no longer require students to be vaccinated against COVID-19. For questions regarding this policy please see this page or call us at 866-467-7651.
UPCOMING COURSES
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Once a course has reached capacity, three waitlist positions become available. To join a course’s waitlist, click “Join Waitlist” to begin the application process. A $500 deposit is required. This $500 deposit includes a $150 non-refundable application fee and a $350 tuition payment. The $350 tuition payment is refundable only if you cancel your waitlist application or if an open position does not become available. If a position does become available, the applicant will be applied to the open position and the Application and Cancellation Policies of the Regional Outward Bound School will be followed, including forfeiture of the $500 deposit if you cancel 90 days or less prior to the course start date.
Waitlist applicants are encouraged to complete all required admissions documents while awaiting an open position. Positions may become available up to two weeks prior to the course start date. Applicants may only apply to one course. We recommend applying to a course with open positions instead of a course that is accepting waitlist applications. If you have questions, please call 866-467-7651 to speak with one of our Admissions Advisors.
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After learning basic whitewater paddling techniques, participants are ready to begin the expedition. Paddling together, your group heads down-river through sections of calm current and swift-moving whitewater rapids. The waters of the Rio Grande offer beginning paddlers a progressive challenge and a perfect place to learn and hone skills.
Instructors assist participants in mastering the skills of paddling, scouting, and running rapids. Participants learn all the skills they need to move safely and efficiently downriver including an introduction to whitewater rescue techniques. As there are only two people in a whitewater canoe, everyone has the opportunity to "captain their watercraft." Participants learn to adapt to the river and desert environments and reset their internal clock to rise with the sun and sleep with the moon.
Big Bend State and National Park, Texas
This course area is one of the most remote and geologically interesting in the Outward Bound system. Along the US-Mexico border in southwestern Texas, the Rio Grande River carves a huge, sweeping bend where Big Bend National Park earns its name. This 750,000-square mile wilderness is the eighth largest national park in the lower 48 states and is home to the Chisos Mountains (the only mountain range totally contained within a single national park). It is a desert backpacking, canoeing, and rock climbing paradise. Paddling the Rio Grande takes you to the depths of 1,500 foot canyons where the sunlight may reach the bottom only briefly in winter months. Delicate desert flowers exist alongside fossilized trees millions of years old and mountain passes give way to steep-walled canyons and cliffs. Much of this rugged land has remained unchanged for centuries. Hundreds of species of birds and a healthy diversity of animal and plant communities thrive amid the splendid isolation of ancient limestone canyons, juniper and mesquite-covered mesas, and coal-black night skies.
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