"You have unlocked his potential and it is a wonder to me how a 12 day course can be such a bridge from adolescent into young adult. I thank you for all you have done and how you have lead our son along his path." – Parent Testimonial
Backpack, canoe and rock climb in and around the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area on this expedition.
Explore the picturesque Appalachian Mountains as you backpack and canoe through the Delaware Water Gap National Reserve. Improve your leadership and teamwork skills, as you take on new and exciting challenges with your crew. Discover the lifelong benefits and perspective that only wilderness travel with Outward Bound can offer.
This is an “Expedition-style” course, meaning you will leave the Philadelphia base on the first day of course, travel the backcountry by foot or canoe daily, and return to base camp on the last day of the course. You and your group will be moving to a new campsite every night as you travel along your expedition route. This means no showers (perhaps some swimming), no cell phones, no television, nor any other modern luxuries to which you may be accustomed. Although it may take some getting used to, you’ll learn to appreciate time away from technology, with the sun on your shoulders, wind at your back and your crew by your side. Come to your course prepared for, and excited about, devoting all of your time and energy to your expedition, your crew and your Outward Bound experience!
Convenient course start location in Philadelphia.
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!
Classic Courses
Are you ready to take a journey that will change your life? You won’t look at day-to-day drama the same way after you’ve conquered a high mountain ridge, made a boat obey your command in windswept waves or slept under the stars watching bats swoop overhead. Joining an Outward Bound expedition changes you. Your crew, your Instructor, your route and your adventures will have a profound and lasting impact on you as you rise to meet exhilarating natural challenges in some of the country’s wildest places.
Build skills, form connections: Learn and practice wilderness, teamwork and leadership skills. Find connections with your crewmates based on support and respect (and fun too!), and in the thick of challenges, discover there is more in you than you know.
Value strengths and strengthen values: Uncover your unique character strengths, develop your leadership abilities and learn how to let compassion in to everyday life by pushing your own limits and working alongside your peers.
Demonstrate mastery: As you gain confidence in new skills, take on more decision-making responsibilities. Work together to achieve team goals, solve problems and succeed both as individuals and as a group.
What you’ll learn: For Middle School students, heading away from home means taking on new responsibilities and expectations with crewmates who are strangers when you first meet and trusted teammates by the end of your expedition. It’s all about confidence.
After you come home, many of the character, leadership and service traits you uncovered on your expedition stay with you, helping you navigate your daily life with more resilience and success.
Photo courtesy
of Ben Goodman
Photo courtesy
of Michael DePrima
Photo courtesy
of Ben Goodman
Photo courtesy
of Kenja Griffin
Photo courtesy
of Michael DePrima
Photo courtesy
of Cole Corrigan
Photo courtesy
of Ben Goodman
Photo courtesy
of Ben Goodman
Photo courtesy
of Cole Corrigan
Photo courtesy
of Cole Corrigan
Photo courtesy
of Cole Corrigan
Backpacking
As you hike along the Appalachian Trail with your crew, you’ll learn how to work together and discover the commitment and effort it takes to truly work as a team. You’ll travel with all the food and equipment you need to conduct your expedition such as tarp shelters, stoves, maps, emergency equipment and much more. You and your fellow crew members will learn basic outdoor skills like Leave-No-Trace principles, appropriate packing techniques, wilderness hygiene, backcountry cooking and tarp sleeping systems, in order to successfully live, work and eat together. This process will not only hone your communication, problem-solving, and leadership skills, but take you on a journey unlike anything you’ve ever imagined.
Photo courtesy
of Ryan Harris
Photo courtesy
of Kenja Griffin
Photo courtesy
of Michael DePrima
Photo courtesy
of Ryan Harris
Photo courtesy
of Ryan Harris
Photo courtesy
of Ryan Harris
Photo courtesy
of Ben Goodman
Photo courtesy
of Ben Goodman
Photo courtesy
of Ethan Goldstein
Canoeing
Be prepared to canoe in the Delaware Water Gap where each section of the river is different and has its own personality. If you want secluded, wide water with lots of wildlife, the stretch that flows through the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area from Matamoras to Kittatinny Point offers it all. In addition to learning valuable paddling techniques in a tandem canoe, you and your fellow crew members will learn to use technical equipment, tie knots, paddle and develop your campcraft, all while Instructors provide expert supervision.
Photo courtesy
of Ben Goodman
Photo courtesy
of Ben Goodman
Photo courtesy
of Michael DePrima
Photo courtesy
of Ethan Goldstein
Photo courtesy
of Ethan Goldstein
Photo courtesy
of Ben Goodman
Photo courtesy
of Ben Goodman
Photo courtesy
of Ethan Goldstein
Rock Climbing
One portion of the expedition includes the opportunity to develop rock climbing experience guided by Outward Bound experts. Students will learn skills to tie knots and be exposed to climbing fundamentals. They will learn safety, climbing and belay techniques and have opportunities to use climbing equipment. Students do not need prior climbing or backpacking experience for this course. Outward Bound Instructors are climbing specialists and will teach students the skills necessary to be successful on this incredible adventure.
Service
Service to people and to the environment are core values of Outward Bound and they are integrated into each course. Participants follow Leave No Trace ethics as part of their service to the environment. Students develop an ingrained appreciation of service, seeing the impact of their actions firsthand, by multiple small acts of service with and for their crewmates while leading and supporting each other throughout the journey.
Solo
Students will engage in Solo, a period of solitude, as a way to take a break from the physical nature of the expedition and experience time for quiet self-reflection and introspection. Instructors set the tone for the Solo experience and help students prepare for this unique opportunity to spend time away from their crew and process their experiences on a more personal level. While on Solo, students will have food, drinking water, appropriate clothes, a tarp for shelter, sleeping bag, journal, as well as a whistle with which they may alert their Instructors in the unlikely event of an emergency. Instructors also conduct periodic check-ins with each student. For many students, Solo is the highlight of their expedition. It allows students to take a deeper dive into their thoughts and consider how they may apply the lessons from course to their daily lives.
Outcomes
On our multi-element backpacking and canoeing courses, participants have the opportunity to become proficient in both backpacking and canoeing. The course allows for a deeper level of self-discovery and ability to hone their leadership skills. On this longer course, participants gain an understanding of the value of teamwork and learn what it takes to be a compassionate leader while having fun and building strong relationships with their teammates.
Course Area
Delaware Water Gap
The Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area encompasses 67,000 acres of mountain ridge, forest and floodplain on both sides of the Delaware River in the states of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. From the southern end of the park, you can view the S-shaped chasm of the Delaware Water Gap, where the river cuts a twisting path through 1,400-foot Kittatinny Ridge. Within the river watershed, you'll discover steep wooded-and-rock slopes, bountiful rhododendron, dark hallows, tinsel-like ravines and tumbling waterfalls.
These regions are the ancestral lands of the Lənape Haki-nk (Lenni-Lenape) and Munsee Lenape nations.
SAMPLE ITINERARY
*A short Solo Experience may occur during the expedition.
10-Day Course
12-Day Course
DAY 1
Course start and transport to trail
DAY 2-3
Backpacking along the Appalachian Trail in the Delaware Water Gap
DAY 4
Rock Climbing
DAY 5
Resupply and transport to the river to begin canoeing
DAY 6-9
Canoeing on the Delaware River in the Delaware Water Gap
DAY 10
Transport back to Philadelphia for Graduation and crew BBQ Celebration
DAY 1
Course start and transport to trail
DAY 2-4
Backpacking along the Appalachian Trail in the Delaware Water Gap
DAY 5
Rock climbing
DAY 6
Resupply & transport to the river to begin canoeing
DAY 7-11
Canoeing on the Delaware River in the Delaware Water Gap
DAY 12
Transport back to Philadelphia for graduation and crew BBQ celebration
Testimonial
"You have unlocked his potential and it is a wonder to me how a 12 day course can be such a bridge from adolescent into young adult. I thank you for all you have done and how you have lead our son along his path." – Parent Testimonial
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.