oal of this part of the course was to teach us how a normal Outward Bound course operates for regular students. We spent the entire 8 days backpacking and learning about camp craft. By day 2 we were c
ooking for ourselves, setting up our own tarps, hanging the bear hang by ourselves and we had already started to navigate ourselves.The first day was spent meeting our crew, crew #9, and our instructors and also learning how to pack our packs and take the appropriate things with us. This was the point at which we said good bye to our cell phones, wallets, i-pods and any food items we had brought. We then divided the food among our food groups that we had been split into. Once we were all packed we headed to our first campsite.
Throughout the 8 days, we did a lot of hiking. Some of it was rather mild and some of it was more challenging. We hit the peak of several mountains and did a number of grueling climbs. We were also introduced to a new term to me, "Bush Pushing". This is literally what it sounds like. You travel off-trail and push through the bushes. It is a much more challenging way of hiking, because you have
to use navigational skills to figure out where to start and what route will be the best to travel on and then you have to use landmarks to distinguish where you are on the map. We got really familiar with our compasses at this point. One day, we were bush pushing up a huge mountain and we ended up not getting into camp until 10:30pm. It was a pretty rough day. I also managed to g
et a stick lodged into my eye during that day. By the end of the day, I was pretty fed up with hiking off-trail. However, it is an extremely rewarding experience when you reach your destination. We also did a day of blind folded hiking which was pretty funny.
Throughout the 8 days, we did a lot of hiking. Some of it was rather mild and some of it was more challenging. We hit the peak of several mountains and did a number of grueling climbs. We were also introduced to a new term to me, "Bush Pushing". This is literally what it sounds like. You travel off-trail and push through the bushes. It is a much more challenging way of hiking, because you have to use navigational skills to figure out where to start and what route will be the best to travel on and then you have to use landmarks to distinguish where you are on the map. We got really familiar with our compasses at this point. One day, we were bush pushing up a huge mountain and we ended up not getting into camp until 10:30pm. It was a pretty rough day. I also managed to g
et a stick lodged into my eye during that day. By the end of the day, I was pretty fed up with hiking off-trail. However, it is an extremely rewarding experience when you reach your destination. We also did a day of blind folded hiking which was pretty funny. We also did quite a bit of team bonding activities during these 8 days and had a lot of lessons on group dynamics and living in the wilderness. We had several river crossings, sometimes having to hike up our pants as far as we could. We even had a couple members fall in, which isn't always pleasant. Luckily, I was able to stay on my feet and not have any unexpected water incidents.
The first couple of days were probably the hardest because it rained. It's hard to feel positive about forcing yourself to be in the woods when it's pouring ra
in outside. But it was a great lesson about how despite the weather, you can still be outside and have fun. I also got sick during immersion, which was really tough for me. At one point, a couple members from my crew had to carry my pack. It was hard for me to admit that I needed so much help. Luckily it only lasted a couple of days and I was back to normal.
in outside. But it was a great lesson about how despite the weather, you can still be outside and have fun. I also got sick during immersion, which was really tough for me. At one point, a couple members from my crew had to carry my pack. It was hard for me to admit that I needed so much help. Luckily it only lasted a couple of days and I was back to normal.Immersion was a great way to start the trip and really got us acclimated to the environment and values of Outward Bound.
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