I had the honor and priveledge to go on a 15 day expedition with Outward Bound Wilderness during this month of October for 15 days in Southwest Utah. It was an amazing experience in which I learned not only the hard skills of riverboating and backpacking, but also the soft skills of working with 6 total strangers for two weeks in order to be self sufficient and survive in our canyonland wilderness.
The course was titled the Southwest Mystery Expedition and was so named because the instructors planned the itinerary, but kept us students in the dark as to what all was planned until usually the morning of. Sometimes we would have an idea of what we would be doing due to the equipment that they would have us pack, but where we were going and for how long was always a mystery. This was a challenge to most of us because we so often wanted to ask questions to have a better idea of what to expect and be in control of our situation. But this was not usually the case. We were forced to trust that the instructors knew what they were doing, and we had to rely on each other for help and support.
We started in Potash, Utah which is southwest of Moab. From day 1 to day 9 we took one support boat, which stored all of our food in huge coolers and boxes, guided by an instructor, and then the other six of us were in a paddle boat that you typically
see floating down the river when whitewater rafting. The water level was much higher and faster than normal, so some of the rapids that are normally class 3 became class 4; which made for an exciting ride! During this time we learned how to scout rapids in order to find the best route to take so as not to flip the boat or get stuck, we learned how to tie up the boats on the side of the river to tree branches or rocks, how to set up camp (the kitchen, the groover-I'll get into that, and our tarp which was our shelter for the next 15 days).This might be too much information for some of you, but I know most of you are wondering....while on the river we urinated into the river, but when it came to #2 we used something called a groover. This was a military ammunition can in which we took off the lid and replaced it with a toilet seat and called it good. We would set it up away from the group, hidden behind trees or a rock or something, and then we could just take our time doing our business! This was one of the first things to be set up when we would set up camp for the evening. I must say, I pooped in some of the most beautiful places I've ever seen while on this trip!
On day 9 we made the switch from the river to backpacking. One instructor split from the group for about a day and a half to take the boats out while the rest of us began our journey through the canyonlands on foot. We learned how to repel, shimmy lateraly on rocks hanging on by our fingertips and toes lest we fall into a pool of freezing water-sometimes as deep as our height, construct a harness out of a piece of rope, spot each other on difficult climbs, and basically just work together in order to get the whole group to complete whatever task we were given.
On day 11, after being together every single minute of every day, we went on "solo". This was a time when our instructors picked a spot for each individual to spend a little over a day and a half completely in solitude with nature. We were allowed to bring our sleeping bag and pad, a solo tarp for protection, a journal,
any letters we wanted to write, and they gave us a "solo pack" of food which did not consist of much more than crackers and electrolytes. I enjoyed this time so much 1) because my spot was absolutely gorgeous 2) because it was a good break from the group 3) it gave me time to reflect on what I had experienced so far 4) there was no schedule, I could sleep as long as I wanted and just take my time doing whatever I chose.I think what I took away most from the course was patience. Patience with others, patience with myself, patience with time and life and God and my environment. I would say that I was physically prepared for the course, regularly exercising most days and hiking a lot during the summer season. But I would say I was challenged mentally numerous times. I did not sleep well at night, for one reason or another, so after a long night of turning from side to back to side to stomach and over again, it was sometimes quite challenging to have patience with a 19 year old boy who was crabby because he hadn't smoked a cigarette in a few days. I took many a deep breath to keep from losing it when we would be hiking for no more than five minutes and someone would ask when we could take our next break, or how much further we had to go until we were there. Patience.
There are 5 pillars that Kurt Hahn, founder of Outward Bound, based this organization upon. They are: Enterprising curiosity, undefeatable spirit, tenacity in pursuit, sensible self denial, and above all - compassion. These are tenants that we tried to embody while living in our, as one instructor put it, little "utopian society" for 15 days. In addition, hopefully these tenets can also be carried on into our lives now as we are off course. I think I was able to see compassion in a new light after this course by observing how the instructors dealt with students on course. Sometimes, showing compassion didn't necesarily mean making things easier for the student, but offering support, kindness, and sometimes stern words, in order to aid in one's personal growth.
I observed patience when a student was scared frozen while coming upon a portion of a slick rock area that was exposed to a 400 foot drop. The instructor would show patience and compassion by slowly talking them through what needed to happen in order to get through this and overcome their fears. They would never belittle someone or make them feel like they were silly for being scared at different points during the course, they would be there for support and guidance to aid in personal growth and build self-confidence.
One of the reasons I went on this course was to get a better idea of whether instructing is something that I would like to do in the future. After observing the instructors on my course, and talking with them on numerous occasions throughout the course, I feel that I would love to instruct to some capacity while also maintaining the commitments and friendships that I have in Denver as well. This will be a very tricky task, as courses are usually two to three weeks long, but if I can keep a balance of being home and going out on course, I think that it would be an amazing job! The influence you have on lives as an instructor for the time that you are on course with a group of students is powerful, and I got a glimpse of that over the 15 days that I was on my expedition.Some of my favorite moments on course were the times when I would be hiking with someone and we would be dialoguing and sharing about our beliefs and worldviews. I had a chance to share about my faith in Jesus Christ on numerous occasions, and how much that faith has influenced my life and decisions that I make. I was thankful for those conversations and the opportunities to get to know six other people on a deeper level in such a short amount of time.
If anyone has more specific questions that you would like to ask, please feel free, I would be happy to share! It was an amazing experience and I was so thankful for the opportunity to be able to do it because some people will never be able to experience something like that even if they want to. At times when I was on course and I thought about how good a shower would feel when I got home, I brought myself back to the present moment when I thought about all of the people that will never see a moonrise over the Colorado River while floating down it, or get an inch away from a harvest panel that was painted by natives 900 years ago, or watch the sun rise while inside a sleeping bag atop a canyon mesa 6000 ft in elevation, stare at a meteor shower with stars as bright as light bulbs, witness a rock fall from the canyon walls, float past a flashflood, feel 15 different textures of mud between my toes (I didn't know that was possible!), hear coyote howls echoe through the canyon walls in the distance....and plenty more.
