While every Outward Bound Intercept course follows a meticulously crafted learning structure, the memories, lessons and stories each student takes home after 28 days in the wilderness are entirely their own.
Outward Bound Intercept is a program for families with teens dealing with life’s challenges and in need of a reset. As an Intercept Instructor, I want to share what you might experience on this journey in hopes that you decide to join us. Perhaps I can inspire you, or even calm some of your fears. This is just a glimpse into what it could be like for you to travel to Ely, Minnesota to participate in an Outward Bound Intercept course in the Boundary Waters.
Day 1:
You wake up early, before the sun comes up. Your parents take you to the airport and say their goodbyes. Once you get through security, you spend the next several hours hopping planes. During the flight your mind races. Feelings of anger, excitement and nervousness are somehow all rolled into one.
As you touch down into Duluth International Airport, your heartbeat quickens, no turning back now. Almost immediately, you’re greeted by someone wearing an Outward Bound t-shirt and holding up a sign with a compass rose on it. Their smiling face offers you some reassurance, and as they bring you over to a growing group of people, you begin to realize you’re not in this alone.
Within this group is your Course Director. Introductions are made and you understand that this person will be there for you throughout your whole expedition: giving you a listening ear, communicating news to your parents, and maybe even giving you some tough love.
Next, it’s time to change into your expedition clothing. You wonder, in passing, whether three bottles of bug spray is enough, or whether you forgot anything (if you did, your Instructors will make sure you get it).
When you finally leave the airport, you and your group pile into a fleet of vans. The drive is long- about 2.5 hours. You doze off, talk to other passengers, and you notice how the city shrinks away quickly, leaving only walls of trees on either side of the roads. You don’t see the lakes until you are nearly there. As they materialize next to the road, stretching off into the distance, a faint breeze kicks up some whitecaps on the surface.
A view of the extraordinary Boundary Waters. Photo by Larry Mishkar
Finally, you make a turn onto a gravel road, and seemingly all too soon, you arrive at the basecamp. Your two wilderness Instructors greet you as you step out of the van. They will be with you for your whole expedition, and they have been working tirelessly and consistently for the past four days to prepare for your arrival.
You grab your suitcase, which now seems entirely out of place in the wilderness, and meet your crew. The people around you will be your family for the next month, sharing food, conversation, and experiences both exhilarating and bone-crushing.
The Instructors take charge and begin teaching the basics in wilderness travel, from washing your hands, to tipping a canoe right side up after it flips. During these incredibly fast-paced hours, you begin to have serious doubts about remembering all the little details. Don’t stress too much. Soon you will be completely proficient in the wilderness.
Students sit around a fire while on course with Outward Bound. Photo by Caroline Callahan
When it is time for bed, your brain is swimming with all that you have just learned. As you gather around the fire for your first evening meeting, you see the faces of your crew lit up in the firelight. With a few words of wisdom, your Instructors send you off to bed. You crawl (quickly, to keep out the mosquitos) into your green, triangle-shaped tent, and fall asleep. You have a lot facing you in the next few days: challenge, teamwork, growth, and adventure.
Day 8:
By Day 8, you have accomplished a great deal. You have learned to camp comfortably in the wilderness. You are able to paddle your canoe in a straight line, and you can carry it over land without hurting your shoulders too badly.
Students paddle through whitewater in the Boundary Waters. Photo by Tyler Fish
You have faced your first thunderstorm where you had to stand outside, crouched on your PFD (personal flotation device) to insulate you from the ground. You have, just yesterday, been soaked to the bone while cooking dinner over a fire at 11 o’clock at night. You have some mosquito bites (between 10 and 100), and you have heard the chilling call of a loon late at night.
Along with this, you have begun to connect with your Instructors. Through personal and group discussions, they have helped you realize that the lessons and skills you are learning in the wilderness really do relate to how you act back home. Figuring out the best spot to set up your tent translates to looking at all the factors in a situation before deciding on an action. Arguing with your crew about whether or not you were supposed to turn left at the embankment- and then talking it over as a group, translates to conflict resolution skills you plan on using with your younger brother. The more experiences you have here in the wilderness, the more the dots begin to connect with your actions back home.
Intercept students bond while on course with Outward Bound.
In addition to connecting with your Instructors, you and your crew have bonded. You are working together and now are enjoying some new freedoms and responsibilities. Never mind that you made a wrong turn yesterday and added a few hours to the hike. When you finally made it to camp, everyone agreed that their dinner was the most rewarding bowl of mac and cheese they ever had.
Day 9:
Today is a special day. For the first time since you arrived at Outward Bound, you have contact with the outside world. Up until now your Instructors have helped you not only with wilderness skills, but also with communicating better and helping you see the importance of setting goals. Back at basecamp, your Course Director has been keeping up with your parents and the progress you have made personally and as a group.
Today, your Course Director comes to meet with you. They ask you how things have been going, they inquire about your goals and your efforts so far to accomplish them. You tell your Course Director that you are now able to carry a canoe 160 rods (one rod is 16 feet) down a trail riddled with ankle-twisting rocks and slippery wooden planks. You also say that you are working on how to communicate better when you are frustrated. You are learning that your goals are important and are driving your purpose out in the wilderness. You know now that the skills you’re learning here will serve you at home; not necessarily the skills it takes to carry a 70-pound canoe, but the perseverance, goal setting, teamwork and communication needed to get it done.
An Intercept student demonstrates the proper way to portage a canoe. Photo by Suellen Sack
The rest of the day is fun and full of activities your Course Director has planned. When you part ways, you return to your campsite and crew. You get a good night sleep, because tomorrow you will paddle across one of the largest and most beautiful lakes in the Boundary Waters.
Day 14:
It seems like only yesterday that you met with your Course Director, but nearly a week has passed. You notice the landscape changing as you and your crew travel through the wilderness. Your experiences, lessons, and stories that you have accumulated are now a part of you. You have inside jokes, games, and mannerisms that other people don’t understand. You understand that the bond with your crew cannot be completely explained or broken.
Students learn how to rock climb while on course with Outward Bound. Photo by Erin McCleary
Today, you are putting down your canoe paddles and trying a different outdoor sport. Once you arrive to the campsite, you take a hike up to a steep cliffside. You notice the beautiful lake at the base of the cliff and the brightly colored ropes swaying in the breeze running off the cliff’s edge. Today, you are learning to rock-climb. Although you are nervous (heights were never your thing) you know your crew will be there to support you mentally and physically. By the end of the day, your comfort zone is a little bigger and your confidence a little stronger.
Day 17:
Today is the day of your Solo. This is the moment you have been waiting anxiously for, and perhaps dreading, since you heard about it for the first time weeks ago. 24 hours alone in the wilderness…what if it rains? Will I remember how to set up my tarp? I heard that they don’t give you any food…
A student reflects during their solo in the Boundary Waters. Photo by Suellen Sack
And now here you are. At your very own campsite, seemingly alone (with plenty of food and water). The dread and fears have washed away, leaving you in a state of introspection. As you sit on a rock and look out at the view, you think about everything that has led you here. Who were you back home? Who do you want to become? These questions and more flow throughout your mind. Instead of feeling defeated however, you feel something new. The strength and confidence you have gained on this expedition has filled you with the courage to take on the world back home.
Day 22:
Today is the day you leave the wilderness. You approach this day with mixed feelings; yes, you are mere hours away from your first hot shower in 22 days, but on the other hand, you are about to leave the comforts of the well-oiled crew that you have been a part of for so long. You and your crew have gone through a lot together. Just a few days ago, you left your solo experience, re-joined your group, and took on full responsibility for the success of your expedition. Your Instructors haven’t been giving you instructions any more. You have been working as a team, taking on different roles: navigating, cooking, setting up camp and leading. You have been relying on each other and learning to trust each other. Today, many things will change. Luckily, your group will still be your support network for many days (and years) to come.
Students show their newfound friendship on course in the Boundary Waters. Photo by Kristin Adam
It is both intimidating and exciting as you paddle and portage along the Kawishiwi River towards Homeplace. Your Instructors have told you what to expect when you arrive at the Outward Bound basecamp, and you are already thinking about the Personal Challenge Event and the celebratory banquet that awaits you. You also learn that you will be spending some time helping out in the local community, and are excited to be able to assist others in a meaningful way.
The peaceful setting of the Homeplace basecamp in the Boundary Waters.
As you paddle out of the Boundary Waters, the river flows under a bridge that marks the transition from wilderness to “front-country.” You pause here for a second and look back on how far you have come. The accomplishment feels amazing.
Day 27:
Ever since you’ve arrived back at the basecamp, you’ve anxiously been waiting to see your parents again. Today marks the start of the family conference, and the importance of this day is not lost on you. You are excited to show your parents how far you’ve come, and you’re pretty sure you’ll even be able to teach them a thing or two about communication skills.
Students rush to meet their parents as the family conference begins.
Once the conference begins, you are surprised to see that while you were in the wilderness, your parents were working hard too. The dedication and commitment that both you and your parents have brought to this experience helps build a new roadmap for the future. As the day goes on, you and your family create goals, discuss rules (for both you and them), and strengthen your relationships as a whole.
Day 28:
Today is graduation day. You can’t help but feel that this is the end; you’re leaving your crew and your Instructors, and heading home.
Sunset in the Boundary Waters. Photo by Theo Theobald
Today, however, is just the beginning. You are now truly Outward Bound, leaving the consistency and comfort of your expedition to put your new skills to the test back at home. The hardest days are yet to come. You may find yourself falling back on old habits, or missing the feeling of being focused on the simple act of paddling to find a campsite. But you have what it takes to achieve your goals. You have proven it to yourself, your Instructors and your parents. And although your team is far away, spread across the country, you share an experience that no one else has. Treasure that feeling, and carry it with you on the rest of your journey.
To experience more of the Boundary Waters:
For more information on Intercept expeditions, go to www.outwardbound.org/intercept/intercept. Call 866.467.7651 to speak with an Admissions Advisor who can answer questions, provide more information, and suggest upcoming Intercept expeditions for at-risk youth. For additional insight into the Intercept experience, read more here.
About the Author:
Author Caroline Callahan
Caroline Callahan has been working in outdoor education for six years: three as a student leader at Colgate University’s Outdoor Education Program, and three as an Instructor at Voyageur Outward Bound School. Her favorite outdoor activities include sea kayaking, whitewater kayaking, and canoeing. She cares deeply about the Outward Bound mission, and wants to share it, and the wilderness experience, with as many people as possible.
