“The skills my child and I got from this program are so helpful! Having a common language is powerful, as is having her have the opportunity to practice the skills in a controlled environment. If I had tried to teach her these things at home it would have been very difficult. The metaphors like the one used for climbing and belaying were so helpful because our child actually got to have that experience.” – Susan, Parent of Voyageur Outward Bound School Intercept Alum
“We met lots of parents with similar problems and found good support at the family seminar. I will highly recommend this course. It has changed our daughter and I really think the changes will stick. So much change in fact, she wants to work here when she gets older. I cannot thank you enough for bringing a light to the end of our tunnel.” – Colleen, Parent of Voyageur Outward Bound School Intercept Alum
“I liked that the principles of Outward Bound were extended to a particular segment of families that have distinct needs. I really like the addition of the family seminar as a means to give families tools and to provide families with support for each other. The relationships with staff were very professional, yet warm.” – Brenda, Parent of Voyageur Outward Bound School Intercept Alum
“When I get home, I can tell people that Outward Bound reminded me about who I really am and want to be. It kickstarted that change into being a better person.” – Marisa, Voyageur Outward Bound School Intercept Alum
"This course changed my life. I challenged myself physically and mentally everyday whether that was paddling and portaging or having conversations on how I can better myself with my group." –Elizabeth, Voyageur Outward Bound School Intercept Alum
Designed to help families rebuild strong, healthy relationships, this backcountry canoe expedition is tailored for teen girls who are engaging in potentially risky behaviors, struggling with low self-image, not living up to their potential and/or demonstrating poor decision-making skills. The journey begins with a wilderness canoeing expedition and concludes with a family conference to support a successful transition back to home life. Within the structure of a wilderness expedition, students experience the thrills of adventure, the satisfaction of a hard day’s work and the comradery of a supportive team in a classroom unlike any other.
During the course, Instructors facilitate activities that build teamwork, communication and conflict resolution skills. They help students set goals and make better decisions and encourage each student to find the leader within themselves. All-girl courses allow for more open space to talk about fears and concerns, provides greater chances for females to take leadership roles, and lessens the potential for stereotyping behaviors to occur. The course concludes with a two-day community service project and a three-day intensive family seminar. This workshop helps the entire family transfer the experience into a model for everyday life. Families walk away with new problem-solving tools, a fresh optimism and outlook, and a plan for future success.
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.
COURSE # | DATES | DAYS | AGE | COST | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
VMIC-163 | 6.15.21 - 7.12.21 | 28 | 14 - 17 | $9,055 | APPLY NOW |
VMIC-167 | 7.20.21 - 8.16.21 | 28 | 14 - 17 | $9,055 | APPLY NOW |
VMIC-165 | 7.27.21 - 8.23.21 | 28 | 14 - 17 | $9,055 | APPLY NOW |
This course starts within the next week. Please call us at 866-467-7651 to assess the possibility of applying for this course!
Outward Bound Intercept expeditions are specifically designed for struggling teens and their families. These highly structured courses remove young people from daily pressures and influences and present them instead with natural challenges, guided risks and a supportive environment. More than just resolving destructive behaviors, these courses develop positive decision-making skills, strengthen their ability to build healthy and lasting relationships, and cultivate a positive self-image. Compassionate Instructors help students and parents find a healthy sense of boundaries so families interact more effectively with one another and the world around them.
With the support of Outward Bound’s Intercept program, and the dedicated involvement of both students and their families, relationships start fresh, perceived limitations are overcome, new opportunities emerge and new futures are created.
Students embark on an unsupported wilderness canoeing expedition; meaning they carry with them everything they will need for a three-week adventure. Expert Instructors teach the art of paddling a canoe in a variety of conditions, as well as map and compass reading, route finding and Leave No Trace wilderness ethics. Groups navigate a variety of waterways such as lakes, rivers and marshland, enjoying the pristine air, water and forests of the untouched wilderness. Working as a team, students carry packs and canoes over portage trails that bridge the land between bodies of water or to get safely around challenging rapids. Traveling by canoe allows groups to go far past where motorboats operate. Once there, it is possible to quietly observe all the wonders around them, like bald eagles, moose and peaceful sunsets on mirror-calm lakes.
On scenic granite cliffs near the Boundary Waters wilderness, students enjoy rock climbing and rappelling on 50 to 70 foot cliffs, offering a variety of beginner and intermediate climbs that provide an ideal introduction to rock climbing. Regardless of a student’s rock climbing and rappelling background, everyone is sure to find challenge and success.
A half-day of whitewater kayaking adds to the excitement and breadth of the experience. Students learn how to “read” water and trust themselves to make split-second decisions in order to determine the best routes through the rushing waves. This experience offers students the opportunity to increase their skill and knowledge of whitewater paddling as they progress from maneuvering in small currents to more challenging rapids. Emphasis is placed on boat control, safety and enjoying the thrill of whitewater paddling.
Looking out over the top of the boreal forest and located 30 feet in the air, the high ropes course is incredible. Students swing from Tarzan ropes, walk on tightrope wires and climb a cargo net before jumping on the zip line for an exhilarating ride back to solid ground. This opportunity creates space for students to individually challenge themselves while being supported by their team at the end of their expedition experience.
By the end of the course, students have made great strides. They have learned how to balance freedom and responsibility, how to be part of a team and how to make positive choices. They feel a sense of pride in themselves and their accomplishments and have a fresh perspective and outlook on their lives. But how do teens and families translate the incredible Intercept experience into lasting positive change? Parents or guardians are a critical link in the success of the Intercept experience and have the opportunity to think through their relationship with their teen by using a comprehensive workbook. At the intensive three-day seminar, Instructors help translate the student experience to parents and guardians, giving families an opportunity to practice tools and strategies used on the expedition, creating a solid foundation of understanding and support for the path ahead.
As a part of the family seminar, families meet one-on-one with at least one of the expedition Instructors to learn how their young adult fared on the course. They hear a detailed account of what the course was like, the struggles and success of the group and how their young adult handled the challenges. Together, with an Instructor acting as a facilitator, families come up with a new agreement to guide life at home. The goal for the family is to re-establish healthy roles and connections, restore any past harm, rebuild trust and create clear expectations for the future. The goal for the student is to have a voice in the direction their life takes and to clearly understand and commit to their responsibilities in order to earn trust and more freedom at home.
Service is a cornerstone of every Outward Bound experience. From the seemingly small, daily acts of service to the environment and the expedition team to the post-expedition service-learning projects, students have ample opportunities to experience the value of giving back to the larger community. On the expedition, students are encouraged to practice environmental stewardship in the form of Leave No Trace ethics - leaving campsites and trails in better condition than they found them. Students also practice regular acts of service for their team, including preparing and serving meals, helping others put on or take off packs, or setting up shelters for the entire team.
After the expedition, students participate in two days of organized service to the community. These projects are designed to offer as much interaction with local communities as possible, as a way of exchanging cultural awareness and fostering a sense of connection to the larger world. The specific type of service project depends on local needs and opportunities but could include serving at a soup kitchen, homeless shelter, senior center, nature center, or horse ranch for underprivileged youth.
The Solo experience provides an important break from the rigors of the expedition and gives students the opportunity to reflect on their Outward Bound experience. Many students use this reflection time to make decisions about their future, journal and enjoy the beauty of their surroundings unencumbered by the constant external stimulation of modern life. The duration of Solo depends on the course length and type, as well as the competency and preparedness of the student group. With all the food, skills and supplies they need, participants are given a secluded spot to reflect alone, and are monitored by staff throughout the experience to maintain safety. Students find that Solo provokes profound and powerful learning in a short period of time and often becomes one of the most memorable parts of their Outward Bound course.
Courses are offered in a variety of locations and for different lengths to provide a range of programming from which participants can choose the optimal experience for them. Longer courses allow for a full immersion into the Outward Bound experience, more time to practice wilderness travel, and the opportunity to experience both success and failure to promote personal growth. The Intercept course offers the opportunity to be fully removed from the temptations and triggers of day-to-day life and start fresh with new habits and new life lessons. Students can expect to get comfortable living and working together in the wilderness while creating a solid foundation of communication, problem solving and decision making skills that they can continue to build on after course. With the added support of parent or guardian involvement, students are able to take lessons they’ve learned on course back to their home lives and implement the changes they want to see.
Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, Minnesota
Established in 1978, the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) is a labyrinth of lakes and rocks that has been specifically protected as a true American wilderness. No roads, power lines or motorized craft may enter its borders. Therefore, the Boundary Waters has changed little since its unveiling when the glaciers melted 10,000 years ago.
Over one million acres in size, the BWCAW extends nearly 150 miles along the Minnesota/Canadian border. With over 1,200 miles of canoe routes, nearly 2,200 designated campsites and more than 1,000 lakes and streams, the BWCAW is an amazing place to experience the wilderness. It contains portage-linked lakes and streams, interspersed with islands, forests and ancient granite crags, offering outstanding opportunities for world-class paddling, solitude, remoteness, teamwork, adventure and challenge. It is also home to a healthy diversity of plant and animal life including massive white pine and cedar groves, black bear, timber wolves, bald eagles and river otter. The Boundary Waters has no piped water, prepared shelters or signs to point the way. Within these borders you can canoe, portage and camp in the spirit of the French-Canadian Voyageurs of 200 years ago. The Boundary Waters' paddling routes offer outstanding opportunities for solitude, remoteness, teamwork, adventure and challenge. These regions are the ancestral lands of the Anishinabewaki ᐊᓂᔑᓈᐯᐗᑭ and Očeti Šakówiŋ (Sioux) nations.
“The skills my child and I got from this program are so helpful! Having a common language is powerful, as is having her have the opportunity to practice the skills in a controlled environment. If I had tried to teach her these things at home it would have been very difficult. The metaphors like the one used for climbing and belaying were so helpful because our child actually got to have that experience.” – Susan, Parent of Voyageur Outward Bound School Intercept Alum
“We met lots of parents with similar problems and found good support at the family seminar. I will highly recommend this course. It has changed our daughter and I really think the changes will stick. So much change in fact, she wants to work here when she gets older. I cannot thank you enough for bringing a light to the end of our tunnel.” – Colleen, Parent of Voyageur Outward Bound School Intercept Alum
“I liked that the principles of Outward Bound were extended to a particular segment of families that have distinct needs. I really like the addition of the family seminar as a means to give families tools and to provide families with support for each other. The relationships with staff were very professional, yet warm.” – Brenda, Parent of Voyageur Outward Bound School Intercept Alum
“When I get home, I can tell people that Outward Bound reminded me about who I really am and want to be. It kickstarted that change into being a better person.” – Marisa, Voyageur Outward Bound School Intercept Alum
"This course changed my life. I challenged myself physically and mentally everyday whether that was paddling and portaging or having conversations on how I can better myself with my group." –Elizabeth, Voyageur Outward Bound School Intercept Alum
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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.