Go Outward Bound with just the girls to explore the wonders of Yosemite.
On this expedition, you’ll backpack through towering trees in Yosemite, the place John Muir called nature’s temple, swim in alpine lakes and sleep under countless stars.
This 8 or 12 day all-female identified course, will give you the opportunity to develop your leadership, learn outdoor skills and challenge yourself — it’s a great first step into wilderness travel.
A single gendered course allows the all-female group to focus on leading in a group setting, building community and finding your voice in a peer group at the same developmental stage.
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, heard the echoes at the edge of a vast canyon, 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 into 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 Rikki Dunn
Backpacking
This course provides an introductory experience in the art and craft of backpacking while exploring a rich national treasure. As no prior experience is necessary, instructors will teach the crew how to cook, set up of tarp shelters and on-trail navigation. Instructors facilitate activities and lessons focused on teamwork, communication and self-discovery. Each young person is capable of more than they know, and this course helps students realize their own potential and return to their day-to-day lives with increased confidence, work ethic and self-awareness.
Students on backpacking courses (XMMB-123) will spend the majority of their time navigating on-trail, occasionally venturing off-trail to connect to another section of trail or to climb a 'walk up' peak which does not require ropes or the occasional use of hands (Class 2). Backpacking courses may also spend more time 'below tree line,’ have limited to no travel on snow, and utilize bridges to cross creeks where available.
Students on alpine backpacking courses (XMMA-131) spend the majority of their time navigating off-trail, 'above tree line', including terrain that crosses talus, boulder fields and snow. Peaks that are climbed on course do not require ropes, but may require the occasional use of hands for balance (Class 3-4), and creek crossings are often void of bridges.
Please note: Students carry both personal and group gear, which means packs can be heavy. Students should be physically able to hike with a 40-pound backpack to be successful on this course. If the applicant is under 5 feet tall and/or 85 pounds, please call Outward Bound prior to enrollment.
Service
Service to others and the environment is a core value of Outward Bound and is integrated into each course. Students follow Leave No Trace ethics and complete acts of service while leading and supporting fellow crew members. Designated service projects are coordinated with land managers like the US Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and the National Park Service to collaborate on land restoration projects. Students develop a value of service, see the impact of their actions first hand and transfer this desire to serve their communities at home.
Solo
Outward Bound believes, in order for profound learning to take place, there must be time to reflect on the experience. During course, Solo is that opportunity. It is a chance to experience solitude in the wilderness without distraction while also taking a break from the physical rigors of course. Students are separated from their group for a period of time which depends on course length and Instructor assessment of group capability. Solo sites are chosen to provide solitude. Students are provided with all necessary equipment, food and water. On this course, the Solo time will not exceed 12 hours.
Outcomes
Outward Bound courses vary in length from four (4) to 85 days. On shorter courses, participants will receive an introduction to leadership skills, strength of character and a desire to serve while activities fill most of the time and the pace is quick. With longer courses, the same outcomes and benefits are achieved with the opportunity to reach a more profound level of mastery as there are more chances to develop technical skills, receive and implement feedback and further personal development. However many days the expedition lasts, the strength and impact of the experience lasts a lifetime.
Backpacking and wilderness navigation techniques are great practice for the essential skills and habits that help prepare for new challenges at school, work, home and in the community. Outward Bound expeditions encourage students:
to remain engaged and present, giving every challenge the best effort, even when the goal seems beyond reach.
to form a team and focus on the team effort.
to share responsibilities, communicate and lead. Leadership roles are shared within the group, and responsibilities rotate each day.
to find reserves of tenacity and compassion. Outward Bound courses are designed to expand and stretch your limits so that every expedition is a true accomplishment and a memorable journey.
Course Area
Yosemite National Park, located in the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range, is famous for breathtaking views of waterfalls, massive granite domes and peaceful alpine meadows. Yosemite is home to some of the world’s most treasured landmarks. While this course steers clear of the crowded tourist attractions of the valley, dramatic alpine scenery can be seen in the horizon such as peaks that rise from the valley to elevations above 12,000 feet.
The Sierra Nevada offers fairly stable and beautiful weather. Spring can bring snow and cold temperatures. As summer advances, temperatures tend to become more moderate. Summer temperatures are in the 70s to 80s during the day and 30s to 50s in the evening. This course area has some of the most famous, though often under-utilized, alpine climbing and backpacking routes for students to experience. These regions are the ancestral lands of the Northern Paiute, Western Mono/Monache, Me-Wuk (Central Sierra Miwok), and Me-Wuk (Southern Sierra Miwuk) nations.
SAMPLE ITINERARY
8-Day Course
12-Day Course
DAY 1
Course Start
DAY 2-3
Training Expedition (Introductory lessons to backpacking, camp craft, navigation)
DAY 4-5
Main Expedition, Solo
DAY 6
Final Expedition
DAY 7
Personal Challenge Event, clean and de-issue gear, Graduation Ceremony
DAY 8
Course end and transportation to the airport
DAY 1
Course start
DAY 2-6
Training Expedition (Introductory lessons to backpacking, camp craft, navigation)
DAY 7-9
Main Expedition, Solo
DAY 10
Final Expedition
DAY 11
Personal Challenge Event, clean and de-issue gear, Graduation Ceremony
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.