Western North Carolina Mountains Wilderness Expedition

The expedition is designed to be a challenging 20 to 28-day expedition focused on:

• Achievable goals - With a 1:4 average student to Instructor ratio, Instructors are able to work individually with students to make solid self-assessments and set achievable goals
• Purposeful challenges - Tackling personal and mental challenges, such as rock climbing or ropes courses that allow students to discover they are stronger than they know
• Reflection – Students take a 48-hour Solo, where they camp alone near Instructors, allowing for them to rest and reflect on transitions back to their home and everyday lives
• Service – As students develop skills to help themselves, they are also involved in learning to care for others and the environment around them 

During the wilderness portion students will be rock climbing and whitewater canoeing. Rock climbing pushes students to step outside their comfort zones, communicate and trust their new crewmates. With a focus on safety, this course activity will start with the basics, such as working with ropes and learning to tie knots. Depending on the weather and group dynamics, students will then move on to learning the basics of bouldering and then progress to a top-rope climb or rappel. Students may also engage in a high ropes obstacle course to further foster group dynamics and teamwork. 

Participants will also spend a few days maneuvering Class I-Class III whitewater through sculpted rock channels in tandem (two person) canoes. Some of the topics crews may cover during this portion of the course include: basic water safety and rescue techniques, identification and use of paddling equipment, how to work with paddling partners to successfully negotiate Class l-Class III rapids and flat water and whitewater paddling strokes and maneuvers.

Service

Service is a continuous theme throughout any Outward Bound course. By discovering the true meaning of giving back to the community and one another, students discover their ability to lead. The ethic of service will be practiced through Leave No Trace camping techniques, reaching out with compassion to fellow crewmates and working as a team to overcome the challenges of course. Longer expeditions like this one also allow time to complete a service project. Common projects include trail work, helping at local food pantries and other local non-profit organizations.

Family Seminar

During the Intercept course, students make great strides in learning how to balance freedom and responsibility, working with others and making positive choices. As the course comes to a close, students feel accomplished and ready to envision a life at home after Outward Bound. With newfound excitement and maturity, students are ready for the next step—to meet with their family to translate all they’ve learned into lasting positive change.

Buy-in and commitment at home from parents/guardians are critical components of the success of the Intercept experience. While students are out on course, parents/guardians will have the opportunity to examine their relationship by completing a comprehensive workbook. After the wilderness expedition comes to a close, parents/guardians receive a detailed account from Instructors about what course was like for the group—including the struggles and successes and how challenges were handled. With these tools in hand, families are reunited for a three-day seminar. With the help of an Instructor acting as a facilitator, families develop an agreement to guide life once they get home. The goal for the family is to know that the students can conduct themselves appropriately and to clearly define expectations. The goal for the student is to have a say in the direction their life takes and to clearly understand what is required of them to earn more freedom.

Course Area

Blue Ridge Mountains, North Carolina

The Blue Ridge Mountains, or Southern Appalachians, is one of the oldest mountain ranges in the world. While the mountains themselves formed over 250 million years ago, some of the rocks that underlie the region are over a billion years old.

The long geologic and evolutionary history of the Southern Appalachians has created one of the most biologically diverse regions in North America; some even say it is “rainforest-like.” This region is home to beautiful rushing rivers, hundreds of waterfalls and some of the highest peaks in the Eastern United States—including Mt. Mitchell (elevation 6,684 feet), the highest point east of the Mississippi River. Its diverse landscapes have been featured in many motion pictures including The Hunger Games and The Last of the Mohicans.

Outward Bound students can expect to share the wilderness with over 700 different kinds of trees, more than 50 types of mammals, 150 different types of birds and over 50 species of amphibians. The huge numbers of tree and plant life is actually what gives these mountains their namesake. Trees put the ‘blue’ in the Blue Ridge Mountains from the organic chemicals they release into the atmosphere, thereby contributing to the distinctive color of these mountains.

Temperatures in this area range from 50 to 85 degrees in the summer, 30 to 65 degrees in the spring and fall, and 10 to 50 degrees in the winter.