Southwest Canyon Backpacking

This is a backpacking course in the canyon country of Utah, specifically designed for adults over the age of 30. Students who are looking for travel in an amazing and unique environment and are ready to look inward, work as a team and gain new perspective are ideal participants in this course.

The canyon country of Southeastern Utah is one of the starkest, yet most sublime, areas of wilderness left in the lower-48 states. Your course takes place in this area, just north of the San Juan River, on a large plateau called Cedar Mesa. The landscape is filled with sandstone that has been eroded into an endless variety of mesas, towers, grottos, hoodoos, arches and canyons. The canyons abound with hidden wonders: clear springs seeping from the rock, delicate soils that host communities of life, powerful silence, hues of varnish creating tapestries of the canyon walls and much more.

This region of Utah’s canyon country is home to a large concentration of Anasazi cliff dwellings. The Anasazi Indians lived in this area for hundreds of year, eking out an existence in this austere environment. Their subsequent abandonment of this area is one of the unsolved mysteries of the southwest. Every pottery shard, cliff dwelling, and rock art panel you encounter on your course will entice you to contemplate in wonder the lifestyles and beliefs of this ancient culture.

Adult Renewal
Your route is crafted to maximize your enjoyment of the canyon country by keeping your average daily miles down and your pack weight down. This allows you and your group more time for activities such as Leave No Trace training, Life Renewal initiatives, group conversations, advanced camp craft lessons, and reflection time. Your instructors are specially chosen to make this course successful for you whether you’re a youngster at age 30 or a more mature 55.

The Outward Bound Difference
Reasonably pushing your limits and working as a team is all part of your Outward Bound experience. The focus of your course is on technical, environmental and safety skills, but the emphasis is on developing as a person and as a group. The trust and camaraderie that develops amongst you is the key to your patrol’s success and half the meaning of your Outward Bound course. Through shared adventures you learn to accept and respect one another’s differences, minimizing each other’s shortcomings while maximizing each other’s strengths. Some people have a natural aptitude for route-finding; others discover a knack for cooking tasty meals or tying knots or mediating disputes. Each member of the patrol makes a valuable contribution to what becomes a smoothly functioning team capable of feats that would be unthinkable for an individual member. Through miles and miles of travel, through sunshine, thunder, wind and rain, you all become each other’s friends and heroes. Successful completion of your course demands mastery of skills, trust, fitness, confidence, tenacity, leadership, initiative and compassion. The promotion of these qualities, and the discovery of what’s in you is the purpose of Outward Bound.

Course Description
Your course will begin with lessons in basic travel and camping techniques. As the course progresses, you will gain more knowledge of "leave no trace", map and compass navigation, camp craft, and how to negotiate obstacles, as well as learn about the human and natural history of the area. In the latter half of your course, you separate for an overnight solo to reflect on your experience and other aspects of your life. After solo, you regroup and share your thoughts and experiences.

During your course, you backpack in the canyons and out across the mesas, camp on vast expanses of desert slickrock, and stop along the way to explore amazing ruins and interesting geology. Most importantly, you get to spend time in an incredible area of the desert southwest, sleep under the stars, feel the spring or fall sunshine on your face, and maybe watch a few sunsets over this simple but magical landscape. It is not uncommon for our students to be strongly affected by this amazing country where the sand gets between your toes and the scenery touches your heart.

To enroll in this course click the enroll button next to the course dates that work for you. To shop comparatively online visit our Advanced Course Finder or better yet call one of our expert Admission Advisers at 866-467-7651. Course tuitions listed below do not include our Application Fee or Transportation Fee.

Region: Utah

Activities: Canyon backpacking, day hiking, solo

Additional Information:
Application Fee
Transportation Fee

Dates	Days	Age	Location	Tuition	Course	Enroll
10/05/08 to 10/11/08	7	30+	Utah	$1295.00	UJT825
10/19/08 to 10/25/08	7	30+	Utah	$1295.00	UJT826