This seven-day Oregon rafting course for teens is a unique program specifically designed for grieving teens coping with the death of a loved one. During this transformational adventure, participants experience powerful grief-work activities woven into the context of the traditional Outward Bound curriculum.
The first days of your trip will be spent on the wild and scenic Deschutes River building critical skills in teamwork and camp craft. This experience will serve as the foundation as you continue your journey, learning paddling skills, river hydrology, raft captaining, and safety. The course also includes an emphasis on leadership, character development, and an ethic of service. You do not need to have any previous experience, and will be taught necessary skills, including challenges such as navigating through rapids, swimming in cold water, paddling into headwinds, and more. Arriving physically fit and excited for the opportunity for personal development will enhance your experience and allow you to take full advantage of the expedition.
NOTE: For details on current COVID-19 policies, including vaccination, please contact an Admissions Advisor at the National Admissions Office at 866-467-7651.
UPCOMING COURSES
This course is closed for the season. 2023 courses coming soon.
APPLY NOW This means a course has several open spots and is actively processing applications.
APPLY NOW – Almost Full This means there are three or fewer currently available spots left on a course. To secure your spot click Apply Now to begin an application!
JOIN WAITLIST
Once a course has reached capacity, three waitlist spots will become available. In the event a spot becomes available, those on the waitlist may have an opportunity to secure the available spot. To join a course’s waitlist, click “Join Waitlist” to begin the application process. Upon completion of your application, a $500 deposit is required to reserve the waitlist spot. If you choose to remove your application from the waitlist, or if a spot does not become available, you will be refunded the $500 deposit. If a spot becomes available and you elect not to take it, Outward Bound will keep $150 of the deposit.
Waitlist spots are prioritized in the order of returned paperwork, not in the order applications are received, so be sure to return the initial paperwork as soon as possible! Please be aware that waitlist spots may become available up to two weeks before the course starts. While cancellations do occur, we cannot guarantee a spot will become available. Applicants may only be listed on one waitlist. If there is another course that still has availability and is also of interest to you, we recommend applying for that course instead. If you have questions, please call 866-467-7651 to speak with one of our Admissions Advisors.
ENROLLMENT CLOSED This means a course is very close to its start date. Although it is unlikely to secure a spot this late, you can call the National Admissions office at 866-467-7651 to discuss your options.
COURSE IS FULL When a course has reached maximum capacity, meaning all spots and the three waitlist spots are occupied, a course will read “Course Is Full.” This means applications are no longer being accepted.
CLOSED As a course nears its start date, the availability status may read “Closed.” In this event, a course roster has been finalized and applications are no longer being accepted or processed.
Grieving Teens Expeditions
Course price reflects reduced tuition made possible through the generous support of our donors and the Leadership support of The New York Life Foundation. Additional need based scholarships are available. To learn more about additional need based scholarships, click here.
Grieving Teens expeditions are designed to help students build confidence and resiliency, acquire coping skills and create a network of ongoing of support. The grief work that is woven into the curriculum helps young people share in a relevant healing experience with real-world outcomes. And in a time and space set aside just for them, grieving teens realize they are not alone.
Build core skills: Instructors provide students with hands-on training on expedition and personal skills. As they learn to live and travel together, students create an inclusive, supportive crew, sharing through discussion circles and grief rituals.
Practice Outward Bound values: Students learn to incorporate Outward Bound values into everyday life by pushing their own limits and seeking challenge as an opportunity for personal growth and healing.
Process and reflect: Journaling, one-on-one conferences and discussion circles help students understand how Outward Bound successes might translate to coping skills back home.
Demonstrate mastery: As the course nears the end, students tackle an expedition challenge, and pause to share and honor their losses.
What you’ll learn: Students return home with healthy support mechanisms and a positive network of peers they can count on in the future.
Photo courtesy
of Jor-el Zajatz
Photo courtesy
of Colby Blue
Photo courtesy
of Colby Blue
Photo courtesy
of Colby Blue
Photo courtesy
of Scott Shepheard
Photo courtesy
of Ben Stainstreet
Photo courtesy
of Colby Blue
Photo courtesy
of Colby Blue
Whitewater Rafting
Students will travel on the river in four to six-person paddle rafts, and learn to “captain” (maneuver) their paddle raft team through Class II to III rapids. After lessons in basic river travel and safety, students will learn to read currents, anticipate obstacles, and scout rapids. Students will also learn river hydrology, swimming in currents, paddle techniques, and expeditionary travel. There may also be an opportunity for short day hikes.
Service
Service to others and to our environment is a core value of Outward Bound and is integrated into each course. Groups follow Leave No Trace ethics as they engage in acts of service while leading and supporting fellow participants. Students see the impact of their actions firsthand, and may develop a desire to continue service in their home communities.
Solo
In order for profound learning to take place, students spend time reflecting on their experience, and Solo is that opportunity. 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. With sufficient food and equipment, students will set up camp at sites of their own, using the wilderness skills learned during the first portions of the course. The amount of time students spend on Solo is based on course length, weather, student condition, age, and Instructor preference. Solo campsites are chosen to offer as much solitude as possible (yet be within emergency whistle-signaling distance of other group members). Most students spend their Solo time journaling, drawing, reflecting, thinking and resting as they process lessons of the course to focus on their goals for the future. Instructors check on each participant at regular intervals, as safety is always a top priority.
Outcomes
Outward Bound promotes character development, leadership, and service in the most engaging classroom possible … the wilderness. In real time, students experience the effects of their decisions on themselves and the other members of their group as they work to complete difficult tasks necessary for wilderness travel. Instructors challenge students to try new things and step outside their comfort zones. They also provide feedback that students implement on course and when they return to their communities.
Course Area
Deschutes River, Oregon
The Deschutes River is part of the national Wild & Scenic Rivers System, flowing north from the Oregon Cascades to the Columbia River and then on to the Pacific Ocean. Courses generally travel anywhere from fifty to one hundred miles along the Lower Deschutes. The rapids on the Deschutes are rated to class IV, mostly class II-III. The group camps each night along the banks of the river.
SAMPLE ITINERARY
DAY 1
Course start, welcome and introductions, gear-check, course overview
DAY 2
Fitting and use of personal flotation device, safety topics, captaining a raft, reading water, swim assessment, capsize drill, navigation, and camp-craft skills
DAY 3
Practice captaining a raft, scouting, throw bag drill, swimming activities
DAY 4
Opportunity for a day hike, rock jump, rock climbing, and/or rappelling. These activities are dependent on student and Instructor outcomes for the course
DAY 5
Day run through the town of Maupin. Largest concentration of rapids
DAY 6
De-issue and clean gear; course closing and celebration
DAY 7
Transportation home
Getting Started
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 $300 deposit that is applied toward the total cost of the course and includes a $150 non-refundable enrollment processing fee.