"This opportunity to deeply explore my community has given me an experience that I will remember for the rest of my life. I would like to thank my amazing Instructors for being able to provide a safe, comfortable and open setting for all the students including me." – Student
Connect with other LGBTQ youth as you explore the wild and scenic Deschutes River.
The Oregon Rafting and Service course for LGBTQ youth offers students an opportunity to connect with other members of the LGBTQ community on an 10-day expedition. The course begins in Portland, Oregon with low and high ropes courses. You’ll then head to central Oregon for six days of rafting on the wild and scenic Deschutes River, using your teamwork and outdoor skills, and learning paddling methods, river hydrology, raft captaining and rescue techniques. You don’t need to have any previous experience – our Instructors are prepared to teach people of all experience levels.
The course also includes a community service component. This course, led by LGBTQ Outward Bound Instructors, creates an open and affirming space for sharing experiences and building community while exploring the great outdoors. Students should expect a traditional Outward Bound course structure where students learn technical skills and take responsibility for daily activities, while also building self-esteem and relationships with other LGBTQ youth.
Outward Bound is partnering on this course with OUT There Adventures (OTA), a Seattle based non-profit committed to fostering positive identity development, individual empowerment and improved quality of life for queer young people through professionally facilitated experiential education activities. OTA staff will be present on course to support our students as well as to provide follow-up through an 11-month service-leadership program wherein students will take the knowledge and skills acquired on this course back to their respective communities.
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.
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, made a boat obey your command in windswept waves or slept under the stars watching bats swoop overhead. Joining an Outward Bound expedition changes you. Your crew, your Instructors, 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 in to 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 Ben Stainstreet
Photo courtesy
of Colby Blue
Photo courtesy
of Colby Blue
Photo courtesy
of Colby Blue
Photo courtesy
of Colby Blue
Photo courtesy
of Colby Blue
Photo courtesy
of Colby Blue
Photo courtesy
of Colby Blue
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, and paddle techniques. There may also be an opportunity for short day hikes.
Photo courtesy
of Colby Blue
Photo courtesy
of Colby Blue
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. These regions are the ancestral lands of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs and the Tenino nations.
Portland, Oregon
This course will begin and end in Oregon’s largest city, which sits on the Columbia and Willamette Rivers with Mount Hood on the horizon. Portland offers a rich history, diverse cultural traditions and foods, and an abundance of service opportunities. The City of Roses will be your classroom as you continue your expedition of discovery and team-building. These regions are the ancestral lands of the Cowlitz, Clackamas, Atfalati and Kalapuya nations.
SAMPLE ITINERARY
DAY 1
Course Start, welcome and introductions, duffle shuffle, course overview
DAY 2
Ropes course day - team building through low and high ropes elements
DAY 3
Service day in Portland
DAY 4
Travel to the river. River intro and basic paddling skills.
DAY 5-8
River travel. Scouting rapids, student captaining and camping skills. Students may also have an opportunity for a day hike and a Solo experience.
DAY 9
De-issue the river gear, course end celebration.
DAY 10
Travel Home via Redmond, Oregon airport
Course Stories
"This opportunity to deeply explore my community has given me an experience that I will remember for the rest of my life. I would like to thank my amazing Instructors for being able to provide a safe, comfortable and open setting for all the students including me." – Student
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 $500 deposit that is applied toward the total cost of the course and includes a $150 non-refundable enrollment processing fee.