Oregon Rafting & Alpine Backpacking
Come explore the Pacific Northwest on this 10 or 15-day rafting and alpine backpacking course.
The Oregon Rafting and Backpacking course offers students an opportunity to challenge themselves physically and mentally while exploring amazing wilderness areas. The first days of your trip will be spent on the wild and scenic Deschutes River building critical skills in teamwork and outdoor skills, as well as learning paddling skills, river hydrology, raft captaining and rescue techniques. Trade your wet shoes for hiking boots, you will explore diverse mountain habitats among the volcanoes of the Central Cascade mountain range. You can expect to learn basic mountaineering and backpacking skills as well as navigation using a map and compass. The course also includes an emphasis on leadership, character development and an ethic of service. From navigating through rapids, paddling into headwinds, to carrying a heavy pack, wilderness travel is demanding. You do not need to have any previous experience but 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.
UPCOMING COURSES
This course is closed for the season.
APPLY NOW
This means a course has several open spots and is actively processing applications.
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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 positions become available. To join a course’s waitlist, click “Join Waitlist” to begin the application process. A $500 deposit is required. This $500 deposit includes a $150 non-refundable application fee and a $350 tuition payment. The $350 tuition payment is refundable only if you cancel your waitlist application or if an open position does not become available. If a position does become available, the applicant will be applied to the open position and the Application and Cancellation Policies of the Regional Outward Bound School will be followed, including forfeiture of the $500 deposit if you cancel 90 days or less prior to the course start date.
Waitlist applicants are encouraged to complete all required admissions documents while awaiting an open position. Positions may become available up to two weeks prior to the course start date. Applicants may only apply to one course. We recommend applying to a course with open positions instead of a course that is accepting waitlist applications. If you have questions, please call 866-467-7651 to speak with one of our Admissions Advisors.
CALL TO APPLY
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.
Going into college, I’m both incredibly excited and a bit apprehensive. How will I handle the workload and stress? What if I’m not actually good at what I want to pursue? That being said, nothing quells those fears like capsizing in a rapid or running 6 miles when you haven’t had to run since 8th grade. I’ve developed better coping mechanisms in high-stress situations, and begun to accept that I won’t immediately excel at everything I try. These lessons will surely prove invaluable when I return to life at home, and shortly after, in college.
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.
Our backpacking courses focus on wilderness skills such as navigation, natural history and living in the remote and beautiful backcountry. Activities include: leadership and communication skill seminars, peak ascents and traveling through mountainous terrain both on and off trail. Recreate Responsibly camping techniques, navigation and first aid are additional skills students will learn. You will travel over terrain that may reach up to 9,000 feet.
Service to others and to our environment is a core value of Outward Bound and is integrated into each course. Groups follow Recreate Responsibly ethics as they engage in acts of service while leading and supporting fellow participants. Students see the impact of their actions firsthand, and they may develop a desire to continue service in their home communities.
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.
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.
Central Cascades, Oregon
Volcanoes dot the spine of the Cascade Mountains, rising over 10,000 feet above the forests, lakes, and rivers of the surrounding region. The Central Cascade Range is home to the Three Sisters, Broken Top, Mt. Washington, Three Fingered Jack, and Mt. Jefferson. Active glaciers, traces of avalanches, and the volcanoes themselves are the perfect setting for learning the more technical aspects of backpacking. These regions are the ancestral lands of the Yoncalla, Molalla, Kalapuya, Tenino and Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs nations.
Course Stories
Going into college, I’m both incredibly excited and a bit apprehensive. How will I handle the workload and stress? What if I’m not actually good at what I want to pursue? That being said, nothing quells those fears like capsizing in a rapid or running 6 miles when you haven’t had to run since 8th grade. I’ve developed better coping mechanisms in high-stress situations, and begun to accept that I won’t immediately excel at everything I try. These lessons will surely prove invaluable when I return to life at home, and shortly after, in college.
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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.