Mexico to Canyonlands Spring Semester

This 81-day semester course takes place in a variety of desert landscapes as you complete an odyssey across the southwest. From Big Bend National Park, the Copper Canyon in Mexico, the Rio Grande and into the surreal landscape and gorgeous rivers of southeastern Utah. Paddle the Green or San Juan Rivers, explore canyons and mountains on this adventure of a lifetime. Semesters are demanding. Be ready to commit to the rigors of physical and mental challenge.

Big Bend is one of the most remote national parks in the lower forty-eight. It is classic desert terrain alive with tenacious plant life, dramatic vistas and scattered fossils. Huge mesas edged with vertical slot canyons, carved by the occasional but dramatic rains that pour off the edges characterize the terrain as well as shaded pools called tinaja hidden around the park provide water for animals and those few that venture deep enough into the park to need them. The park surrounds a forested 7000’ mountain range sometimes topped with snow that can be seen on the horizon from most vantage points.

Copper Canyon is a huge land, inhabited by the Tarahumara Indians who have been living with relatively little contact with the outside world for centuries. Backpack up and down, exploring the varied ecosystem of the canyons which range from arid to tropical along trails that are the "highway system" for the community in Copper Canyon. The lands are neither public nor private; trails keep widely spread homes and small farms connected as neighbors. Your expedition across Copper Canyon includes home visits and a focus on gaining cross-cultural perspective.

The Rio Grande is a famous and historic river that borders Mexcio. Your whitewater paddling expedition will take you down the remote lower canyons or through the 300 foot walls of Santa Elena Canyon.

In 1869, while exploring the Green and Colorado Rivers, John Wesley Powell first described what was then the largest uncharted area in the United States — the canyon lands. Now, as then, this area is desolate, mysterious and beautiful. It is made up of fascinating geological formations: sandstone and slick rock canyons, sculpted into a labyrinth of alcoves, rock bridges, pinnacles, buttes, box canyons, ledges and arches. In areas such as this there are many hidden and mysterious places; deep chasms two feet wide with walls several hundred feet on each side; cathedrals of aged red sand stone and hidden reflection pools. To find these places you need to learn how to navigate the terrain and how to leave the areas as pristine as you can.

After its confluence with the Green River in the heart of Canyon lands, the Colorado River becomes one of the swiftest rivers on the continent. There are twenty-five exciting rapids that rate with those of the Grand Canyon in power and difficulty, including the famous Mile Long Series and two Big Drops. In the nearby canyons, fantastic rock shapes carved by the whimsical forces of nature await hikers who venture off-river.

San Juan River in southern Utah, a major tributary of the Colorado River, flows through the deeply incised sandstone slick rock country of the Colorado Plateau in many tight "goosenecks." The San Juan is well known for archeological sites of ancient Indians: Freemont and Anasazi. Along with challenging rapids, the San Juan offers the fun boating phenomenon of "sand waves."

Outward Bound Semester
The Mexico to Canyonlands Spring Semester is designed to develop your technical outdoor skills and to enhance your leadership, communication, environmental, and teaching skills—all while you train in methods of wilderness travel in a variety of environments in Utah west Texas and Mexico. You will be able to transfer these skills to challenges that you meet throughout the rest of your life. This course has particular emphasis on cross-cultural visits and education as well as exploring the history of westward expansion.

Your decision to attend this course is an important commitment and should be made with complete awareness of the course’s depth, challenge and complexity—this is an adventure in which you live Outward Bound values in the field for 81 days. The majority of your time will be spent in a group of 7 – 12 people. Your group-mates may very well become your best and lifelong friends; at times, they may be your biggest challenge. It is our goal to teach you the skills to live and work together effectively with a diverse group of people. Everyone will be expected to maintain a spirit of compromise and respect differences. Ultimately, how effectively your group works together and how much you learn will be up to you.

When you commit to an expedition, you enter a dynamic learning situation, in which what you will learn directly relates to what you’re doing. You will need to master skills, face challenges, and solve real and immediate problems. You will work on becoming a member of a team: listening to others, giving and receiving feedback, and expressing your ideas. You will learn leadership techniques within that team, discovering how best to incorporate each other’s opinions and work with each other’s strengths. Because the success of the expedition depends on your collaborative efforts, an ethic of service is tightly woven through all of our courses. Some opportunities will occur within your group: helping a teammate, coaching them up a steep hike, preparing food for the group. Others will present themselves within a larger community as organized or informal projects.

The Outward Bound Difference
These experiences will not only push you physically, but emotionally and socially as well. They will provide valuable opportunities for you to discover your strengths and potential, and also to learn tools that will help you better cope with difficult situations. An emphasis on the importance of compassion, service, and social and environmental responsibility will provide you with real experiences to learn anew the value of giving to others as well as being an involved community member and steward of the environment. The technical skills gained on this course will benefit you in your outdoor pursuits in the future, but the true value of your course experiences lies in these other, “soft” skills: the essential skills and characteristics of great leaders and are applicable to all facets of life — school, career, relationships, community and home, as well as the out of doors.

Course Description
The Mexico to Canyonlands Spring Semester is a series of intensive expeditions, rich in opportunities for adventure, skill development, reflection and teamwork. Your course begins in west Texas and begin a cross-cultural odyssey from the Chihuahuan Desert of Big bend National Park to the Copper Canyon of Mexico and the Rio Grande. Then travel north to explore the whitewater rivers and multi-hued vistas of Utah’s canyon country. Your group of six to 11 students will travel together and form a functional team. Given the length of your course, you and your group will take on a variety of leadership roles as you encounter a wide range of terrains and weather conditions. In addition to skill development in wilderness living in both winter and desert environments, you will learn low-impact camping, map and compass navigation, and wilderness safety skills. Your course also provides a unique opportunity to develop skills in decision-making and problem solving, leadership, and teamwork. You will need to be open to new situations and to try your best.

NOTE: Semester courses are demanding physically and socially. Students who are unmotivated or stuggle with inappropriate behaviors on course may be expelled. Students who are expelled are not eligible for a refund. You and your family should be prepared to make a commitment to being in a relatively formal educational setting for the entire length of the course.

Important Note: Pack weight is between 50 and 70 lbs dependent on participant's body weight. Packs on courses in Alaska weigh more because of additional gear brought into the field. We encourage students to test out a pack that is this heavy prior to choosing this course.

NOTE: This course is an international semester. The second phase of the course takes place in Mexico. You and your group will drive together across the border. You will need a PASSPORT!

To enroll in this course click the enroll button next to the course dates that work for you. To shop comparatively on line 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: Desert backpacking, canoeing, canyoneering, service, rafting, solo, service and final expedition

Additional Information:
Application Fee
Transportation Fee

Dates	Days	Age	Focus	Location	Tuition	Course	Enroll
02/21/09 to 05/12/09	81	18-30	Semester	Texas, Mexico & Utah	$9795.00	TIS982