The air is thick and the barometric pressure is dropping. Something is brewing. Tension is building– in the atmosphere and in our crew. It’s just after 5pm on day 6 of our 8 day Boundary Waters Canoe Expedition in the... READ MORE

“Silence is powerful.” Gayle Smaller takes off his glasses and with one sweeping gesture, invokes the grandeur of the North Shore. “Out there, the guys can hear it.” “The guys” are the promising young black men who are New Lens... READ MORE

The rock, the rope and you. Rock climbing is pretty elemental, but the experience highlights some of the most complicated components of life. Nine students from Phoenix Military Academy climb an ancient tower of lava. These young men and women... READ MORE

As the first red maples are starting to turn on the road to Homeplace, I am reminded of a summer filled with Outward Bound alumni – returning to school, work and new ambitions. With that transition comes another season of... READ MORE

I love boats. Canoes, really. They are simple. They float without fanfare. They have a history that harkens back 10,000 years to prehistoric dugout canoes, and more recently to the discovery of a well-preserved birch bark canoe dating 250 years... READ MORE

In my family, Outward Bound is a rite of passage. Growing up, Outward Bound was always brought up in conversations because that is how my parents met and it brought them into a community that is made up of people who... READ MORE

It’s 5:30 AM, the alarm goes off and I resist the urge to snooze because today is an important day. Today is the start of our Peer Leadership Expedition. This morning I will venture out and pick up each student... READ MORE

Nine miles of sweat, grime, grit and finally, glory. Outward Bound is hard – by design. But that doesn’t mean throwing students to the wolves and hoping for the best. A big part of course is learning to set goals... READ MORE

Sometimes we work with teens. Sometimes we work with at-risk teens. But I repeat myself. When we talk of “at-risk” youth we often think of the outside factors that teens are “at-risk” for: friends, drugs, failing school, etc. But I... READ MORE

The impact of an Outward Bound course is both different for everyone, yet the same. Chia Vang, a 2013 graduate of Voyageur Outward Bound School (VOBS) and a partner school, the River’s Edge Academy shared, “these programs taught me about... READ MORE