ORC Staff Training
Each semester the Outdoor Recreation Center staff go on a training trip to hone our soft and hard skills in the wilderness. This semester, we had the extreme honor of participating the second ever Adventure Race! It tested our ability to orienteer, use gear, and work as a team to hike and then canoe from checkpoint to checkpoint. Teams of 2 competed against each other, but the real goal was just to finish successfully! We went over skills like dealing with difficult participants, teaching/setting up tents and ridgelines in addition to using all of our different types of stoves and other fun gadgets. However, the real fun was the Adventure Race!
First, we had to find a small flag set out specifically for our team of 2 by following several orienteering directions with a compass. Then we had to set up a tent and boil 1 liter of river water for 10 minutes. After this, we had to use a map to find a trailhead and then set off on a 3 mile hike upstream, stopping along 2 checkpoints along the way. (FYI, it was possible to get lost on the trail and take a 6 mile hike instead…thankfully none of us did!)
Along the trail we were semi-trail running, semi-strolling along with other teams. It finally got a bit competitive once we saw the bridge we were supposed to rappel off of into the river. A mad dash, had us in line to rappel while quickly pulling on personal flotation devices (PFDs, often confused with life jackets).
After rappelling off of this bridge (super fun!), we swam to our paddles and then our canoes and set off to 2 more checkpoints down the river.
It all ended with a mad dash of carrying our canoes (which are HEAVY) up the put in to a trailer and then correctly securing them.
All in all, it was a super fun weekend of bonding with other Outdoor Rec employees and brushing up on skills.
Check out our trips for the semester! I highly recommend all of them =)