BootsnAll Travel Community

okay, id like to hear some opinions. first off, in general about these sorts of hey-folks-lets-spend-a-shitload-of-money-to-go-into-an-area-that-is-normally-free-to-visit-ie-the-outdoors guided experiences and then secondly, your opinons about his company in particular.

any opinons will be appreciated. however, some of my qustions include things like:

-do you have to be a marathoning 20 year old?
-do i have to spend one dime on fancy gear?
-is there a lot of 'tude among the staff pepole?
-if i have done ropes courses and group dynamic stuff 10 times in other venues, will i find the same stuff there?

thanks!

i know nothing, so i now humbly sit at the masters feets.

I've never been on an OB or NOLS trip, but my Wilderness First Responder class was taught by NOLS staff. Let's just say that these people are professionally awesome.

There's no sense of "I'm cooler than you" coming from the guides. The whole goal is to teach you the skills and confidence to do really challenging things on your own.

That being said, I would never pay that kind of money to go camping. Your money is not going to the instructors (they all live out of Subarus sans health plan). Instead, you're paying for insurance companies and lawyers to debate liability in case of injury.

If you want to learn outdoor skills, get a good skills book , find a skilled friend, buy some decent-but-not-excessive gear, and just go outside! Sure, you'll make some mistakes - but that's where good stories come from.

Believe me: if you go on lots of outdoor trips, you won't remember the ones that went well. But the ones with bears, secret caches, forest fires, law enforcement, endless rain, and found booze ... those trips stay in my memory...

PS: why did you ask? over here it says you already went on an OB trip.

quote:

Originally posted by Skimaxpower:
PS: why did you ask? over here it says you already went on an OB trip.

no, i was just quoting the dude above me. i havent been on one, mostly b/c i think its stupid to, like i said, pay a lot of money to do something that is free (camping) but i have been invited on a trip and it would be of no cost to me (which was my initial hesitation) so i am most likely going to participate, but just wanted to see what i might expect from it.

thank you so much for your tips. speaking of tips, can i tipl the guides afterwards? that sucks that they dont actually see much of the rid-u-lous money people have to pay to participate.


zopa

quote:

Originally posted by Zopa:
can i tip the guides afterwards? that sucks that they dont actually see much of the rid-u-lous money people have to pay to participate.

If you can go on a FREE OB trip, you should do it. You'll learn a lot, and besides: it's free!

I have no idea if the guides are allowed to take tips, but given the general dirty vagabonding types that accept OB jobs, they'll gladly take your cash.

PS: TP is overrated. Smooth rocks, sticks, leaves, and snow work well. Many women go for the bandana strategy in the woods. Give it a try.

PPS: Ok, I do always carry a LITTLE bit of TP. You know, for emergencies. But mostly, it's maple leaves.

I ageee that you should go. I've never been myself but I've met a few people who have and they've spoken highly of the experience.

thanks pals, hey, didnt i just see you both on the car storage thread?

anybody else wanna opine?

Sure did. Small world...

Well...I was going to respond one way, prior to looking at the OB trip prices, but then out of curiousity looked at the prices - I randomly chose an Alaska trip - and have to admit I was pretty shocked at how expensive the trips were. 2-3K for 10 days??!!!?? So personally...the prices surprise me. When I was in high school, I had a friend who did one of the trips, and I remember looking at the trip catalogs back then, and recall $500-800 prices, not $2000-$3000 prices. But..Alaska was probably a poor choice on my part for a random sampling! :-)

Anyway...my initial answer would have been this: I'm one who has begun paying for *experience*, regardless of whether I could personally do it much cheaper, or free, as the case may be. In the case of OB or something similar (I am in fact doing something similar next year, although it'll be overseas), I'd be looking at it in the sense of getting to meet a bunch of [probably] cool people, making those connections and sharing the experience, having fun w/ a group, having the guide expertise, and as for me, being an introvert, I'd gain a much richer experience in the group setting, then going by myself, or with a friend, camping. Or whatever.

If I perceive the experience itself, and memories gained, as being amazing, I don't look as much at the cost. But sheesh. I don't think I'd ever pay 2-3K for the Alaska trip! (obviously I want to go to Alaska someday).

I guess my 'no tours' policy is known around here. I have hiked and camped on every continent but Antarctica - and have never done a tour.

You can learn about 90% of the skills you need for hiking and camping yourself. (The rest includes building bear traps and getting the intestines out of a dead deer.) Just go out and do it.

It's free, so, I see the temptation - I know that I'd be annoyed by it very quickly and would turn it down even if it's free. I hate nothing more than being in a nice place in the middle of nowhere and then somebody tells me that 'we have to go'.
Plus, to be honest, the whole concept of OB sounds a bit sectish to me: "Changing Lives - Building Teams - Transforming Schools". *shudder* I KNOW that them and me would have issues with each other.

But that is me.

thanks for your comments, everybody. yes, elAdi, i am very very skeptical of anything that clams to change lives. ugh. what a trite thing to say. i will let you konw how it goes. i typically would not spend a zilion bucks like this for camping, but like i said it paid for and i think it will be a good experience.
zop

Some ideas:
Take up climbing, most people who are into that are very savvy about the outdoors.

Go car camping, learn some basic skills. Then buy some lightweight gear, and go backpacking. You don't have to be a pro. If you learn some navigation skills (compass/map), pack appropriately, and go with a friend, you really can't get into too much trouble.

The only thing you really have to work at (for general backpacking) is fitness, get a decent level of fitness and you'll be set to go.

okay so i just got back from a 5 day outward bound trip. it kicked miy ASS into shape physically. it taught me a lot about setting goals and about realizing tat i am capable of so much more than i thought i was. after a half day of ropes course i was ready to crash then we pushed through seven miles of wilderness sans trail. holy shit.

lyrics from david wilcox, who is from my hometown and a song about a chick who goes on a outward baound trip.


called johnny's camero



from East Asheville Hardware
..............................................

This is the story she told...

"Can I have another quarter?" he said.
"What?"
"Can I have another quarter?"
"Why?" she said.
"Uh, I dropped it," he said.
"Sure," she said, and she handed him another quarter.
And he reached out of the window there, and dropped it in the toll basket.
Up comes the gate, and out comes...

Johnny's camero, Johnny's camero
Johnny loved his camero, maybe more than life itself.

Oh it was no big deal, he was just taking her to the airport.
It was autumn in New York City,
there was a wind a lot like this.
It was springtime however, in Africa.
She'd been saving up her money.
She was going to go on one of these outward bound trips,
so he was just giving her a ride to the airport.
And around and around the airport they went,
through that parking garage, looking for a parking space.
"There's one," she said.
"No."
"There's one," she said.
"No."
You see, actually it takes two parking spaces...

for Johnny's camero, Johnny's camero

He's a little nervous walking through the airport.
He's always looking back over his shoulder.
"You can go back if you want," she said.
"No, no man, I'll stay."
And he did. He stayed until the plane took off.
Then he ran back.
But meanwhile, she was high up over the city.
She was looking down.
She was looking down at the lights of the buildings.
She was looking down at the lights of the boats on the water.
She was looking down at the lights.
You could see them crossing the bridges,
and through the little canyon streets.
Little tiny, diamond toward you and ruby away.
You know, those little tiny moving lights.
And she knew that one of them was... well you know.

Man, I've got to tell you about the adventure she had in Africa.
I think I should start with the silver bracelet,
I think that's where it all turns around.
She hadn't been on the trip long and one of the guides sort of
took her under his wing.
'Cause she was sort of startled easy,
she was a little nervous about being out there.
The first time she got sunburned through her hat
she realized she was a long way from being home.
She had just left the group for a little while one day,
she had just went to take a pee,
she said "I'll be right back," but she didn't come back for awhile.
And this guide, this African man went to look for her.
"Laura! Laura?"
He found her standing on the lowest branch of a fairly tall tree,
way off the ground."
"How you get up there?"
Well she had jumped.
"Why?"
Well there was a hyena, and they had told her about hyenas.
They have jaws that can crush bone.
She wasn't in a really confident position anyway,
and she just ran, and there was the branch.
She jumped - one hand slipped, one hand held.
She was not coming down.
"He's gone."
So now she trusted him, and she swings back down
and both arms straight, hanging from that branch,
her feet are four feet off the ground.
Man, she didn't know she could jump that high.
Ah, but she does now.

continued below...



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It was changes like that that made him give her that silver bracelet.
It was the one that he'd always wear kind of between his elbow
and his shoulder, kind of wrapped tight around his arm.
It was a beautiful silver bracelet, and he bent it down to fit around
her muscle there and she smiled.
So much so that it startled him.
So much so that on the last day of that trip, when they were getting
back on the bus to go to the small airport to go to the big airport
to go across the ocean to go back to... you know,
when they were getting back on the bus and she leaned out the window
for that last little cheesecake snapshot
and as he looked through the camera, he had to slowly take the camera
down, and turn his head to the side a little bit, look a little bit
sad and say
"How you get up there?"

She was dreaming over the ocean
Dreaming of being home again
Dreaming over the ocean
Of what would never be the same.

Well he wasn't at the gate when she got into the airport.
He must have been looking for a parking space.
So she just walked through the airport, you know,
and it wasn't like before.
Now the airport seemed kind of small.
The airport seemed kind of stuffy, ceiling was a little bit low.
And everyone was getting out of her way.
I don't know - well, actually I do know.
Maybe it was because it had been winter, you see,
and she had just come back from summer.
And she was just dressed normally. Everyone else was bundled up,
but she had on her hiking boots and shorts and tank top,
hair tied back, and a knife on her belt, and a big old silver bracelet,
I think it was the silver bracelet,
but everybody was getting out of her way.
She didn't see him 'til the backpack comes rolling down the
old baggage claim, and suddenly there's this arm
and this voice saying, "I'll get that."
And she says, "Hey, that's my backpack, gimme it. Where you parked?"
So he reluctantly gave her the backpack,
and she swung it over her shoulder
and they went out and carefully nestled it in the trunk

And then, out of the parking garage and into the city.
And she had to lean out the window,
she pushed the button and made the window go down
and she leaned out a little bit to feel the wind in her hair.
Man, this is the wild place to be.
I mean, this is the place,
she has to lean a little further out of the car just to
just to see it all, just to look up at some of the buildings.
As a matter of fact, she leaned a little farther back
so she could look back behind
and watch those big tires rolling on that pavement,
and then suddenly the window came back up
and she comes back in, startled
and sure enough Johnny's got his finger on the power...
...the power... the power window.
And he's looking at her like,
"Will you get your feet off the upholstery!"
The upholstery, the upholstery. She forgot. How could she forget?
Well, she'd been in Africa, come on.
She took her feet off the upholstery.
As a matter of fact, she took her feet off the upholstery politely.
As a matter of fact, she folded her hands in her lap
and she settled in for this ride.
I saw just a glint of a smile as she turned her face to one side.
Maybe to feel the plush upholstery brush against her cheek.
Maybe to see the lights of the graphic equalizer on the stereo
reflected in the side window.
Maybe to watch that lone drop of water make its weary way across
that perfectly waxed surface.
But I think it was just to enjoy this ride...
this ride...
this last ride...

in Johnny's camero, Johnny's camero.

..............................................

©1991 Midnight Ocean Bonfire Music/Nine-Ten Music,
a division of Soroka Music Ltd. (BMI)

I have not heard the name David Wilcox in a very long time. After reading your post, I had to write the friend that introduced him to me.

Anyway, I have not been to an outward bound one, but I am trying to convince my work that they should send me to a NOLS course. Think that I have I have good (50/50) chance at convincing them, but it is a bit difficult considering that I work for an online poker company. I am going 100% on the leadership training and goal setting persepctive.

good luck with that. a free ob trip is the best kind of ob trip i think.

it strikes me as funny that a company that depends on folks sitting on their tukus looking at a computer all day would invest in somebody walking up and down mountains with no money and no technology for a week.! good luck

quote:

it strikes me as funny that a company that depends on folks sitting on their tukus looking at a computer all day would invest in somebody walking up and down mountains with no money and no technology for a week.!

I don't think that I will be putting it exactly that way. Just going to ask for the check for a "leadership and goal setting course". But I do see the irony in it.