Wrapping up September for me means wrapping up my first season at NCOBS. This month wasn't all work, though. I spent a week in Maryland/ Pennsylvania on whitewater paddling camp with a cool group of NCOBS folk. The whitewater paddling camp took place on the Youghiogheny river in Pennsylvania, but we stayed in a house just over the border in Maryland. This was a huge treat and a hilight of the camp, as everyone involved had been sleeping outside under tarps all summer. The house even had a hot tub, what luxury! But anyway, about the paddling... I paddled 3 days in a row, each time doing something different which was awesome. The first day I hopped in a solo whitewater canoe and paddled the middle Yough. This section is super chill, at its most challenging there are some class II rapids. I am new to solo boating so it was great to get some practice and coaching on much calmer water than I am used to paddling on. For the second day, I took out a raft with two of my friends. We chose this for day 2 because the group was paddling the Lower Yough which has a handful of III+ rapids which I did not feel comfortable in if I were to solo. I could have tandem canoed it, but I knew I’d have another chance and I wanted to see the rapids first from a more stable boat. We had an absolute blast in the raft and a nice long day on the river. For day 3 I tandem canoed just the first part of the Lower Yough, which is horseshoe shaped, and therefore easy to run as a mini section. It’s called “the loop” and it is packed with 5 big rapids right off the bat so it’s a busy but quick trip. With this camp I was thankful to have the opportunity to paddle a new river as well as to improve my skills in 3 different paddling areas. But perhaps the most fun part of the camp, I was thankful to get closer with a great group of my colleagues. Similar to climbing camp, the professional development was great as was the social environment. After paddling camp I Instructed 2 GEPs (the school group courses) which were both stellar. The students from both schools were crushers and definitely got a lot out of the courses. So now I am done with courses for the season, and my fall adventures are beginning. I am now "outward bound" as one might say. It's worth explaining this phrase, as it now explains my life. The flag above is a nautical flag known as the Blue Peter. It is raised to show when ships are leaving the harbor, when they are going outward bound. The white in the middle represents the safety of harbor, while the blue surrounding it represents the unknown and adventure of the open ocean. Outward Bound uses this flag as a symbol of its process, in which students go outward bound and learn lessons to prepare them for "the real outward bound course" when they go home and start the rest of their life. Outward Bound was founded out of nautical origins. In World War II, a merchant marine shipping company owned by a man named Lawrence Holt was undergoing some difficulties. When attacked, the men on the ship who were too old for the draft were able to handle the situation far better than the men who were too young for the draft. Lawrence Holt is quoted as saying “I would rather entrust the lowering of a life-boat in mid-Atlantic to a sail-trained octogenarian than to a young sea technician who is competently trained in the modern way but has never been sprayed by salt water.” At the same time, a man named Kurt Hahn was operating a school built on the principles of character development and leadership, and gaining these from experience, not just from a book. Lawrence Holt went to Kurt Hahn for help in training his seamen, and from that came the first Outward Bound School. This school offered a course for seamen, to give them the group skills and personal grit required to stay functional in times of crisis while actually out at sea. Just as Outward Bound's founder Kurt Hahn professed, there is a lot to be learned from being outward bound. Being out of your comfort zone or familiar environment forces you to make new connections in your brain, problem solve, show some resilience, and rise to the occasion. Perhaps one of my favorite Kurt Hahn quotes- "There is more in us than we know. If we can be made to see it, perhaps, for the rest of our lives we will be unwilling to settle for less." So we're back. I am currently outward bound. I've left the safe harbor of my summer work in the North Carolina mountains. I am going to be on the road and in the woods on various adventures until my winter work starts in Big Sky, Montana on December 10th. I will be undertaking the following:
Life is pretty good, I'd call this flying the coop. This year's fall shoulder season is packed with fun and challenge and new experiences. To close things out, here are a few photos to give a better picture of what my fall has looked like so far: Stay tuned for posts on my big list of fall season adventures! I'll post updates here as well as the occasional photo on my instagram, @adwitz There exists within everyone a grand passion, an outlandish thirst for adventure, a desire to live boldly and vividly through the journey of life. - Kurt Hahn
Since my last post I have worked one group enrollment (GEP) course for a private school group and I have participated in a NCOBS staff women's climbing camp. The course was much like the first GEP I did this summer, except this one only had 3 crews going out instead of 12. The real reason I'm posting though is to share about the climbing camp. The climbing camp was located in Hidden Valley near Abingdon, Virginia. We went from August 31st through September 4th, so we definitely caught the tail end of Labor Day car campers and climbers. Despite this, we had no trouble getting a car camping spot or getting on the climbing areas we wanted. The weather was perfect for the whole time at the camp, it was clear and in the 70s every day. I don't know if that was just lucky or how it always is, but it was beautiful. This camp was great for a number of reasons. First of all, I got to climb a lot. It was 4 days straight of climbing basically as much as we wanted to. There were a few workshops mixed in, but generally we just got to be on the rock the whole time, it was lots of fun. Second, it was fun to hang out with the group of ladies that went. We hung all of our hammocks in camp and would have fires every night... it was really a pleasurable experience camping, a nice contrast after a summer of camping with students on course. Third, this camp was great because I finally got my first trad lead. Traditional, or trad, climbing is a type of climbing that needs a whole different skill set than I've ever used before, so it's been slow to learn throughout the season. Trad involves placing protection in the wall as you climb it, using camming devices and stoppers, so if you fall, you fall until your last piece of protection catches you. During this camp I got to do some mock-leading (where you're actually on a top rope but practice placing gear and clipping in a second rope) and real leading which was a huge goal of mine for the summer. I am looking forward to using this new skillset for many years to come. In conclusion it has been a great end of August and start to September. Now officially in my first fall season of freedom, I am enjoying the shorter courses and professional development packed breaks. Basically from now until the middle of December I am in a constant transition as my fall will see many diverse activities and places and my winter will bring an entire new lifestyle. I am loving all of it and still happy to be outside.
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