By Nya L., FINS Program Alumni My name is Nya and I’m going to speak on a few things I’ve learned in the course of 20 days. This course was something that was definitely out of my comfort zone, but... READ MORE

By Matthew Merritt, Blue Ridge Backpacking and Rock Climbing, 2018 It was a clear sunny day at the end of October. You could sense the Halloween spirit in the air, the adventurous spirit in my bones and the sugary spirit... READ MORE

By Cassandra Biette, Outdoor Educator Course, 2012 During the last few days of my 50-day semester course with Outward Bound, everyone kept telling us that we would never fully realize all that we had learned on course until we got... READ MORE

By Elizabeth Wallace, Blue Ridge Backpacking, Rock Climbing and Whitewater Canoeing, 2011 Our band of teenagers sat around a camp stove, weary from a day of hiking further than our dirt-encrusted calves wanted to go. The sun had set on... READ MORE

As alumni, going “outward bound” means more than just taking a course. From the very first step on course to your first step after course, you will forever be heading to uncharted territories. Lucky for you, the skills you learned... READ MORE

By Alumna Barbara Checknoff, Blue Ridge Mountains Backpacking, Rock Climbing and Whitewater Canoeing Course, 1971 When I was 17, I went on a 26-day wilderness course with North Carolina Outward Bound School. It was an all-female crew and one of the... READ MORE

By Alumna Deborah Coleman, Outdoor Educator Course, 2016 “It’s great that you like us so much, Deb, but you should buy a backpack and try hiking on your own too,” said my Outward Bound Instructor after my seventh course. You... READ MORE

By Staff Member, John Watkins, 1967-1974 Fifty one years ago (!), I received a phone call from a man named Lance Lee. I was 16 years old and living in Chapel Hill, NC at the time. He asked, “How would... READ MORE

Asheville Citizen Times, July 26, 2017 ASHEVILLE – Andrew Williams Jr., 66, recounts each day of an outdoors adventure he took 50 years ago as if still living it. He describes scaling mountains in the winter, trekking a half-mile through... READ MORE

By Ryan Wilusz Staff Writer, Morganton News Herald He looks behind him and then straight ahead — not a soul in sight. He sits on the ground all alone, with a couple quarts of water and a tin can of... READ MORE