Culver students learn they can do more than expected during weeklong Outward Bound canoe trip

 

 

But then she talked to her mother and a few other students about the trip.

“I ended up clicking on the links and then diving deep into what it was going to be, what the trip looked like,” she said. “The growth and character building, leadership-based portion of the trip sounded a lot like me. I thought ‘this is really cool.’ ”

When the students got to Boundary Waters near Ely, Minnesota, they split into two crews: one made up of five CGA students led by Dan Cowell, a Culver mentor instructor in wellness and an athletic trainer, and a crew of four CGA students and two Culver Military Academy students led by Cory Whitaker, director of the CGA hockey program. Each group was paired with two Outward Bound instructors.

The first day was spent learning the basics, such as how to pack their backpacks, how to tie knots, how to paddle, how to get water out of their canoes if they tipped over, how to read maps, how to plan their breaks and where to set up camps. 

“We went from girls learning how to tie knots, learning how to put paddles in and set up a camp to the last day when they did everything on their own. They just did everything. It was crazy how good they got,” Cowell said.

Whitaker saw the same in his group.

“Watching them evolve from the beginning to the end of this experience was awesome to see,” he said.

Every day each of the students was given one of three jobs to perform. The leaders of the day collaborated on where they would go, scheduling out the portages, rest stops and final campsites. Engineers had to figure out when they stopped if it was the right place and then decide where to place the tents, and to check and see if it was safe with trees. The kitchen aid had to do all the cooking, keep the fire burning, make sure everyone was drinking enough water and bleaching the water to make sure it was safe to drink.

Christiansen said the trip taught her the correct way to handle mistakes. She recalled one day when she and her partner were the engineers. They made it to a campsite and determined it was safe to set up camp. They unpacked the boats but after talking with the instructors they determined some trees looked like lightning rods. They determined it wasn’t safe.

 

 

They had to repack everything and paddle back from where they came, because that was the closest campsite.

“Following that evening we had a discussion with our instructors about the importance of safety but also the importance of being willing to say, ‘Hey, I made a mistake. We need to change plans. I realize this is going to be an inconvenience, but we need to prioritize this,’ ” Christiansen said. “Now when I make mistakes, I don’t feel as bad trying to fix them. ‘I made this mistake. It’s on me. But we need to prioritize this, which is why we need to do this instead.’ It taught me how to handle situations like that.”

Turgut said Outward Bound taught her the value of being concise. The first time she was leader of the day she gave directions that the others found far too confusing.

“The instructors told me to be more concise, to just use the simplest means of explanation. Instead of giving them all of these confusing directions, I’d say, ‘We’re going to meet on the right hand side of those three rocks.’ It was so much more efficient,” she said.

She uses that lesson as a hall prefect, where she has four rooms she has to give announcements to each night.

“I learned it’s important to be concise so people remember,” she said. “I try to pick the most important points and make them as short and easy as possible.”

Schmidt said she learned during the trip that there are times she should step up and times she should let others step up.

“One big think I definitely took away from it is that my way of doing things isn’t always the best way of doing it. I can listen to how other people are doing things. Sometimes that’s the better way,” she said.

Turgut said the trip taught her not to be afraid to ask questions. She had never been camping before and had no idea how to pitch a tent. When she had to ask for help she was worried the others would make fun of her.

“But they were very understanding and showed me what to do. I really appreciated that because it gave me more confidence in asking questions,” she said.

Christiansen said she didn’t know how to read a map before going on the trip, and while she was leading, her group got lost. They had to turn around. She took a great deal of satisfaction when she found the campsite.

“To see the campsite and be like, ‘I got us there!’ Did it take six hours? It took six hours, but we made it! Now we get to set up camp,” she said.

 

The students all said the lesson taught them they can do a lot more than they think.

“The trip taught me I can do hard things,” Christiansen said. “I can carry the canoe on my shoulders and make that long walk. It taught me a lot about my own strength, my own abilities to rely on my own perseverance and to rely on others.”

The group led by Cowell ended up traveling about 22 miles while the group led by Whitaker covered about 50 miles. The two groups took different approaches. Whitaker’s group focused on going as far as they could each day, while Cowell’s group spent more time reflecting on what they learned.

Both groups had their failures. Someone in Cowell’s group didn’t tie a knot correctly and a canoe floated away.

One girl in Whitaker’s group had trouble carrying a canoe initially. She could only walk a couple of feet. By the fourth day she portaged a whole section by herself.

“By the end of it, she was emotional, she was crying, but she was like, ‘I’m finishing it,’ ” Whitaker said. “There was this sense of accomplishment. ‘I know I can do this! I’m going to do this instead of telling myself I can’t do this.’ ”

Cowell was impressed students were so willing to talk about their strengths and weaknesses and there were no arguments.

“There was always someone offering help and people willing to ask for help,” Cowell said.

All the students said they would highly recommend the trip.

“It helps you grow as a leader and as a genuine person. It helps you know what you need to improve on when working by yourself, because you have time to reflect,” Turgut said.

Back at Culver now, each group still meets weekly for dinner and to talk.

“Honestly, I think we’re going to keep these friendships and lessons for the rest of our lives,” Turgut said.