SUMMER ADVENTURES!
As the year is winding down, and the school year's last trip is close to being done, Outback Adventures has still got some trips up their sleeves to keep the thrill for your summer!
Wilderness Orientation 2012
Also known as WO, Wilderness Orientation is the best way for incoming students to prepare for UCSD and for all that the greater San Diego area has to offer. Since entering a university is journey within itself, what's a better way to embark to the unknown than a brand new adventure that you have never even thought of trying before? There are a variety of trips that range from 4, 5 and 8 day trips and no experience is required to participate. All trips take place between August and September, which is the perfect time to jump start your first year and establish friendships before you even step foot onto campus. Here is a list of the trips being offered and be sure to visit the Wilderness Orientation site for more information on pricing and registration.
August 28 - September 4 (8 Days)
- Sierra Nevada Backpack
- Sea Kayak Baja California
- Surf Safari - 8 Days
September 14 - 21 (8 Days)
- Sierra Nevada Backpack
- Sea Kayak Baja California
September 7 - 11 (5 Days)
- Surf Safari - 5 Days
- Black Canyon Kayak
September 13 - 16 (4 Days)
- Catalina Island Adventure
Hawaii Yoga Adventure
Monday - Saturday, September 10 - 15
Hear the sound of the calming waves, absorb the warmth of the beautiful sunshine, feel the state of being and balance within yourself as you experience a yoga adventure in paradise on the Island of Hawaii. Spend 6 days of yoga and fun on the Big Island with master teacher Arturo Galvez at the Kalani Retreat Center, which is bordered by a lush tropical rainforest, and the Hawaiian coastline. Even though the focus of the trip resolves around the ideal balance of yoga and play, you definitely will have time to explore on your own and enjoy the gorgeous beaches and the relaxing resort.
The base rate is $1,150 per person and includes 5 nights lodging at the Kalani with a shared room and bathroom, use of the facility, and all meals and yoga classes. Come and rejuvenate yourself after a long year and find the balance from within to soothe your body and mind. For more information, go on the Hawaii Yoga Adventure site and learn more about registration and details for the trip.
Last Chance!
Outback Adventures is just about finished with the trips for this quarter. If you still haven't satisfied your need to explore, hurry and sign up for our last trip of the 2012 school year: White Water Rafting down the Kern River. Kick off your summer with this amazing trip in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California during which you will get to experience the Kern River and it's class III and IV rapids (class I is the easiest, class V is the hardest). This is a never before trip offered with Outback and it is sure to be a blast! Not only will you enjoy the immense beauty of the Sierras during your time with us, but you will also be challenged and thrilled as you raft down the river. All transportation, gear, food, and trained guides is included in the price. Sign up as soon as possible as spots are filling up!
For more information, visit our website here:
https://recreation.ucsd.edu/outback-adventures/trips-and-classes/whitewater-rafting.html
Sunset and Moonlight Activities
Sometimes it's hard for all of us to cram an active lifestyle into our busy days. Thankfully, UCSD Recreation's Outback Adventures team realizes that, and they're not letting that stop you! Outback Adventures offers awesome sunset and moonlit excursions in the upcoming weeks: the Moonlight Kayaking in Mission Bay and Sunset Hike at Cowles Mountain.
On Friday, May 4th, join Outback guides as they kayak through Mission Bay and explore a different side of the bay through the calm, beautiful waters under the water. No prior experience? Don't worry about it — there will be a short skill lesson before you paddle off into the moonlight.
On Saturday, May 19th, embark on a 3-mile hike on Cowles Mountain through Mission Trails Hike while the sun sets. This is the perfect way to fit in a beautiful hike with a bit of an unusual twist, and there promises to be many panoramic views of the skyline to gaze upon during a few hours away from campus.
Take this opportunities to experience the beauty of a San Diego night and see the scenery from a new perspective. There's even one more perk: it doesn't matter if you forget your sunscreen!
Guide Training TO THE EXTREME!
This weekend, Outback's newest set of guides went out on their Spring Quarter training retreat. Eager to have some back-woods fun, the guides drove up to the Laguna Mountains in search of a campsite. Unfortunately, they were met by mounds and mounds of snow. This meant that while they were able to run around in the pow pow for a while, they also had to to turn around and search for a lower location, afraid they might get stuck in a blizzard.
Hoping to find a site still in the mountains but at a lower elevation, they went to Cuyamaca State Park. As they turned into their campground, however, their van got stuck in snow. Not wanting to risk being buried overnight, the team was dug out and headed off to a polar-opposite climate: the desert.
Anza Borrego was the location the guides ended up in for the remainder of their trip. There the set up camp and spent the night, teaching experiential learning lessons, playing on a nearby swing set, and improving their overall team-building skills. They also made a heaping Dutch Oven of Lasagna, one of Outback's specialties.
The following day, the troupe hiked the Palm Canyon Trail to a gushing oasis where they saw frogs and swam in the cool, clear water of the river. Afterward, following an old Outback tradition, they zipped over to Julian to eat some well deserved, freshly made pie.
Having completed their training, experienced two extreme climates, re-routed plans gone haywire, and eaten Julian Apple Pie, the guides-in-training are now official Outback Guides. Look for these new warriors on our Spring Quarter trips starting this week!
Lost in the Desert: A Lesson to Us All
On Easter Sunday, Guillermo Pino, a prior UCSD student, went out camping near the Arroyo Tapiado mud caves in the Anza Borrego Desert with his family. Leaving his shoes and water behind, he walked into the desert by himself and was not seen again.
A search party has been trying to locate him for two weeks, however, unable to find his body, the search was called off this week.
Let this man's case be a lesson to us all. Never go out into the desert without copious amounts of water. A person needs to drink a gallon a day to survive and more if they are exerting themselves. Also, never travel alone in an area that is unfamiliar to you.
Always let someone know where you are headed when you go out on an adventure and use caution, even if you have been there a thousand times. It only takes one mistake for a disaster to happen.
A Spectacular Spring Break!
All the Spring Break trips are back from their week-long adventures!
The Catalina Island Service Trip spent their vacation kayaking, snorkeling, and hiking around the island in addition to pulling up the invasive fennel plants that thrive in the area. They developed their team-building skills on a high ropes course and got to experience the tumult of the ocean on a ferry ride to and from the mainland port.
The California National Parks Road Trips had a blast traveling through three different climate zones on their ventures. They camped in the rain in Bug Sur, hiked in the snow in Yosemite, and baked under the sun in Death Valley. These lucky travelers got to see some of California's most magnificent places, as well as a comet that blasted over the sky in Death Valley.
Grand Canyon Backpack hiked 45 miles through the Grand Canyon, gazing in awe at the wondrous enormity of the layers of rock and silt of the canyon walls. These troupers spent their days traveling from oasis to oasis, exploring caves and fighting thirst, and spent their nights gazing at the beautiful desert star-scape. They too saw the enormous comet that the Death Valley road-trippers saw.
This year's Spring Break trips were truly unforgettable. May next year be just as great!
April Activites!
Leave No Trace
Love being outdoors and want to learn how to better your relationship with the environment? Take the Leave No Trace Trainer's Course from Sat. April 7th to Sun. April 8th. Learn how to build campfires safely, travel wisely, and much more!
Visit https://recreation.ucsd.edu/registration/index.php?location=list&user_area=2&main_cat=307&sub_cat=428&inventory_page=1 to sign up!
Buy Cheap, Camp Well
Outback Adventures will be putting on it's annual used gear sale Mon 4/16 - Fri 4/20. Come pick through our selection of stoves, wetsuits, tents, and more and fill up your camping shelves on a budget!
Ye Olde Kayak Jousting Competition
Back by popular demand, Outback is hosting another one of it's kayak jousting competitions! Come ride the waves of Canyonview and battle against other nautical warriors during a night of fun and fierce battle! $5 for students - Call the Rental Shop at (858) 534-0684 to sign up!
Starting Spring with a Bang!
This April, Outback is offering a wide variety of trips including rock climbing and backpacking in the renown Joshua Tree National Park, caving in Anza Borrego, and kayaking along the La Jolla coastline. Visit https://recreation.ucsd.edu/outback-adventures/trips-and-classes.html for more info.
Spring Break Awaits!
It seems like it's been months since UCSD last had a vacation! And well, it has. But not to worry, Spring Break is just a few measly days away! You hear that? DAYS I tell you! While studying for finals may be bogging everyone down at this point, the promise of a week-long break is certainly enticing...
...Especially for the Guides at Outback. This Spring Break, we are hosting
four trips - 2 road trips visiting Yosemite, Death Valley, and Big Sur, 1 Grand Canyon Backpack, and 1 Catalina Island Service trip. The demand from people at UCSD to go on these trips was so immense that we had to open up a second road trip (originally, we only had one).
Outback is looking forward to sending off our Guides and participants at the end of March and hopefully hearing good things about their adventures when they come back.
...Especially for the Guides at Outback. This Spring Break, we are hosting
four trips - 2 road trips visiting Yosemite, Death Valley, and Big Sur, 1 Grand Canyon Backpack, and 1 Catalina Island Service trip. The demand from people at UCSD to go on these trips was so immense that we had to open up a second road trip (originally, we only had one).
Outback is looking forward to sending off our Guides and participants at the end of March and hopefully hearing good things about their adventures when they come back.
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Winter Wrap-Up!
The Guides had their last meeting of the winter quarter this past Monday.During this time, they discussed all of the wonderful (and not so wonderful) aspects about the trips and other happenings around Outback.
One of the most outstanding pluses of this quarter was that the number of people signing up for trips was amazing! (Keep it coming UCSD!) Out of the 20 trips we offered this past quarter, all but 2 filled up completely. This is what we like to hear about! The fuller our trips are, the more people we know we are getting out on adventures to experience new things in this wonderful place we call California.
Outback is always happy to receive compliments and suggestions as to how we can better serve our community. Please feel free to contact us if you have something to say. You can drop by the Surf Shop on Library Walk, the Rental Shop behind Pepper Canyon, or call us at (858) 534-0684.
We look forward to having a a better and fuller Spring!
One of the most outstanding pluses of this quarter was that the number of people signing up for trips was amazing! (Keep it coming UCSD!) Out of the 20 trips we offered this past quarter, all but 2 filled up completely. This is what we like to hear about! The fuller our trips are, the more people we know we are getting out on adventures to experience new things in this wonderful place we call California.
Outback is always happy to receive compliments and suggestions as to how we can better serve our community. Please feel free to contact us if you have something to say. You can drop by the Surf Shop on Library Walk, the Rental Shop behind Pepper Canyon, or call us at (858) 534-0684.
We look forward to having a a better and fuller Spring!
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Fry It Up!
In celebration of the end of the Winter Quarter, Outback's Guides threw a fry party after their meeting this past Monday. After a few quick announcements, the gang trooped down to the back deck behind the Rental Shop and heated up a sizzling pot of oil. Into this they threw battered Oreos, PB&J sandwiches, Snickers bars, and even chicken.
The night was then filled with greasy finger tips, laughter, and a
crackling bonfire (made separate from the boiling pot of oil, of course). It was a welcome way to end the chill of a successful Winter Season.
The night was then filled with greasy finger tips, laughter, and a
crackling bonfire (made separate from the boiling pot of oil, of course). It was a welcome way to end the chill of a successful Winter Season.
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Blast from the Past
Over President’s Day weekend, Outback resurrected a trip that was last run a few years ago: Black Canyon Kayak and Hot Springs. This trip took participants kayaking up and down the Colorado River: the border between Arizona and Nevada.
After a small hiccup on the road involving a dead battery in the van, the crew set off on a lengthy drive East through California and into Nevada. The difference between the geography of California and its next-door neighbor is vast – Nevada is almost completely flat and covered with nothing but dust and a smattering of palm trees. Houses stretch out for miles across the abyss and right smack in the middle of them is the Las Vegas Strip. That night the participants and guides camped out under the stars in a campground near Lake Mead.
The following day, the kayaking crew drove down to their launching point along the Colorado and set off upstream. They travelled around seven miles that day and camped at the side of the river in a canyon. This is where the fun started.
At the back of the canyon was a spring. The farther up this spring one walked, the hotter the water became. Eventually, if one walked far enough, they would reach a waterfall and a latter leading up it. Beyond this were natural hot springs pooled amidst the crags of the rocks. This is where the crew spent a majority of their time while back at camp.
The participants spent their weekend on the water, paddling during the day and visiting numerous hot springs along the way. These steaming pools and caverns riddled the canyon walls; each one hotter than the next. One particular hot spring dubbed “The Sauna Cave” was a long tunnel dug into the side of a cliff. The walls were lined with mineral buildup and the air was heavy with steam. The hot springs were definitely a reward to the participants who paddled arduously upstream in the heavy current of the Colorado.
On the last day of the trip, the crew floated back downstream to their starting point, loaded up the van, and set off for home. After a few pit stops to see the Hoover Dam, to change a busted tire, and to eat dinner at In-N-Out, the gang found themselves back in San Diego after sundown.
The Black Canyon Kayak and Hot Springs trip was definitely one to remember and hopefully Outback will be hosting another one in the near future.
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GET BACK AT IT - High Fives Fundraiser
Get Back At It – Outback’s biggest event this quarter, without a doubt – will be happening on Thursday, November 10 from 4 to 11 pm in the Price Center theatre and patio area.
Get Back At It is a fundraiser for the High Fives Foundation – a foundation that gets critically injured extreme-sports athletes back up and doing what they love after their injuries. Outback Adventure’s own Randy Ewing, a survivor of a traumatic head injury he incurred while skiing, has been the main person in charge for putting this event together and wants to see as many people as possible come to support High Fives and the event as a whole.
In addition to being a fundraiser, this event will feature two film screenings: The Art of Flight and Retallack. Both of these amazing snow-sport movies are definitely worth coming to the fundraiser for, even if you aren’t just interested in seeing Randy.
There will be tons of free swag, raffles, and appearances by famous snow-sport athletes at Get Back At It. Hope to see you there!
