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!

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.

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!