Outdoor Adventures Excursions Promote Physical and Emotional Well-being

On Sunday, October 16, Outdoor Adventures set off to Crabtree County Park for a day of mountain biking and emotional revitalization. While enjoying a break from their daily student routines, participants spent the day navigating the park’s sixteen miles of trails and practicing specific skill techniques.

Outdoor Adventures Program Assistant Josh Gowin discusses the importance of taking the time to consciously disconnect from one’s daily routine and engage in new and unfamiliar experiences.  “You get in this sort of routine as a student, and it becomes really hard to mentally break that cycle”.  Outdoor Adventures provides students with the opportunity to partake in new activities and explore their community beyond the realm of the university.  

Students and trip leaders alike report feeling a sense of community on these adventures.  Although many students begin their involvement as early as freshman year, each semester attracts new individuals to the group.  Apart from interacting with students of the various colleges of NC State, participants also have the unique experience to connect with students of different cultures.  

Gowin reports that a large number of international students often come on these trips to gain familiarity in their surroundings away from home. This diverse community of individuals creates the possibility for intercultural exchange in a unique and memorable environment.

To add to the allure of these excursions, each Outdoor Adventures trip has its own “X-factor”, a certain theme that allows students to get creative with the outing.  For this specific event, students named their bikes after a superhero of their choosing and were in a sense, their sidekicks for the day.

Students today face numerous stressors and expectations that can sometimes be difficult to push aside.  Gowin believes there is no better to way to relieve stress than by “going out and doing something you wouldn’t normally do”.  With the Outdoor Adventures excursions, students are able to break away from their obligations for a day and enjoy connecting with others as well as the environment.  They return refreshed and ready to pick back up the role of being a student.