Adventure Trips and Lifelong Learning

Tonight we have another guest blogger: Our very own Lee Timmons. Lee was a camper at Illahee and now runs our adventure program alongside her husband Jono. Apologies for getting the blog up the morning after rather than last night. We had an awesome time dancing with Falling Creek and it was a late night, but a great Saturday! Enjoy.  -Lucas

Tonight, I want to share a bit about a small but impactful part of Camp Illahee, where adversity is our teacher, flexibility is our ally, fun is our friend, and growth is our goal. I’m here to talk about adventure trips.

When I first came to Illahee in 1997, I couldn’t wait to swing off the Tarzan, make new friends, play capture the flag, ride horses, and learn how to shoot a bow and arrow.  But that summer was also the first time I ever sat in a kayak. 

It was the weirdest and hardest sport I’d ever attempted. Nothing is comfortable about a whitewater kayak.

You feel like an alien in all of that gear and every movement is a struggle against human instinct. But then, something clicks, and you forget the weird neoprene sprayskirt and itchy helmet and bulky lifejacket and awkward body maneuvers. This is true for rock climbing and hiking as well (your backpack is heavy, the harness is pinching, the climbing shoes are too small, you don’t like the food, the water is cold, it’s raining, there are bugs and bees and snakes…). 

      

I could go on about the challenges of adventuring in the great outdoors, but this blog is about the benefits that far exceed any temporary discomfort. Camp Illahee changed my life, and I have no idea who I would be today without its positive, transformative influence, especially regarding the adventure trips program. 

Yesterday, I met the July trips kayakers for a day of adventure on a new section of the French Broad River (section 9). Our boats were already loaded in the trailer, gear checks were completed, and then I heard “um, Lee? … ahem, Lee! … LEE” – one of the trailer tires was flat. Like FLAT flat. Imagine yourself in that position: 8 teenaged girls excited for their first paddle down this section of river, having worked so hard, suddenly thwarted by something so worldly and mundane as a flat   tire.

 

So disappointing… Or an opportunity for a lesson.

After learning how to change the tire (and helping throughout the process), multiple campers expressed feeling like their lives had just changed, how they’d gained a sense of autonomy or authority, that they had new confidence.

On the river yesterday, that same group of girls (aged 13-16) powered through adversity and setbacks and disappointment better than most 30-year-olds I know. Their sense of self-worth and confidence had been boosted by our morning of turning inconvenience into opportunity, and it persisted throughout the day, even after multiple swims on the river and  being 2 hours late getting back to camp (with everyone healthy, happy, and enthusiastic, I might add).

 

Our gear may have changed and picture quality has certainly improved, but this is what kayaking and other outdoor adventure sports teach us: the greatest growth happens in the margins, when we push ourselves just far enough from our comfort zones that we expand our understanding and awareness of what we’re capable, where we discover that reliance on others means strength rather than weakness, and when we find opportunity in the midst of adversity.  

Cheers to Illahee Trips and the impact they have!

-Lee Timmons