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 College of the Atlantic is surrounded by spectacular land and seascapes. Spend a week exploring the rugged beauty of Maine during the OOPs trip!
The Outdoor Orientation Programs (OOPs) are optional, week-long wilderness trips designed to help incoming students transition to college life. The experience helps students understand the culture of College of the Atlantic, and form relationships with peers and mentors in a safe, community-focused setting, before classes begin. Whether canoeing along the Allagash River or sea kayaking around Mount Desert Island, students spend a week immersed in the rugged natural beauty of Maine while forging strong bonds with each other and their trip leaders. The trips are often lead by returning COA students, faculty, staff, or alumni. Trip leaders are trained in Wilderness First Aid, and are well-versed in group building activities and "Leave No Trace" ethics.
Here is a partial listing of the OOPs trips students can look forward to in August 2008:
Canoeing on the Allagash River
Backpacking on the Appalachian Trail
Sea Kayaking around Mount Desert Island
Rock Climbing on Mount Desert Island
Day Hiking in Baxter State Park
Bike Trekking around Mount Desert Island
Many of these trips have been offered in previous years; their descriptions are below.
 In the company of seasoned Allagash travelers and COA faculty, Ted Koffman and Ron Beard, paddle the lower Allagash Wilderness Waterway from the Churchill Dam to its conclusion at Allagash Village. As the group passes through several smaller ponds and lakes, the river will also fluctuate and vary from slow flowing water to rips and rapids, including the seven-mile stretch of Class II Whitewater called Chase Rapids. Testament to the success of the Waterway's protection and preservation, there will be opportunities to see much of the same animal and bird life that Thoreau saw in 1857, including moose, bald eagles, and the occasional bear. This is your chance to see part of the last remaining wilderness waterway in the eastern United States on one of the most beautiful canoe trips in the northeast. The trip is appropriate for both novice and experienced paddlers.
 The two small groups will be hiking from opposite ends of Maine's rugged 100-mile Wilderness, meeting in the middle at The Hermitage. the stand of majestic white king pine declared a National Landmark in 1968. One group will leave Monson to the south, and hike beside numerous small ponds and lakes and the striking Little Wilson Falls before climbing the Barren-Chairback Range to Cloud Pond and then descend to The Hermitage. The other group will leave from Cooper Pond and hike up over Little Boardman Mountain as a preparation for the steady climb up over White Cap Mountain (3650') before dropping down for a side-trail trip into the deep-walled canyons and waterfalls of Gulf Hagas. In addition to the dramatic scenery, the trail is a great place to see moose, eagles, and possibly even bear. Participants should have experience of multi-day backpacking, as you will be carrying all your food and gear with you for six days. Participants should also bring all their own personal equipment, including a fitted backpack and broken-in hiking boots. (COA will provide tents and cooking equipment as necessary.)
 Named after a classic rockclimb on Otter Cliffs, you can experience the beauty of Mount Desert's rosy-pink granite slabs and faces and challenge yourself by learning a new activity or honing your previously established rockclimbing skills. This trip, as all OOPs trips are designed to do, exposes students to teamwork, communication, and trust-building in a supportive learning environment with peers. In the company of experienced local guides, the group will move through a succession of skills from bouldering to top-roping, and through a succession of locations from the ledges at Otter Cliffs to the dramatic promontory at Great Head which looks out into Frenchman Bay. There will be at least one day of hiking in Acadia National Park during the trip to give you a sense of the island's other wonders. We will be camping near beautiful Beech Mountain and the Canada Cliff. This trip is intended for beginner, intermediate and advanced climbers as a way of introducing students to working in small, communicative teams and to exposing them to some of the most striking and challenging natural features of our glacial landscape. COA will provide all climbing gear.
 This is a great opportunity to experience the island from a different perspective: absolute sea-level. Participants will also be able to appreciate the power of the glaciers that scoured out the striking, bare-granite ridge lines (as well as the fjord of Somes Sound) some 18,000 years ago. These moving forces made the island a beacon for the native Abenaki people who called the island Pemetic, the "sloping land". Leaving from Stonington in the company of experienced guides, the group will cross the open water of the Jericho and Blue Hill bays, making landfall at Indian Point, before passing through the Mount Desert Narrows and arriving at the College pier in Frenchman Bay. This is the chance to see the island from the vantage point of the Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazano who christened this part of the world "Acadia", and the French explorer Samuel de Champlain who gave us our modern name for this place, "Isle des Monts-déserts" - the island of dry mountains. In mostly tandem kayaks, we will hop from island to island to hike and camp. COA will provide all boating equipment; bring personal camping gear and dry bags if you have them. This trip is suitable for paddlers with even just a little experience.
 For those interested in visiting one of the jewels of Maine's landscape, and in trying a variety of activities that will include hiking and canoeing, this is a perfect trip. Participants will have the opportunity to explore the Park on a variety of day-hikes and possibly even climb Maine's highest peak, Baxter Peak on Mount Katahdin (5267'). Based from drive-in lean-to campgrounds, the group will move from one side of the park to the other mid-trip to give you greater access to the trails that criss-cross the glacial ridges and bowls of the Park. In addition to the wildlife, you will have a great opportunity to witness the dramatic topography that inspired generations of American writers and painters, including Thoreau, Frederic Church, and Marsden Hartley. For those with less overnight camping experience, or for those simply inspired to visit the "Great Mountain" (as the Penobscot peoples refer to the mountain), this is a particularly good trip for you.
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