An Alternative Spring Break Trip

An Alternative Spring Break Trip

by Amy Webb

Publication Date: May 1997

"Reveille! Reveille! Rise and shine! The sky is blue, and the water is fine!" was how I awoke each day during spring break this year. While other college students traveled in droves to Florida for a week of lazy days on the beach and long nights in dance clubs, we opted for a more adventurous vacation that would test the bounds of our energy, our endurance, and our will to survive in the blistering Mexican sun.

The Indiana University Outfitters, now in its twenty-first year, has over 40 outdoor activities, ranging from a simple day hike in the luscious greenery of the Hoosier National Forest to a three-week tour of some of America's national parks. Each trip is led by Trip Coordinators and Skill Course Instructors, the people that make the Outfitters successful. They are volunteers (usually students themselves) whom research, plan, and organize each trip and skill course. But, the success of any adventure really depends on the participants and their capacity to achieve their personal best out in the wilderness.

Destination: The banks of the lower Rio Grande River on the Texas/Mexican border. Our spring break trip brought us to one of the most remote areas left in the continental United States. From our put-in point, we left civilization and were miles from any road of town, many times at the base of canyons over 100 feet deep.

Our group canoed 84 miles of the river in just under nine days. The route included Class I, II, and III rapids, meaning that parts of the river included not only adventure, but danger. Near the mouth of the lower Madison falls, a series of Class II+ and III rapids, the smooth sandstone fallen rock, and sparse tall grass provided for a rough channel-way through which thousands of gallons of water rushed every second. The river, which was to be the single pathway for transportation, also provided our drinking water and for relaxation at night, but could also instantaneously take away our possessions.

While not in the river, we found hot springs along the banks, hidden behind flourishing meadows. One of the hot springs was large enough to hold about twenty people. Our group sat in the soothing warm water of the spring after long days of canoeing.

There weren't too many people to meet out on the river, so our group of ten became friends quickly. Although the group originally consisted of virtual strangers, our trip coordinators made breaking the ice easy. By day two, we had become friends and survival partners out on the Rio.

The physical and mental demands of a trip like this will never come close to the typical spring break vacation. From our put-in point, we had to meet a daily mileage goal, or couldn't return. The river provided for grueling and intense work at times, as the afternoon headwind and hot, dry sun made paddling the course tough. Mentally, each member of the canoe team had to be alert, ready to take on the next set of rapids.

After nine days of living on the river...living without a shower, without the modern luxuries of civilization, and without a choice but to push on...our group realized that we had changed during the week. Even those who were leery of attempting rough waters felt more comfortable with challenging themselves.

We slept beneath the stars and clear moonlit sky every night, drifting off to sleep listening to the ripples of the Rio Grande and night birds. We tracked indigenous wildlife and climbed boulders during the day. This spring break trip afforded Indiana University students a unique opportunity to experience atypical wildlife, allowing us to wake up t fresh air, clear streams, and "Reveille! Reveille! Rise and shine! Florida may be great, but the Rio Grande was a better time!"

Amy Webb is a senior at Indiana University and a columnist for the Indiana Daily Student.