Imagine yourself hanging from a single harness on the side of a cliff that overlooks the Potomac River. You’re using your bare hands to cling to the rock while your feet feel for a sturdy hold to help boost you toward the top of that cliff. While you’re climbing, a rescue helicopter soars passed you at eye level in search of a missing kayaker.
Next, picture yourself covered in mud on the floor of a cave in West Virginia. With a single lamp on your head to light the way, you’re army crawling through the tightest of tunnels and squeezing between jagged and smooth rock walls on an underground exploration.
Now, open your eyes to see that same old dorm room or library desk in front of you piled high with notes, study guides and text books. Are you longing for a little adventure? Do you want to explore a little further than Looney’s Pub and RJ Bentley’s? Well, look no further.
The University of Maryland’s Outdoor Recreation Center is a little more than that tall rock wall and obstacle course you always wish you visited behind the Eppley Recreation Center.
The ORC actually hosts about 70-100 trips outside of College Park per semester. Trips you can take with the ORC include rock climbing, caving, backpacking, coastal kayaking, white water rafting, camping and mountain biking. You can also gather a group of friends to create your own custom trip!
No previous climbing, caving or kayaking experience? No problem. While some of the more challenging trips may recommend having some experience, there are absolutely no requirements for any trip other than a smile and the will to try something new.
According to trip leader Sara Edwards, a senior environmental science and policy major, about 50 percent of trip participants have had experience with what they sign up for, but, more often than not, beginners are taken on the trips. Also, although more men typically sign up for the mountain biking and caving trips, the boy-to-girl ratio of trip participants is usually equal.
Rachel Pomycala, a senior hearing and speech science major, signed up for her first rock climbing trip at the Great Falls because of the reasonable price of $30 or $60 per trip, which depends on the number of days the trip takes. She found out about the trips through the Campus Recreation Services website.
“I loved climbing on the rock wall, so I figured climbing on a real rock would be a fun challenge,” Pomycala said. “After that, I was hooked on doing ORC trips. They present an opportunity for me to experience new adventures that I would, otherwise, never have tried.”
“We want to give people the opportunity to have fun, get off of campus, meet new people, grow through the physical challenge and expose someone to a new activity they can’t do on their own,” Edwards explains. Not only does the ORC present such opportunities, but the leaders also provide the participants with everything they would need for a trip such as climbing tips and lessons or caving suits and headlamps.
One of Edwards’ favorite aspects of being a trip leader is getting to meet new people and introducing them to other new people. “It’s great to see other people experience and enjoy something that I’m really passionate about,” says Edwards.
To find out more about the ORC and their trips, visit the CRS website at www.crs.umd.edu and click on the “Outdoor Recreation” link. Also, don’t be hesitant to pay the ORC—located between Eppley and the outdoor pool—a visit, which is open Monday through Friday from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. “There’s always someone around to talk to you about what the trips entail, and if any of them spark your interest, sign up or create a custom trips!” Edwards said.