Reporter camps in wilderness, learns cooperation By JODI HANAUER Collegian Staff Writer The week before Fall classes, while most of my fellow classmates curled up on the couch to watch the "Rosie O'Donnell Show" or decided to catch a few more rays at the beach, I was a guinea pig in a Uni versity experiment. This was the first year of a new orientation program called Orion which the University developed for incoming freshmen. The brochure I got about this program simply stated that it was a six-day wilderness orientation pro gram that would be physically challenging, but fun. Two different groups went on Orion and I went on the second of the two trips with 10 other stu dents and two group leaders. I was n't a freshman like the others, but I talked my way into going on the trip anyway. The program, which turned out to be an Outward Bound-type camping expedition, was strenu ous, tiring, thought-provoking, life changing and amazing all at the same time. We dealt with factors such as not having showers, bathrooms or sinks for a whole week a difficult thing for most of us to adjust to. We had to carry everything on Dumaw II °Num Great Stereo Futons, Booths, and Tables ‘l O l e`4soee 10% DISCOUNT w/ your student ID! Join us for Prison Week at Dunkin', We Have a Different Midnight Feature Every Nite! Open 24 Hours! 234-ALL 2' (2222 Duh!) our backs that we would need for the week, which included all our food, tents, sleeping bags, clothes, water and maps. These packs were extremely heavy and often weighed more than 40 pounds. I practically fell over the first time I tried to stand up with my pack on my back. We started off our trip from the Penn State Outing Club cabin and jumped into a van that dropped us and our packs off on a trail some where in State College. Immediately we were directed to hike up an extremely steep trail with our packs. The sports asthma I had years ago quickly came back to me. I could hardly breathe and I quickly fell to the back of the line, tripping over rocks and falling into trees as I tried to stumble uphill with 40 pounds on my back. The most strenuous part of the trip was the 30 miles of backpack ing we did in three days not including the first day, when we only hiked for one mile. The hardest was the second day And Now Showing: Thurs: The Rock Fri: Shawshank Redemption Sat: Escape from N.Y. & Escape from L.A. Escape from Alcatraz because we hiked almost 12 miles on extremely rocky and steep ter rain. We also saw two rattlesnakes that day, one which we almost tripped over. Literally. One of the most striking memories of the trip for me was when a few group members decided to eat ants. This was difficult to comprehend that people hiking on a dirt trail would enjoy just scooping ants up out of the dirt and start eating them, but I realized this was more about group bonding than anything else. And the ant-eaters insisted to us that they tasted like lemons. When we all ran out of water, we would hike great distances, some times up to three miles, to replen ish our supply. I thought they were crazy if they expected us to drink the muddy water from a stream, but our group leaders had water puri fiers. I still thought it was gross to be drinking stream water. Going out of our comfort zone was something our group leaders stressed to us all week. The day we hiked back to the cabin it poured rain harder than it had the entire trip, and we were all totally exhausted by the time we got back. Close to the end of the trip, our group went on the rope course, p o se e#N‘ I.lakm)rE)ety IL.I. .IWa CLEARANCE Men's Selected Name Brand KNIT GOLF SHIRTS 50°A)OFF Men's Selected DESIGNER JEANS 2 s°/0 OFF BIRCH CREEK'SWEATERS 25°A0FF Levi's° 550,505 & 560 RED TAB JEANS SPM 9 9 9 REG. TO $5O Men's Name Brand NOVELTY & ATHLETIC T-SHIRTS 50 99 VALUES TO SlB Largest Savings Of The Season SAVE On A Huge Selection Of Men's & Women's Athletic & Tennis Shoes From... HURRY - SALE ENDS MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 1 THE MEFIPIt)KM OUTFITTER S Nittany Mall State College Logan Valley Mall The Galleria State College 216 W. College Ave. Altoona Johnstown 238-2480 328-3839946-3219 266-1449 • which consisted of three very physically challenging group and individual activities in which everyone had to participate. Most of all, on the course and throughout the trip our group learned the importance of commu nication and teamwork, and we were all amazed how well everyone in the group got along with each other on the trip. I'm not going to say every one of us is going to hang out with each other at the University, but on this trip everyone got along with each other, which is a rarity in today's day and age. The trip was fun in the sense that I learned new expressions. At first people left the trail because they said they were going to pick flow ers. I was surprised that they did n't come back with a handful full of wildflowers. I soon learned that this expression meant that they had to go to the bathroom. Besides all the bug bites and scratches on my legs, I got many memories of accomplishment and two credits from the trip. I will always remember the little things such as when we had to play monopoly at the cabin with no dice, when we all stopped on the trail to eat wild blackberries, and how I learned the importance of teamwork, which held throughout the week. 5 DAYS ONLY Men's DISCOUNTS TAKEN 0 Some freshmen participate in activities as a part of the Orion Wilderness Orientation Program. Orion was held Aug. 10-15 and 17-22. Young Men's Long Sleeve FLANNEL. PLAID WOVEN SHIRTS 99 STO $55 Young Men's Fleece Long Sleeve KNIT SHIRTS S 4. 9 9 VALUES TO 565 Entire Stock of ATHLETIC SWEATSHIRTS 2.5v00FF Entire Stock of WOMEN'S COORDINATES 25-1-50 0 /00FF Jansport®- Timberland®- Nike° BACKPACKS M 5 4)/a OFF IFF ORIGINAL PRICES 41 ° adidas° Raabok° UNIVERSE° The Daily Collegian Thursday, Aug. 28, 1997 Collegian Photo/Jodi Hanauer
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