Located on Tenth Street in the basement of Eigenmann Hall and nestled between Starbucks and Campus Card Services is IU Outdoor Adventure. IUOA is a program operated through the Indiana Memorial Union and facilitated by the Union Board, and it plans, leads and equips some trips. IUOA is broken into three departments: courses for credit, custom trips and a gear shop.
“There are 25 different courses and roughly 50 class sections,” said Brian Croft, IUOA outdoor programs coordinator. “We will teach you the basics of the skills you will need for the class, no experience required.”
Croft explained the classes are designed to get people outdoors regardless of their skill level.
However, for students who have experience and wish to do some camping or outdoor recreation of their own, IUOA has a fully stocked rental and retail shop, though a good majority of its business comes from students looking for water bottles and hammocks.
“It is basically the Nalgene and hammock capital of Bloomington,” Croft said. “Students don’t usually have their own sleeping bags, tents and so on. At the shop you can get everything you need to get out on your own.”
In addition to the shop, the facilities in Eigenmann include a boat rental and a bouldering wall.
There are several ways to get involved with IUOA in addition to taking its classes. “You can train to become a leader,” Croft said. “We are also offering four trips over spring break.”
This year the trips are mountaineering in Utah, hiking at Havusa Falls, Arizona, backpacking in the Smokey Mountains and a sampler trip to Chattanooga, Tennessee, for rock climbing, paddling and more. All these trips are planned and led by IU students who have trained to become leaders.
IUOA trains leaders to deal with a lot of situation. As a result, it is a complicated process. “Being a leader has been the most challenging and the most rewarding thing I have ever done,” said Logan Spicer, a full-trip leader and a senior at IU.
Carolyn Goddard, an assistant trip leader and senior at IU, said when she started getting involved with IUOA late in her college career she was looking for something to offset her school work. Goddard explained how IUOA was a break from classes and simultaneously gave her a place to use her outdoor skills and to share them with others.
She explained how her classes required her to memorize information without much practical application, “but with IUOA I can apply and share my knowledge. It feels like it actually means something.” Goddard said being a part of IUOA is a great chance for students and teacher to share their passions.
She continued to give advice for those interested in IUOA.
“Just taking a class is stressful,” Goddard said. “But the outdoors is an alternate space. You can take a step back and get a little perspective.”
Spicer said IUOA was the place he called home. He explained how he could expand his comfort zone and become his best self thanks to the support and passion of the people at IUOA.
“IUOA is the perfect environment to cultivate a new passion. You can always find people to help with your interests,” Spicer said.
IUOA is where Mitch McCune, a full trip leader and senior at IU, chooses to hang out after classes. McCune’s career path changed to outdoor education after his exposure to IUOA. He learned so much from his experience culturally and socially that it changed his life, he said.
“People generally fail to realize how the outdoors make us feel,” Croft said. “If you are stressed, an afternoon hike is not a waste of time. It helps you de-stress.”
