The Office of Campus Recreation is hosting several outdoor trips this semester, as well as a two-week adventure after finals for all students, staff, alumni and the DeKalb community.

Jodie English, OCR public relations adviser, said the semester trips include canoeing, rock climbing, caving, mountain biking and star gazing. A special kayaking class also is available in Anderson Pool, after which OCR offers a weekend trip in Minnesota for practical experience, she said.

The final trip, scheduled for May 11-22, is to canoe and explore the Boundary Waters wilderness in upper Minnesota, she said. However, there is an alternative plan to go to Tennessee if the ice in Minnesota doesn’t break up by May, she said.

Coordinator of Campus Recreation Ashley Sweda said the trip is a good opportunity for students looking for a break from school and wanting to learn some new skills. The cost of the trip is $150.

“It’s a good graduation present. It is the complete opposite of school,” she said. “(Participants) get to experience all sorts of wildlife starting to come to life from the winter. It’s a good time to settle down and get close to nature. You might hear a coyote howl or see an eagle fly overhead.”

Sweda said the trips are open to anyone including beginners. “We teach our participants to appreciate nature and to work with it instead of against it. The purpose is to utilize the environment for the benefit of ourselves,” she said.

Still, while the trip is meant to be relaxing and easy, it is also an adventure. “Adventure is an intellectual concept,” Sweda said. “The unknown elements of adventure can bring in a whole different set of events.”

OCR employee Dave McGovern, leading the group this year, said he is anticipating a relaxing trip.

“I have been canoeing since I was around 10 and I believe in having an appreciation of the wilderness by not only enjoying it, but caring for it,” he said. “The trip is on a beginner level but is open to people more advanced too. We’ll try and soup it up for them,” he said.

For more information call 753-9423 or sign up at the Outing Center in the rec center.