A week ago, I was sitting atop Birch Hill watching the stars arc overhead on a cold New Hampshire night. It was a mini-solo for me and @joshpovec as we filmed the @holdernesstoday 50th Outback program, during which all juniors spend 11 days in the White Mountains with a 3-day solo in the middle. During the trip, we spoke often about how the class of juniors goes in one way, and comes out transformed: their confidence, self-reliance, camaraderie, courage, grit, and more bolstered by the experience of wilderness and the lessons taught - sometimes the hard way - by Mother Nature. Little did we know that another massive transformation was taking place during Outback, one borne not by choice, not by design, but by a global, human world running headlong into the harsh realities of a newly global, viral world. The Outback students emerged from their time in the wild to a world turned upside down, any semblance of normalcy erased. But, their time in the woods, I think, will serve them well in the weeks to come and further on out. Out there they learned the hard skills that will get them through the rigors of our new reality, an ability to rise up, be strong, support their fellow humans, & relish solitude when needed. Outback at 50 seems more relevant today, right now, than ever before. #coronavirus #outback #ob50 #holderness #holdernessschool #lessonsfromnature #newhampshire #whitemountains #wildernessisthebestteacher https://bit.ly/2won9Xj