Get Out: Harvard Groups and Their Retreats Into Nature

Skis and skates are strewn all over the weathered floor. Maps of the world and photographs that seem to be ripped straight from the pages of National Geographic line the paneled walls. There are no beds, but sleeping bags stack all the way to the ceiling. Crowded cabinets and bookshelves are counterbalanced by a random array of plush chairs and couches. This is not a wood cabin settled in the snowy mountains of Utah: nestled within the brick walls of Adams House, this is the office of the Harvard Outing Club.

Founded over a century ago, the Outing Club’s initial goal was to get the Harvard community out of doors and beyond their collegiate jungle to explore nature around them. The club still operates in the same fashion, providing all of the necessary gear to interested students directly out of its Linden Street office. Though Outing Club resources are open to anyone who craves the great outdoors, many students find it difficult to venture “off the map” in the hectic weeks of midterms and punch season.

From musical to literary, Harvard student organizations of every genre seem to agree with HOC’s sentiment. Groups such as the Advocate Fiction Board, Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra, and Harvard Dance Team make the trek to far away places (kind of) in order to get in touch with nature and bond with each other in an environment that tunes out the distractions of the University.

While many of these outings are longstanding traditions, some club leaders have established these trips during their tenure at Harvard after realizing the significance of an experience that transcends the school’s walls. Julian C. Lucas ’15, president of the Advocate and a member of the magazine’s Fiction Board, decided to revive the dead custom of hosting a camping trip to the Mohawk Trail State Forest after finding old pictures of graduated members on such past trips. “I think you can enjoy nature without being ‘outdoorsy,’ which is a word I hate,” Lucas wrote in an email, speaking to the decidedly sedentary nature of literature.

These clubs share a belief in the immense value of leaving Harvard campus to explore somewhere new. Fernando Espino ’15,  President of the Harvard Ballroom Dance Team explains that “there is some segmentation on our team between those who have just started and those who are in it. As much as we try to mitigate that difference, we realize that we are not always successful.”

This gap in the organization led to a need for the integration of new members using unconventional methods. The team recently traveled out to Cape Cod in order to break down barriers and adjust comfort levels within the group. While the act of ballroom in and of itself exceeds the typical boundaries of personal space, time apart from classes and work schedules allow the members to bond beyond the rehearsal room. Espino notes that on these outings, “what matters is not what you do outside of ballroom; it’s that you do ballroom.”

Many find it almost impossible to interact without feeling the innate pressure of campus life. Harvard students inevitably accumulate individual stressors as a result of the fast-paced and high-stakes setting. While groups go on retreats for a number of reasons, one thing they have in common is “that you’re not on campus,” says Daniel J. Fulop ’17, President of HOC. “It clears your mind, it relieves stress, it gives you a different perspective. Some go overboard and say it’s life-changing.”

Life-changing may be an exaggeration, but stepping out of what many have deemed the “Harvard Bubble,” in reference to the isolated college environment of exams, drama, and intrinsic anxiety, does wonders for both the dynamic of the club and the attitude of its members. These outings provide a peaceful setting in which to form lasting relationships. “Given that most of our time as a group is spent making noise, retreats also allow us to get to know each other in a way that rehearsal doesn't,” says Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra Vice President Aaron Roper.

Whether you’re a hardcore canoe-building, wood-chopping, leaf-wiping adventurer, or someone who’s worst nightmare is a FOP camping excursion, retreats benefit an astonishingly wide range of student personalities. As Lucas points out, while on retreat, “You can give your friends and your surroundings your full attention, and realize how hard it is to do that here.” The HOC is rapidly increasing their training class and advertising more opportunities for all members regardless of skill level or amount of Harvard-induced stress. Whether joining the HOC or retreating with a different club, the community-building aspects of the process transcend the location. And with destination names like Mount Moosilauke or Mount Chocorua, who could resist?