Koshin Bathmax first joined Outward Bound Canada in 2022, when he was 14, for a two-week backcountry canoeing course in Algonquin Provincial Park. Four years later, he reflects on the experience that challenged him, expanded his worldview, and sparked a desire to keep exploring what lies beyond the familiar. This is his story, in his own words:
I was born and raised in Toronto, and before 2022, my worldview was quite small. Granted, I was 14, but even then, I knew I wanted to do great things in my life. I got straight As, played a few instruments, and knew a few languages. But this all seemed mundane to me. I knew that came from discomfort, and I was searching for a perspective-shifting experience.
That’s when my mom suggested an Outward Bound Canada course. I’ve had my fair share of camping trips, but the backcountry was a different story. I told her I didn’t think I could do it. She disagreed, adding that this experience would give me the growth I’d been searching for. I couldn’t argue, so I waited until the trip happened.
I remember the drive to a site in the middle of nowhere took five hours, leaving my parents with the “you can’t be serious” look. I was greeted by a few other kids, just as nervous as I was, oblivious to what we would experience together.
Over the next few days, I was thrown in the deep end. I learned to dread portages, tie some strange-looking knots, and navigate Algonquin’s labyrinth of lakes. My resilience was tested like never before.
But the greatest period of growth came from the solo, where I was given 24 hours to be alone on an island. I built a shelter in a rainstorm with the knots I’d just learned, meditated for hours, and reflected on my life. I read half of The Martian, and for someone with an “always-on” brain, I truly appreciated the silence.
For someone in my position four years ago, just starting high school in one of the biggest schools in the country, with a wealth of opportunity in front of me, Outward Bound Canada gave me the fundamental resilience, mindset shift, and clarity to seize the day. As I sat by the campfire on the last night, sharing my gratitude with my group, I realized I wouldn’t have believed two weeks earlier that I could do everything I’d just done.
The group I was with was from England, Nunavut, and all over Ontario – and they were the best part of the trip. It was the first time I experienced the fleeting joy of a group trip, with the mutual understanding that crossing paths again would be unlikely. But that’s what made the trip so special.
And ever since then, I’ve chased that feeling. I volunteered teaching English abroad and completed two language exchanges in Europe. I’m heading to Peru in a few weeks, to backpack and explore a country no one in my bloodline has touched. I’ve just graduated high school, broken into tech this year, and I’m planning to spend my gap year continuing to explore, learn, and push myself beyond what feels familiar. It all started with Outward Bound Canada. The experience played a huge role in my growth and showed me that OBC can, in fact, transform lives.
If you’d like to see what I do in my gap year, you can see my work on LinkedIn and follow me on Instagram.
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