Carry the Flame: The Remarkable Story of the Canadian Outward Bound Wilderness School

Carry the Flame vividly recounts the establishment and early years of the Canadian Outward Bound Wilderness School. Throughout more than 50 eclectic essays, former staff, administrators, board members, and students articulate the distinctive, unique spirit of the school and its lasting impact on their lives to this day.

A detailed history of the early years of the Canadian Outward Bound Wilderness School (COBWS) during the 1970s and 1980s, Carry the Flame chronicles the establishment of the school by founder Bob Pieh. Throughout more than 50 eclectic, humorous, reflective, and personal essays, former students and staff consider the distinctive spirit of this life-changing school in Northwest Ontario.

One of 34 Outward Bound schools worldwide, the remote location of COBWS on Black Sturgeon Lake contributed to an uncommon vision and implementation of the pillars of Outward Bound founder Kurt Hahn’s educational philosophy.

Essays highlight the vibrant offerings at the school, including the summer wilderness canoe courses and the evolution of a dog sledding winter program.

INSPIRING: The Outward Bound program is about bringing out the best in every individual. The power and intensity of adventure and learning in the outdoors creates positive experiences and memories that have a lasting impact.

TALES OF ADVENTURE: Former students, staff, and board members share firsthand accounts of their time at COBWS and the life-changing impact the program had on their lives. Carry the Flame delves into the personal growth and empowerment of individuals who have attended the school, offering insights and inspiration for those seeking self-discovery and transformation.

NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN IMAGES: The 50 essays are accompanied by never-before-published photographs from the contributors, providing a unique, personal glimpse into the life at COBWS in the 1970s and 80s.

Charles “Chuck” Luckmann grew up along the Mississippi River in Illinois, Missouri, and Minnesota. He purchased his first canoe for $75 at eleven years of age, which launched a passion for rivers that has never waned. During a forty-five-year career in education, he taught at nine schools in four countries. From 1992 to 1997, he was executive editor for the Journal of Experiential Education. In 2004, he cofounded Flying Trout Press (flyingtroutpress.org), a literary nonprofit. He’s written several books, including X Stories: The Personal Side of Fragile X Syndrome and Voices Along the Skagit River. He lives in Bellingham, Washington.

Ian Yolles grew up in Toronto. In 1978 he started as an intern at COBWS. After overcoming his skepticism, he hung around until 1990, working as an assistant instructor, instructor, course director, and program director, serving the last five years as the school’s executive director. Along the way, he received a postgraduate research fellowship from the Thomas J. Watson Foundation, enabling him to work at most of the Outward Bound schools around the world. After Outward Bound, he became interested in progressive businesses, leading him to work at the Body Shop, Patagonia, and Nike. He then cofounded Nau. Today he lives with his wife, Irene, in Portland, Oregon, serves as the board chair at NatureBridge, and often seeks inspiration in nature.

Alistair McArthur, an Australian, came to COBWS in January 1978 as executive director at age thirty-seven. He started his outdoor education career in 1964 as an instructor at the Ullswater Outward Bound Mountain School in the UK. He worked as an instructor, senior instructor, chief instructor, and program director at various Outward Bound schools. Alistair also did community development work for two and a half years with the Department of Native Affairs in Papua New Guinea. As base commander of a British Antarctic Survey Expedition for two years, he traveled over fifteen hundred miles by dogsled. Since the early 1990s, he has acted as an adviser and consultant to outdoor education programs based in Australia. Throughout his career he has worked and/or consulted with over fifty outdoor programs in the UK, USA, Canada, Asia, and Australia.

Wendy Pieh was born in 1948 in Yellow Springs, Ohio. In 1976, Wendy joined her father, Bob Pieh, in founding COBWS. She was the program director for the school’s first four years. In 1990 Wendy joined her husband, Peter Goth, founder of Wilderness Medical Associates, in the small fishing village of Bremen, Maine. She served as a Representative in the Maine State Legislature for eight years and has been the Chair of the Board of Selectmen in Bremen for the last nineteen years.