P-Wild

[Furniture]

http://www.dukechronicle.com/article/2017/10/dukes-2017-suspension-of-project-wild-came-after-23-students-were-cited-for-public-nudity

Any of you ex-Dukies do project wild? My daughter did it at the start of her freshman year. I will never forget leaving her with a bunch of strangers and behaving like the over protective parents we actually are by watching from afar for quite a long time after we said goodbye. The next ten days we were totally out of contact and didn't see her until move in day when we met her straight off the bus. My goodness did she stink. 10 days without a shower. I can say with no doubt that P-Wild changed her life. She became an organizer in subsequent years at Duke and went on the trip a couple of times more. One thing that my wife found incredulous was the 36 hour 'solo' where you spend all that time in solitary( in the middle of bloody nowhere!) I don't know how many times she has brought this up when we remiss on my daughters wonderful time at Duke. Our daughter sent us the latest linked chronicle article today and the best part for my wife was that the solos were to be stopped.
My daughter now loves the outdoor life, camping hiking etc and after working for a non profit tied to the EPA in Annapolis she is now doing her Masters in Environmental Science at College Park. We just hope the wonderful EPA will exist when she graduates!

[InSpades]

LOL. Thanks for the link. I did P-Wild before freshman year like your daughter and while I didn't get the "outdoors bug" like she did I definitely enjoyed the trip and would recommend it to anyone who's interested.

The "solo" was fun and not nearly as scary as it might sound. You were never beyond shouting distance of your "counselors" and fellow campers. It was 36 hours without food but it was basically you went there and slept. Spent 1 day without food. Slept again and then came back and had a big meal. Counselors came by to bring you water and check that you were okay multiple times throughout the day (if you didn't have direct access to water). I basically just rested cause I was tired from all the hiking!

I'm sure your daughter did not participate in any naked revelry but... I'd wager to say that something of this sort happened every year. I recall 1 night we spent in basically an "A-frame" (our 1 night not in a tent) while we were near the base camp. Another group decided to play a prank on us and they all marched through our A-frame sans clothing. It took us a bit off guard but it was pretty funny. There was also a mass naked walk that took place at the end of the trip.

I don't think anyone was pressured into anything and for the most part it was good wholesome fun.

One of the best meals I ever had was when we stopped at a rest area on our way back from the trip. They had every fast food restaurant you could ever want and I'd spent the past 12 days or so eating food we cooked ourselves that had been sitting in our backpacks forever. Nothing has ever tasted that good.

And I too was a total mess when I returned to campus. in addition to likely smelling disgusting... I hadn't shaved in 2 weeks. My roommate was probably not too happy to see me that day!

[Duke79UNLV77]

I did P-Wild before my freshman year and during Spring Break that year and had an excellent experience both times. I had previously done an Outward Bound with a 48-hour solo, so that wasn't a big deal, and it certainly wasn't hazing. I didn't eat on my OB solo, but everyone ate something during the P-Wild one. My group went skinny dipping once, but people got in discreetly so you didn't see anything. At the end, when all the groups were together, there was the naked slide, but there was no pressure to do it. Most of my group did not. Pisgah is a beautiful area, and it was a great way to get to meet some people heading into college, and for the upperclassmen to have a leadership opportunity.