How better to snap a drudging eight weeks of classes and a trying round of mid-terms than tearing out your earbuds, ditching the textbooks and running around outside? Forget that fluorescent lighting, the over-crowded classrooms and droning lectures and explore the natural world around you for Spring Break! Here are a few recommendations to amplify the epic-ness of your holiday, via the great outdoors.

SKYDIVING

Save perhaps for wingsuit flying and the Olympic ski jump, skydiving is the biggest outdoor rush one can achieve. The world’s fastest achieve speeds of 310 mph, but be sure to tell Mom that your freefall won’t get going quite that fast.

“I wasn't nervous at all, even riding up in the small plane, but when they swung the door open and I realized I was supposed to jump out of this plane, the sight would make the toughest guy want to be with his mom on the ground,” said electrical engineering sophomore Reston Dooly of his skydiving experience. “It's hard to remember what it felt like because it was all kind of a blur. You can't relate it to anything. It's so hard to describe—I just think about it and smile.”

The Oklahoma Skydiving Center in Tulsa offers courses in solo skydiving, and you can go tandem (meaning with a qualified instructor) at $195 per person. Pegasus Air Sports in Chickasha is Oklahoma City’s nearest option, and it offers a static line course for $120, provided that you pay a week in advance.

BACKPACKING

“Out here, it’s just Father Sky, Mother Earth and your dear old Uncle Tony,” crazy Ben Stiller says in “Heavyweights”, a childhood staple of mine. Adventure trip backpacking isn’t nearly as terrifying or torturous as Tony Perkis makes it out to be, in fact one could argue that it’s the ideal break for the disciplined student also seeking physical challenge.

The Huffman offers outdoor equipment rental for those who lack expensive tents, sleeping bags, tents and cooking stoves, all necessities for a successful weeklong hike through the wilderness. Extended trips exclusively specific for backpacking are somewhat limited in Oklahoma, but nearby Arkansas boasts several great national parks, like Buffalo National River that trails along bluffs and caves for 135 miles.

CAMPING

Casual camping is a cheaper, easier and more relaxed alternative to a hardcore backpacking expedition. Campgrounds are in abundance wherever you go, and vary widely in options. Depending where you go, you can choose between tents or cabins, lakes or rivers, rock climbing or mountain biking, or if you’re really lucky, all of the above. When it comes to camping, it’s location, location, location.

“For quality camping in Oklahoma I would recommend the Wichita Mountains,” said visual communications junior and outdoorsman Tyler Metcalfe. “That place has so much to offer you could probably spend a week there exploring the back country.”

Outdoorsok.com lists an exhaustive collection of Oklahoma camping grounds with pictures, overnight options, and recreational activities.

ROAD TRIP

Car doors don’t count as the ‘indoors’ when the windows are rolled down and cranked-up road tunes spill out all over the highway (recommended are Molly Hatchet’s “Flirtin’ With Disaster”, Sufjan Stevens’ “Chicago” and pretty much anything by ZZ Top).

These two words combine to connote a lot to a college student, and no degree in American higher education is complete without one. The thing to remember here is that a road trip ought to be a microcosm of life itself, that the experience of the journey is of infinitely greater value than the destination. I’ve known college students who spent the entirety of their week driving across the country, to spend an afternoon playing on a California beach, only to turn around and drive back in order to make Monday morning classes.

BEACH

Unfortunately, Oklahoma is somewhat deficient here, but that only increases the epic qualities of beach trips because they imply a ‘double-whammy’. That is, a road trip is necessary just to arrive at said sandy location. Some opt for the huge social scenes in Cancun, Destin and other traditional MTV Spring Break haunts, but often times a diamond in the rough is all you and your friends need to live it up for the week. Surf and skim boards are cheap rentals for the adventurous types, while the more amorous can sunbathe and socialize. Camp out or rent a house, the choice is yours. Texas beaches are the nearest option, though the east coast beckons for those who want to go heavy on the road trip.

ROCK CLIMBING/BOULDERING

For bouldering, a pair of climbing shoes is the most basic and only truly necessary equipment for a day’s entertainment. Upgrade to rock climbing with ropes, harnesses and more experienced friends (don’t try climbing on your own, especially if you lack the know-how) and you can make a week of it, exploring Oklahoma’s great rock formations southeast in the Oachitas or southwest in the Wichitas.

“For rock climbing while camping I would recommend both of those places, though the Wichitas have much more to offer,” said Metcalfe. He also encouraged students to unplug for the week, and enjoy the peaceful serenity of nature amid a semester hectic with exams, essays and frantic hustle and bustle.

“Don’t bring iPods or any usual luxury items you might be tempted to live with to keep you entertained,” he said. “Don’t be afraid of getting bored. Learn to be creative, live simply and focus on the moment, it is totally refreshing and worth it.”

Links:

Wichita mountains

Ouachita Mountains

Oklahoma camping

Oklahoma skydiving:

www.pegasusairsports.com

www.oklahomaskydiving.com/prices.php

www.1800skyride.com/Skydiving/Oklahoma/