This spring, the Georgia Outdoor Recreation Program (GORP) will give students the chance to try caving, horseback riding and paragliding.

GORP trips provide “the opportunity to experience a different natural environment, whether that’s air or land or water, and the opportunity to learn a life skill,” said Jennifer Stewart, the assistant director of GORP. “We provide an opportunity for you to do that safely.”

The caving trip will take students to explore Petty John’s Cave, Georgia’s third largest cave.

“It’s mainly one big descent into the cave,” said Darren Hamilton, one of the trip leaders. “We take them down a stream passage in the cave until we get to a waterfall.”

Students should bring a lunch to eat in the cave and should wear clothes and sturdy shoes they are willing to get dirty. The trip is intended for experienced cavers.

“We are looking for people [who] have been caving at least one time before,” Stewart said. “There is some crawling around, so people are going to get dirty.”

Hamilton said anyone who is comfortable being in an enclosed space for five to six hours can participate, but “it’s definitely the most physically demanding of the caving trips we offer.”

The horseback riding trip is open to all skill levels and is offered March 21, April 5 and April 18. Participants will spend two hours riding in North Georgia.

“We’re going up to use an outfitter in Helen and they provide the equipment and instructions,” Stewart said. “So it’s open to beginners, but experienced persons are welcome to join us as well.”

Hamilton, who has also led the trip before, said, “It’s a lot of fun. It’s not a long trip. It’s a really relaxing trip, pretty exciting.”

The paragliding trip will be offered March 21 and April 11.

“It is an opportunity to see a completely different environment,” Stewart said. “What a great experience. They call paragliding the purest form of free flight.”

The trip allows students to safely experience the thrill of free flying. The flight is a tandem flight where participants fly as passengers with a certified pilot.

“It’s pretty diverse, the kinds of things we’re doing and the places we’re going,” Stewart said of GORP trips. Her goal is to offer 100 GORP trips per year.

“It’s a great way to discover something new,” Hamilton said. “As trip leaders, we’re not just there to make sure they’re safe. We’re educators.”

This enables students to go back later on their own.

“Outdoor environments provide an opportunity for people to have really powerful experiences,” Stewart said. “They can learn something about themselves. They can learn something about the environment, and they can bond with someone in a unique way.”