The True Pike Challenge

“I was absolutely freezing, shaking from the combination of cold air and nerves. The fact that I was alone didn’t make the situation any better. I had never been here before; in fact, I had no idea what to expect. What if I wasn’t going to cut it? What if my best wasn’t good enough? Fleeting thoughts of turning around and quitting before I even began flew through my head. I was scared, really scared.”

The True Pike Challenge is a seven day field course operated by BOSS in southwest Utah. It’s designed to educate participants on how to survive, emphasis on survival; in the desert wilderness with little to no assistance from any modern technologies. For seven days, students navigate their way across courses specifically designed for Pi Kappa Alpha with little food and nothing more than what they can carry on their backs. If this sounds difficult, or extreme, that’s because it is difficult and extreme. That is not to say that this program is limited to those only in peak physical condition. I will tell you that the vast majority of people are physically capable of completing this challenge. Yet, due to the intensity, most of the descriptions tend to focus on the physical challenges themselves, and while they are important, I believe the most significant aspect of the True Pike Challenge is the rare opportunity it provides participants in the absence of any distractions or excuses to search themselves for all the inner strength they possess.

Throughout the seven day course, each man develops his own unique challenges, for some they may be physical, for others psychological or emotional, but no matter where challenges may lie, one thing remains the same, in overcoming them each man discovers a deeper understanding of who he really is and what he is capable of doing. By breaking life down to its most basic components, we find we have the will to endure when quitting is so much easier, the desire to dig deep into our souls and ask for more than we were prepared to give, the humility to ask for help when we just aren’t strong enough to continue, the strength to offer help when our own load is heavy enough, the courage to step up and lead when our Brothers need us, and the wisdom to realize that sometimes in order to lead we must follow. The power of the experience and the reason for its lasting effects is in the way each individual member comes to not only learn but experience these lessons for him in a very real way.

I opened with a short quote; in fact many probably thought I was describing my first day in Southern Utah; but I was not. The description I provided was one I heard a brother use to describe how he felt prior to walking into his first chapter meeting as chapter president. The reality is we don’t have to be in the extremities of the Utah desert to experience difficulties, fear, or the prospect of failure; these are everyday occurrences. While these situations are never easy and often unsolicited, they still require individuals to make a decision to confront or avoid them. Obviously I cannot tell what the future holds, but I can speak of the lessons my fellow TPC alumni and I learned and experienced in the heat of the Utah desert will allow us to face our challenges, challenges like the one I described earlier, not with the absence of fear or a guarantee of success, but with the knowledge that we have the ability to persevere and prevail within us; regardless of the obstacle or challenge, we will move forward just as we did on top of the sandy desert mesas, by picking up one foot and placing it in front of the other.

So, will you become the next True Pike, and accept the True Pike Challenge?

Testimony from
the desert of Utah

"It was seeing everything that Pi Kappa Alpha stands for, everything our Ritual teaches; kind feelings, brotherly love, and service, all those things in a physical act. It was evidence that something that I love beyond explanation, something that should define every one of us, does in fact exist. That True Pike Challenge was the most challenging experience I have ever been through, it challenged my body, my mind and my heart, and when I look back on the week of challenge after challenge, I realize it was the most rewarding experience I have ever had."

– Glenn Skinner
(Indiana State,
Theta Omicron ’06)

"Attendance at BOSS is, and will be key to the success of the Fraternity as a whole, and key to my success as a leader and as a human being. I truly feel that because of my experience at BOSS, I can accomplish anything. "

–Michael Lopez
(California-Irvine,
Lambda Lambda ’07)

"…It has encouraged me to be a lifelong supporter of the Fraternity. I have many reasons to thank Pike, for it has been my family when I had none, my friend when I needed one and my guide when I was lost."

– Joshua Foster
(Pacific, Kappa Nu ’05)

"I learned more about life in one week than I have in three years of holding executive council positions in my chapter."

– Danny Jonas
(Missouri, Alpha Nu ’05)

Do you think you’re up for the Challenge?

In order to qualify to attend the 2009 True Pike Challenge, you must be Pike University Certified. Certification is achieved when you attend at least three Pike University events as an undergraduate member. Once Pike University certified, you must submit an application (available online Spring 2009) along with a letter of reference from the chapter president, chapter advisor and/or international officer. Most importantly, you must be committed to a life of caring for others as you care for yourself in pursuit of the True Pike ideal.

For more information, visit www.pikeuniversity.org