Back to Basics: Meditations on Quality vs. Quantity in Outdoor Education

In this article, the author uses his own personal experiences to illustrate how many backcountry expeditions emphasize quantity rather than quality of experience. He discusses why this is counter-productive to the goals of outdoor education in many settings, and how this leads to the gap that he often encounters between what is practiced and what is preached. From there, he suggests questions for the reader to reflect upon and different ways of knowing that have helped his own expedition experiences with students. He provides a "day in the life" itinerary to better illustrate some of his points. Concluding this article are some final reflective thoughts about the potential consequences of continuing to teach and lead expedition experiences based on quantity rather than quality.