“Wilderness… is a place to search for those answers which elude me the rest of my life…. Wilderness is the logical place, indeed the ideal place, to marvel at life’s unfolding, to live at life’s edge.”
- Daniel Dustin, The Wilderness Within
Introduction
What is it about wilderness that intrigues us so? Many authors have espoused the virtues of wilderness. From Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau to Edward Abbey and Bob Marshall, wilderness has been touted as inspiring peace, personal growth, and a sense of wonder. But what real role, if any, does the environment have on participants of a long-term wilderness expedition? This article briefly summarizes several findings from a recent study. A fuller discussion of these findings will be published in an upcoming research journal article. I define wilderness broadly in this article to refer to remote areas used frequently by various expedition programs as opposed to just areas defined by the 1964 act.
For several years, I studied the impacts of the wilderness setting on students who went on Montreat College’s Discovery Wilderness Program. Discovery is a spiritually oriented program based on the Outward Bound model. Although how one interprets the role of the wilderness setting is highly subjective and based on a variety of factors, the Discovery participants perceived the role of the environment in three broad categories - wilderness as canvas, wilderness as catalyst, and wilderness as crucible (Daniel, 2010).
Wilderness as Canvas
For some participants, the wilderness was simply the backdrop against which the activities occurred much like the canvas on which scenery is painted for a play. The physical environment exerted little or no influence on individual experience. Relationships between group members and instructors were much more important for these participants while the environment played a secondary role in their wilderness experience. This group was quite small as compared to the other two.
Wilderness as Catalyst
The largest group of participants reported that the wilderness setting played a much more active role because it catalyzed spiritual and personal growth, promoted introspection and reflection, and encouraged a connection with nature. As catalyst, the wilderness setting inspired, evoked emotion, provoked thinking, and encouraged the construction of metaphors and analogies related to participants’ lives back home.
Metaphors link exploration of the outer physical landscape to the concurrent exploration of the inner landscape (Metzner, 1998). Metaphors mentioned involved drawing parallels between trip experiences and ordinary experiences back home. For example, the process of ascending a peak while carrying a heavy backpack became a metaphor for the importance of taking things one step at a time, not looking too far ahead, and persevering under stress. For this largest group, the beauty of pristine landscapes, the vast expanse of open spaces, and the power exhibited by various components of the natural world promoted a sense of wonder and awe.
Wilderness as Crucible
The third way in which participants perceived the wilderness setting was as a crucible; that is to say, a place of trial and testing. For this group, the more difficult aspects of the wilderness setting (e.g., challenging terrain, rhododendron thickets, rain and storms) superseded the more positive attributes mentioned by the catalyst group. These aspects magnified and intensified the challenge. The wilderness setting provided extremes in temperature, comfort, and other factors that created cognitive, emotional, and spiritual dissonance for participants, forcing them to decide how to interpret and handle the circumstances in which they found themselves. As a crucible, the wilderness provided a testing ground, and many participants spoke of how they had grown personally by meeting those challenges.
A Common Theme: Inspiring a Sense of Something Greater
One integrative theme that emerged from this study was that wilderness inspired a sense of something greater in many participants. This ranged from a greater awareness of personal actions and attitudes to beliefs and behaviors. It also led to a greater awareness of one’s connection to the natural world and an increased sense of responsibility to care for it. One participant summarized this theme eloquently:
Before the trip, I had never been camping or spent an extended period of time outdoors. I also had been quite conditioned by my middle class economic status, and had never been hungry, depended on others for survival, or evaluated the essentials in life to such a huge extent. Additionally, I had never sat quietly with nature and listened, observed or felt connected to the process of life. [Discovery] gave me an encounter with the earth, water, wind and fire in a way that has changed, not only my hobbies (camping, hiking, etc.), but more importantly my way of life. Now, an escape to the mountains, deserts, oceans and farmlands are more than a vacation, but an opportunity to rest my soul and find myself in the big picture of life. I also have changed my understanding of possessions‚ needs and wants, despite what the culture tells us − more is not better and this shift in world view has had profound implications on my personal, professional, and spiritual life. (Discovery Participant - 1992)
As indicated in the quote above, it is possible that immersion experiences in wilderness settings can provide a sense of something greater than oneself, helping to form or revise one’s environmental ethic or environmental worldview. Wilderness experiences can encourage getting out into the natural world as a lifestyle. These experiences can help connect participants to the natural world.
Enhancing the Wilderness Experience
In order to help participants get the most from their wilderness experiences, there are actions that wilderness leaders can take. These include providing time to simply experience and enjoy nature, incorporating more learning about the natural world into the expedition design, and encouraging discussion of how time immersed in wilderness might shape one’s environmental actions, attitudes, or ethics. Since the type of environmental setting (e.g., mountains, desert, shoreline) might affect the quality or type of experience, it would be interesting to plan landscape diversity into the expedition design.
Conclusion
The wilderness setting provides an ideal place through which to learn more about ourselves and about the natural world. Although participants perceive the role of the setting in different ways, the beauty and challenge afforded by the natural world can promote a sense of something greater within those who dare to venture there. Barry Lopez, the noted nature writer, suggested that we travel parallel landscapes when we journey through the outdoors. I agree. There is the outer landscape of rocks, trees, and landforms and the inner landscape of hopes, dreams, and desires. Often, these landscapes are connected through experiencing wilderness settings. Perhaps that is why we return. Perhaps that is why wilderness intrigues us so.
References
Daniel, B. (2010). Canvas, Catalyst, Crucible: Exploring the Role of the Setting in the Wilderness Expedition Experience. Presentation at the Outdoor Leadership Research Symposium, Estes Park, CO.
Lopez, B. (1989). Crossing open ground. New York:Vintage.
Metzner, R. (1998). The unfolding self: Varieties of transformative experience. Novato: Origin.
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31-Aug-10
