I spent a significant amount of my early years as an educator in places where, either on a part-time or full-time basis, I was guiding young people through wilderness adventures or challenging outdoor pursuits. In many cases there was value in the specific content learned on these adventures – canoeing or rock climbing – but often there was talk of an added benefit from taking young people beyond their comfort threshold in an unfamiliar environment. I don’t know that this was ever measured or even explained in a way that related to what we were doing.

I’m sure it had a lasting impression on many of the participants but it would be interesting to see actual research.