Essential Elements of an Expedition

What makes an expedition truly an expedition (and not just a trip, tour, outing, vacation, adventure, etc.)

Commitment - each member of the expedition is fully committed for the entire expedition. No "maybe" or "hopefully". Nobody arrives late, departs early, or has contingencies that they are dependent upon.

Purpose - an expedition has a clearly defined purpose - to reach a peak, to circumnavigate a body of water, to follow a stream to it's headwaters, to transect a wilderness, to explore a mysterious hole in the ground...

Self Sufficiency - an expedition must, to the extent possible, be prepared to meet its own needs for food, water, shelter. While we will likely give and receive from the earth and other people along the way, we first attempt to pack and carry our own items in order to meet our own needs. No shopping along the way.

Unplugged - an expedition has little or no regular electronic communication connection with the rest of the world, and instead gains deep connection within the members of the group and with the people we encounter face to face along the way...

Uncertainty - there are elements of uncertainty that must be faced: we may not know the weather forecast, we may not know the route, we may not know where we are going to sleep tonight...

Risk - the environment in which we travel and the unpredictability of the natural world, bring an element of health risk to our comfort and safety, that will require us to be alert, awake, and stretching to meet the physical and emotional demands of the expedition

Interdependence - each member of the expedition has a unique role to play within the team, without which the expedition could not continue.

Reciprocity - we give and receive from the natural world (firewood, campsites, wild foods) and from other people we encounter