So it’s all kind of subjective. Which is why I wanted to define adventure, and particularly outdoor adventure, as I see it. I’m sure many would disagree with my view, and many would agree. But if I’m going to talk about adventure I want all of us to be on the same page about what it means to me.

So let’s start broadly: to me, outdoor adventure is an activity or set of activities performed outside, with some component of interaction with nature, with a particular goal or set of objectives to achieve, which challenges the physical and mental abilities of the participants.

This is pretty broad, I know, so I’ll get more specific and include “activities” or sports that I consider to be part of an adventure:

- Trekking (a.k.a hiking, walking, whatever you want to call it- but I define it as moving on foot from one point to another)

- Mountaineering (which includes rock climbing, which I consider a mountaineering sport)

- Mountain Biking

- River Running (canoeing, kayaking, rafting

- SCUBA Diving

- Sailing

- Skiing

- Canyoneering

- Caving

- Surfing (and its various forms such as windsurfing, kitesurfing, SUP etc.)

You’ll notice I didn’t include terms like “camping” or “backpacking” on the list. It’s for a reason. People always say stuff like “oh so you’re going camping this weekend?” And I say “no, I will be camping during my adventure but the camping is not my objective activity, it will just be what I am doing when I’m not trekking/climbing/surfing etc.” Camping is simply a task, a tool which we use to enable our other activities to occur. Same thing with backpacking. I consider carrying a backpack to be something that I do while I am on a trekking expedition. Carrying the backpack is not the adventure in itself.

I could also throw hunting and fishing on the list, but it depends on what type of hunting or fishing you’re doing. Sitting in a blind or on a motorboat drinking beer and waiting to kill something doesn’t count as “adventure” in my book. However if you’re out tracking and hiking through the backcountry to get the kill, or in a river fly-fishing, I’ll count those.

I would also consider some “nature viewing” adventure activities, like birding or other wildlife surveys- as long as it’s not done from a vehicle the entire time.

The best adventures combine two or more of these activities.

Anyone have anything to add to this? Agreements? Disagreements?