The Pancake Theory

There’s something I’ve noticed over the past few months (years really)

Not new… but it finally clicked.

I’ve been watching students cook pancakes.
Not in a kitchen, but out in the backcountry.

And somewhere between burnt batter, sticky pans, and a bit of chaos, I started to think:
Cooking the perfect pancake might be the final exam of outdoor education.

We don’t start there.
We start simple.

Hot chocolate. Oatmeal. Add water and go.
Low stress. Easy cleanup. Quick wins and confidence building.

Then it builds a bit.

Rice. Pasta. Sauces and quick breads.
Things don’t always go as planned, but that’s where the learning starts to happen. Meals get shared. Ideas for new meals start to grow. You can feel it in the group.

And then someone asks:

“Can we make pancakes?”

My answer is always.... “Let’s go for it!”

That’s when things shift.
Because pancakes ask more from you.

Now it’s not just following directions.
It’s figuring things out.

What kind of batter do we make?
Where do we mix it?
How much water is too much?
Why is it sticking?
Did we bring anything to stop that from happening?

The first few always go the same way.

Burnt. Undercooked. Stuck to the pan.
Sometimes it ends up more like a pancake scramble than anything resembling close to an actual pancake.

I am never surprised but, I love how the students are shocked they didn’t make some food network worthy dish.

But they keep going.

They start to adjust.
Less water. Watching the heat a bit more closely. Trying again.

And eventually…one works.

Not perfect. But good.

And the reaction is always the same.

Pure excitement. A bit of disbelief.
Like they just figured something out that mattered.

And then later, on a longer trip, you’ll hear it again.
Early morning. Quiet camp.

And then…a small cheer.

You look over and someone has just flipped a pancake…clean, golden, and exactly how they pictured it. Perfect!

And now they’re showing someone else how to do it.

That’s the part that sticks with me.
It’s never really about the pancake.
It’s everything that led up to it.

The mistakes and figuring it out.
The small adjustments along the way.
The teamwork and communication it required for just that one pancake.

No one hands them the perfect process.
They earn it.
And when they do, something shifts.

A bit more confidence and a bit more independence.
Don’t forget a quiet sense of “I’ve got this.”

And maybe…that’s the goal all along.