This was basically a throwaway line in Vivid Worlds Will Kill You by @Traipse. My guess is that he means that the scales in overland travel are naturally more broad than in dungeon exploration (e.g. travel is measured in miles and hours instead of feet and minutes). And actions are more abstract in the way that "sitting at a bonfire for the night" is more abstract than "putting my ear to a specific door to listen what's on the other side".

But maybe there's even more to this?