Wilderness Retreats & Rites of Passage
June 25, 2025 @ 8:00 am - December 31, 2026 @ 5:00 pm
Rites of Passage
“Going into the wilderness is not to escape life, but to find it.”
— John Muir
There are moments in life that ask for stillness, solitude, and something deeper than conversation. For many, those moments are best met in nature.
Our wilderness-based retreats offer young adults the opportunity to disconnect from the noise of daily life and step into direct relationship with the land, their inner world, and the deeper forces shaping who they are becoming.
These retreats vary in length and intensity—from one-day walkabouts to weekend immersions and full weeklong vision quests. Each experience includes both group connection and solo time, supported by trained staff and structured ceremonies. Some retreats include traditional elements such as sweat lodges, tipi councils, solo fasts, or threshold walks, all held with reverence and care.
While not every retreat is framed as a formal rite of passage, many participants experience these journeys as turning points—times of letting go, stepping forward, and crossing into a new relationship with life, self, and purpose.
The Shape of an Expedition
One Arc, As Old As Humanity
Expeditions range from one to six days — three to four days is the sweet spot where the most potent work unfolds. Every journey follows a time-tested initiatory structure.
Severance
A ritual departure from the familiar — from parents, from routines, from the noise — and a conscious crossing of the threshold into the wilderness.
Threshold
Themes, therapeutic processes, and ceremony unfold on the trail — including a purposeful test that pushes each participant to their edge inside a safe, held container.
Return
Back toward family and civilization — changed by the crossing. The journey closes with an integration ceremony that brings youth and family together to welcome who has come home.
What Happens Out There
Gateways Into a Deeper Layer of Life
Even being in the wilderness is healing before anything else begins. During our time together, the days are woven from these practices:
Council
Gathering in a circle to listen deeply and speak honestly — learning to engage with respect, curiosity, and an open heart.
Intentional Silence
Sit spots that carry us through boredom into something quieter and more essential underneath the noise.
Ceremony & Ritual
Examining what no longer serves us, building the courage to let it die, and listening for what wants to be born.
Primitive Skills
Fire by hand, carving, plant identification, crafting clay — learning to create rather than consume.
Story
Old tales alongside the stories of our own lives — archetypes and the hero’s journey, alive in the present moment.
Physical Challenge
Long miles, mountain passes, sun and thunderstorms — discovering what we are truly capable of.
Community Living
Cooking together, looking out for one another — and learning repair and real connection when conflict comes.
Deep Experience
Bathing in cold water, summiting for sunrise, watching wildlife cross a lake — the wilderness itself does the deepest work.
Rites of Passage
Real Transformations, Consciously Honored
When a deeper ceremonial experience is called for — a transition from one stage of life to another — we create the container for that crossing to be honored. These are not just metaphors. They are real identity transformations that require conscious acknowledgment.
In practice, this might look like a young person spending one or two nights alone in the wilderness, carrying a question about their life — willing to reflect on what is no longer serving them, and to learn how to ask for help from something larger than themselves. They return to the group having faced something real, and are received, witnessed, and celebrated for what they discovered.
For these deeper passages we involve family and community before and after the expedition — because the one who comes back is not the same one who left. And that change belongs to everyone who loves them.
Who This Is For
For the Ones Who Feel Something Stirring
For the young person
Who senses there is something deeper in them that hasn’t been touched yet. Who is tired of feeling stuck, disconnected, or unseen — and ready to do something about it. Who wants to be genuinely challenged, to find out what they are made of. Who is asking, even quietly, even without words: who am I, and what am I here for?
For the parent
Who senses their child is stuck and doesn’t know how to help them move. Who is watching their kid disappear into their room or lose themselves in patterns that aren’t serving them. Who wants to give their child a genuine challenge — in nature, in community, with experienced guides — and is ready to see them step into the next stage of who they are becoming.
What Makes This Different
“We partner adventure with the therapeutic and ceremonial dimensions of development — so the experience becomes genuinely transformational rather than just memorable. We are bringing ceremony back, in service of young people who deserve more than a hike.”
What to Expect When They Return
The Return Is Where It Becomes Real
What happens after matters just as much as what happens out there. Coming back to routines that haven’t changed — while they have — can be the hardest part. This is not a one-trip fix-all; it is part of a greater arc of development.
Closing council
Youth, guides, and family gather to honor the return and share the journey’s meaning.
Met as who they are now
Parents are coached to welcome the change rather than pull their child back into old patterns.
One-on-one integration
Ongoing mentorship helps make sense of the experience and root it in everyday life.
Reunions & calls
Group reunions in the months that follow keep accountability and connection alive.
A Note on Safety
Held With Care, Every Step
The physical, emotional, and psychological wellbeing of every participant is the utmost priority. Lead guide Jacob Goldberg is a Wilderness First Responder with six-plus years of wilderness experience, supporting youth in wilderness settings, rites of passage, and one-on-one mentorship.
A second guide is always present, and the team is continuously watching, tracking, and making the most responsible decisions based on all circumstances. Nothing we do is meant to cause suffering — every challenge is held with care, intention, and deep respect for who these young people are becoming.
for Parents
Wilderness retreats offer something mentoring sessions alone cannot—time away from screens, social pressures, and the familiar routines that often keep young people stuck. In the space of the natural world, many participants reconnect with their own clarity, confidence, and sense of purpose.
These retreats are carefully designed and professionally led, with ample support provided both before and after the journey. Whether your child is seeking a fresh perspective, working through a life transition, or looking for deeper direction, a wilderness experience can be a powerful and transformative step.
If you or your child are interested in joining an upcoming retreat, please fill out the interest form below.
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