Opening To The Mystery

This retreat invites you to step away from the noise of daily life and let the trail move through you. Out in the Sespe Wilderness—where the desert meets the mountains, where red-tailed hawks circle overhead, and where hot springs steam beside the river—you begin to feel yourself differently. You move differently. You listen differently.

Backpacking will challenge you. It will ask you to dig deeper, breathe harder, and arrive in ways you may not expect. And often, that kind of awakening asks you to let go of old stories, expectations, and habits that keep you rushing or numbing.

Being on retreat can also be a kind of natural detox. As you slow down, the comforts you might reach for — phone, food, drink, or other distractions — fall away. Often, what rises in their place can be emotional, surprising, or beautifully tender.

All of it is welcome. 

Bring your grief, your rage, your hope, your joy — it all belongs. The practices we’ll share are designed to help you stay present with the full range of your experience and to uncover the wisdom within it.

This is how we open to the visions waiting to emerge, and awaken the wild beauty within.

Taking Responsibility for Your Experience

This retreat is a significant investment of time, energy, and money. Use that as motivation to show up fully and ask for what you need. If you’re struggling, if something isn’t what you expected, or if you need support, please let Zoe or Caitlin know. We may not always be able to meet every need, but we want to understand what’s alive for you and do our best to tend to it.

The more you allow yourself to be authentic, vulnerable, and willing to take emotional risks, the more this experience will offer you in return.

And remember: this land is powerful. It’s beautiful, wild, and deeply supportive. There’s a kind of magic that moves through this place, the kind that reshapes us quietly, from the inside out.

It’s going to be so good!