Are You Ready...

• To Build Your Self-Confidence
• To Understand Yourself More Deeply
• To Know What is Truly Important to You
• To Seek Vision and Direction for your Life
• To Mark your Passage into Adulthood

This trip is an amazing opportunity to dive deeply into yourself and your life, while also being a part of a creative, supportive and honest circle of your peers.  It is a chance to reflect upon and heal past wounds as well as to look into nature’s mirror to see the signs for which way to head on your future path.

For both teens and parents, the Youth Quest is a rich opportunity to honor the transition you are encountering as a family.  You teens are preparing to launch into the world and your parents are preparing to let you go.  For centuries different cultures have recognized the importance of helping youth make the passage from childhood to adulthood.  Around the world this transition has been marked by rites of passage ceremonies.  These rites challenged the young person in such a way that they were forced to face themselves, thus discovering their own inner dilemmas and ways of handling them.  In the process they would also uncover their unique gifts for their people.  In the latter part of the rite the initiate would go through a pivotal witnessing wherein the elders and the larger community would acknowledge the new adult in their selfhood and in their new capacity and responsibility as an adult in the community.  New privileges and responsibilities were bestowed at this time.

In numerous cultures rites of passage into adulthood included a prolonged period of solitude and fasting in the wilderness.  In addition to the somewhat well known vision quest traditions of various Native American peoples, solitude in the wilderness has been a part of the passage into adulthood for Australian Aborigines, the Basque in Spain and many others.  This kind of questing in the wilderness is also found in prominent places in our biblical heritage.  Thus, it is into these widespread and long practiced footsteps that we step as we head off for our Youth Quest.  Our own practices are in many ways contemporary and modern, but they are rooted in archetypal human traditions and the need to have the next generation step forward to accept the blessing and the work of their family and community.

JUNE TRIP SCHEDULE

June 7: Pre-trip meeting, San Rafael, CA (11 am – 2 pm, Teens only; 3 – 5 pm, Parents only)
June 21, 8 am: Send off ritual, teens and loved ones, San Rafael, CA
June 21 – 29: Youth Quest in the Inyo Mountains. Nine-day quest experience for teens and guides with two days of solo time in nature for the teens, and time in base camp on either side of the solo time.
June 29, 10 am: Family/friends pick up their returning questers
TBA: Follow-up Meeting, San Rafael. Meeting with teens after their quest to support them in the challenge of bringing the benefits of their quest experience back into their daily lives.

AUGUST TRIP SCHEDULE

June 8: Pre-trip meeting, San Rafael, CA (11 am – 2 pm, Teens only; 3 – 5 pm, Parents only)
August 9, 8 am: Send off ritual, teens and loved ones, San Rafael, CA.
August 9 – 17: Youth Quest in the Inyo Mountains. Nine-day quest experience for teens and guides with two days of solo time in nature for the teens, and time in base camp on either side of the solo time.
August 17, 10 am: Family/friends pick up their returning questers.
Late August: Follow-up Meeting and Slide Show, San Rafael. Meeting with teens after their quest to support them in the challenge of bringing the benefits of their quest experience back into their daily lives.

What’s Included

• All meetings as noted above.
• 9-day ceremony in the wilderness including:  All guidance, meals, group gear and safety management; training in “leave no trace” camping, natural history of the high desert and creating personal ceremonies for transformation.
• Preparation guide and list of personal camping gear to bring.

What You Need to Provide

• Transportation to our meeting place in San Rafael, CA at the start of the trip and home from the quest site at the end of the trip. Directions to be sent to you upon registration. Carpools may be arranged as desired.
• Personal camping gear (equipment list provided).
• Ability to carry your own loaded backpack for approx. 30 minutes.

GUIDES FOR THE YOUTH QUEST

Amy Biesemeyer, M.A., MFT Intern brings her passion for nature and personal growth into her work. As a quest guide, she weaves together her love for song, ritual and creative expression. In her nine years of wilderness guiding, she has learned to gently and skillfully help people navigate the territory between comfort and challenge. Amy currently is a therapist for children, teens and adults. She is a certified Wilderness First Responder.

Will Scott is a gifted teacher and guide whose infectious enthusiasm and creativity can transform any trip into a lively, soulful and fun engagement. An experienced wilderness guide n the U.S. and South America, Will is a co-founder of The Wilderness Within and has taught science at Drake High School and The Peninsula School. Will is a certified Wilderness First Responder.

Shai Lavie, MFT works with adolescents and adults in private practice in San Rafael. He leads teen rites of passage programs through Wilderness Reflections, Stepping Stones Project and Bay Area schools, and teaches meditation classes for teens at Spirit Rock Meditation Center. Shai has been leading personal growth groups in Bay Area high schools for 12 years and gives talks to therapists and parents about teen issues. Shai is also a Certified Hakomi Therapist and Wilderness First Responder.