Summer Wilderness Solo Circle

Let yourself be silently drawn
by the stronger pull of what you really love.
it will not lead you astray.
-Rumi

Join us for a transformative journey…

Into the sweet, flowering wilderness of Sequoia National Park.  This three-month long community-based program meets one weekend in the month leading up to the early summer wilderness solo and then concludes with another weekend for integration in the month after the solo. As such, the program is naturally set up in three phases:

I. June Weekend, 6/1- 6/2 • Preparation • West Marin County: With the preparation weekend in early June, we will help you refine your intentions for the solo, prepare you on the physical and logistical levels and bring our group into connection with one another.  You’ll discover how sharing our life stories and intentions for the wilderness solo will weave a web of care and connection that, like a fine basket, can be used to both sift out that which no longer serves you and yet also carry forward what you uncover on the journey that is essential for your everyday life.

II. The Wilderness Solo, 6/28- 7/7 • Threshold • Sequoia National Park: The wilderness solo is a time and place to reclaim our silence from a world that is constantly vying for our attention. A time to go where only you can take your yourself. Who are we when the layers of distraction and noise have fallen away and we return to what is most essential? When we embark on this journey, we leave behind the familiarity of life’s routines to discover the simplicity, mystery, and beauty of the wild Sierra. Here, we find the space to once again hear our own hearts and be guided by nature back to ourselves. Ultimately, the teachings and personal significance of the solo fast cannot be taught by another, but are something for each of us to discover on our own.

Others before you have come to…

• Discover their intrinsic gifts
• Mark a transition into a new phase of life
• Reconnect with vitality and aliveness
• Overcome fears that keep them from living fully
• Move through loss or let something go
• Find deep belonging to nature
• Have the space to build self-knowing

During this 10-day trip, you will explore your intentions for the journey through storytelling, creative expression, and structured group sharing known as council practice. You will spend the first few days in a front country car-camping setting, becoming familiar with the landscape and reconnecting to yourself while living simply on the earth with a group of other seekers. We will address topics such as leave no trace camping, wilderness safety, practices to support your inner journey, and approaches for creating your own personal solo ceremonies.

Following these days of preparation, we will hike together into the sweet, fragrant, vast wilderness of the Sierra Nevada into the Valley of the Sleeping Bear- our beloved solo-ing grounds of the last three decades. Here, in this valley without trails and other two-leggeds, amid sparkling granite, wildflower-bejeweled waterfalls and ancient old-growth forest, we will set up our basecamp. From this now-familiar circle of this group, you will launch out onto your solo. During this time, you also have the opportunity to go without food (for a total of 4 days), just as many others before you have done. You will cross a physical threshold to spend 3 days and 3 nights living alone, to discover the magic and power of turning to the Earth with the needs, yearnings, fears, and dreams of your life.

After your solo time, you will return to the sanctuary of our small group where we will spend the time bringing understanding to the teachings nature has offered you and how they fit into your life. In the last days of the trip, we will return to the campground area to continue our integration, closing our time together and beginning the transition back home.

II. August Weekend, 8/24- 8/25 • Incorporation • West Marin County: Many say that the real wilderness— and the real journey of transformation — happens when you come home, soul pockets bulging with seeds of your vision and clear crystals of knowing your true nature. And then you return to people and places and expectations that know only the ‘old you’, the one who was perhaps less clear in her direction, intentions…less connected to her true self, less attentive to his heart’s wise but subtle whispers. It is at this time, when the old habits or outdated patterns are starting to pull on you again, and the clarity gained from ‘the top of the mountain’ is become a more distant dream. This is when we call our circle together again to help you remember your true nature and dedication to live it forward. So that what you’ve received over the months of this journey in this circle can be lived and paid forward, those seeds of your vision can grow to feed those around you and not just be fond memories that you slowly digest into the ethers of your life journey.

The Details:

For Whom: This trip is open to adult participants of any gender. No prior camping or backpacking experience necessary. Limited to 9 participants.

Your Guides: Amy Biesemeyer, Aaron Bartley and David Talamo.

When: Jun 1-2; wilderness solo June 28- July 7; and Aug 24- 25

Where: Marin Co. CA (weekends) and Sequoia National Park, CA (wilderness trip)

What you need to provide: Personal hiking and camping gear (list to be provided). You will need to transport yourself, though we strongly recommend carpooling and sharing in travel costs with other participants. You will also need to pay the National Park Entrance Fee ($30 per vehicle or $80 for an annual National Parks Pass).

You must be able to carry 30-40 lbs. in a backpacking pack for 2 miles over mountainous terrain.

What is Included: Meals and campground fees on the wilderness trip. Pre-trip and post-trip meetings (June 1-2 and August 24-25) to support preparation and integration.

Fee: Tiered Fee Schedule Below. A deposit of $500 confirms your registration.

Out of respect for the differences in financial resources and opportunities for program participants and to make the program accessible to a wider and more diverse group, we offer this work on a sliding scale fee structure. We trust that you will be in alignment and integrity with yourself and thereby arrive at a fee level that strikes the right balance for you when making a decision.  To aid in the process, below are some equity-based considerations.

Tier A: $2250 (Below program costs & depends on subsidy from us or higher tier participants)
Tier B: $2700 (Approximately at our break even costs for the program)
Tier C: $3200 (Gives support to less privileged/resourced participants and guide sustainability)
Tier D: $3850 (Supports less privileged/resourced participants, guides and long-term program needs)
We offer payment plans and a few partial scholarships. Please inquire for more details.

Consider contributing MORE on the tier levels if you:

• Have the ability to comfortably meet all of your basic needs
• Belong to a sponsoring organization or are employed full-time
• Have investments, retirement accounts, or inherited money
• Travel for fun and vacations
• Have access to family money and resources in times of need
• Work part-time by choice
• Own the home you live in
• Have a relatively high degree of earning power due to level of education (or gender and racial privilege, class background, etc.)

Consider contributing LESS on the tier level if you:

• Regularly have difficulty covering basic expenses
• Do not have regular, steady work or other income sources
• Are supporting children or have other dependents
• Have significant debt
• Have medical expenses not covered by insurance
• Are an elder with limited financial support
• Are an unpaid community organizer

To Register Please Complete These Three Steps:

1. Go To www.wildernessreflections.com/registration-form and complete the form.

2. Make Payment either pay a $500 non-refundable deposit or full fee now via PayPal (after registering in step 1) or by sending a check to us via USPS to Wilderness Reflections, P.O. Box 311, Fairfax, CA 94978.

3. Send us a 1-page letter of intent stating your reasons for enrolling in the program  (via email or by USPS to Wilderness Reflections, P.O. Box 311, Fairfax, CA 94978).

Register Online

ABOUT THE GUIDES

Amy Biesemeyer, MFT is a gifted and dynamic quest guide, weaving together her passions for Nature, ritual, singing/chanting and personal transformation. In her ten years of wilderness guiding, she has learned to gently and skillfully help others navigate the territory between comfort and challenge. Drawing upon mind-body practices, she enriches her work with meditation, expressive arts and movement. She has been trained by the School of Lost Borders, in the therapeutic use of the wilderness. She is a licensed Marriage Family Therapist and Wilderness First Responder. Nature is her teacher and sanctuary, and she is honored to guide others in the magical unfolding of their inner wilderness.

Aaron Bartley is a nature-oriented rites of passage guide, UC California Naturalist, and teaching guide in Wilderness Reflections’ Somatic Ecopsychology Quest Apprenticeship Program. Aaron brings 15+ years of experience facilitating men’s groups and supporting both men and women through rites of passage. He has guided wilderness programs in the Sierra Nevada, Death Valley, and throughout Central California and is a Wilderness First Responder. Aaron has a deep appreciation for birds and serves as a guide for a nature reserve, where his mission is to inspire the public to build deep, personal relationship with the lands they love. Above all, Aaron is passionate about connecting people with wild places, helping them embody their authentic voice, strengthen their belonging to nature, and find renewed vision for their lives.

Dave Talamo, MFT is founder of Wilderness Reflections. He has over 40 years of experience guiding wilderness trips, works as a therapist with youth and adults, and is a certified Wilderness First Responder. He is committed to the expression of joy and authenticity through the body and to helping others experience their own embodied selves in an intimate, ecstatic relationship with Nature. Dave is an innovator in the field of ecotherapy and trains therapists and coaches in these practices.  He trained in wilderness quest guiding with Steven Foster and Meredith Little and has apprenticed himself to wild places throughout North America.

REGISTRATION

Contact Us for more information.