Traditionally, rites of passage were always conducted within the context of community, within the existing circle of bonds, relationships and familiars that gave a person’s life its meaning and value. Today, the tapestry of community is more diluted and worn thin than ever. In this age of virtual experiences and burgeoning screen time, The Community Quest is a welcome antidote of direct contact and connection- with oneself, Nature and your circle of community.

As our most comprehensive quest program, The Community Quest is designed specifically to maximize the benefits of questing with a group that knows each other well. This program is for groups that have already cultivated their own community for some period of time prior to coming to us to conduct a wilderness quest journey with them. Read on below for all the details.

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Join us for a transformative adventure into the expansive landscape of the wilderness. Step into an exquisite dance with Nature. Discover how a voyage into the outer wilderness can reveal to you the riches of the wilderness within. The vast silence will help you slow down from the fast pace of modern life and find again your place within nature’s rhythms and cycles. Let the stark beauty, the whispers of the breeze or the vastness of the night sky become your guide to the rejuvenation or self-discovery you need. If you are hungry to understand yourself and your world more clearly, or seek help in navigating life’s changes, this trip can be a powerful ally in your search.

While all the usual phases of the quest are a part of this program, we meet with you three times before the actual quest journey to deepen your preparation and ability to bring the benefits of the journey back into your everyday life and community. These pre-trip sessions include two meetings (2.5-3 hrs long) and a daylong DayQuest. Through storytelling, creative expression, council practice and simply being on the Earth, you will reconnect with yourself and with what you are longing for in your life.

Following this period of preparation near home, we move to the wilderness to refine our preparations and to intentionally enhance our severance from daily life. After a couple of days in the frontcountry, we will depart for the backcountry and the threshold of solo time. There, as our ancestors from many cultures have done, you will walk alone to your place of power and discover the magic of turning to the earth with the needs, yearnings, fears and dreams of your life. After this period of solo time, you will return to the sanctuary of our small group where together we will spend the next few days bringing a deep understanding to the teachings nature has offered you and how they fit into your life. Following the wilderness portion of the trip, during the challenging integration phase of the program, we gather near home for two meetings and a DayQuest.

The Details of the Quest Journey

Preparation/Severance: We take 2-3 days to cover such topics as: Leave No Trace camping; natural history of the landscape; safety and survival procedures; teachings of the four directions and applying them to your own inner map; creating your own ceremonies for growth, healing and celebration; and exploration of your reasons for questing through expressive art, deep imagery, dreamwork, medicine walks.

Threshold: On the third day we travel to a wilderness base camp that will support you as you find your place of solitude in the landscape in which you will spend 3 days and nights living alone without contact with other people. If you choose to fast (as most people do), this will begin one day before you cross over the sacred threshold, making the duration of the fasting time 4 days and nights.

Reincorporation/Integration: After your three days and nights of solo time in your place of beauty, you will return to base camp to be greeted by your guides and fellow questers. After celebrating, we will support you in engaging the challenging process of gradually returning to “normal” life – eating, coming back into the body, being with others, cars, etc. – and most importantly, we will work together to help you make meaning of your alone time in the wilderness. Each quester will have a chance to share her/his story with the group and will be assisted in a myriad of ways in bringing the many facets of the quest back into daily life.

When: TBD by group in collaboration with WR staff. Program includes two pre-trip meetings (2.5 hrs long), a pre-trip DayQuest; a 9-day quest program; and two post-trip meetings (2.5 hrs long) and a post-trip DayQuest.

Where: TBD by group in collaboration with WR staff.

What you need to provide: Personal camping gear; Share in carpooling costs/vehicles. Ability to carry a 30-40 lb. pack for one mile. National Park entry fee per vehicle ($20), if program occurs in a National Park. All meals are included and provided by WR. No prior camping experience needed.

Guides: Determined by WR Staff in collaboration with group organizers.

Fee: $2495 per person. Deposit: $500. Permits and camping fees for the duration of the quest are paid by Wilderness Reflections.

REGISTRATION

To register for this program, please send us your payment or deposit for the program and a one-page letter of intent describing your reasons for wanting to attend and what you hope to learn or explore through your participation in the program. It may also be helpful to include any significant life transitions you’ll be marking or life challenges you wish to engage by completing the program.

Register by Mail: Download a Registration Form, complete it, and send it, along with your deposit or full payment to: Wilderness Reflections, P.O.Box 311, Fairfax, CA 94978.

Register Online: Click here to complete your registration form, submit your letter of intent by email and make a payment online.