(Program not offered in 2022)
Youth Quest Video MeetUp Call
Join us for a free video MeetUp call to meet your guides and learn more about the Youth Quest on either Feb. 21, April 2 or May 21. TO REGISTER FOR THE CALL: Go to our Registration Page
Online Registration and Youth Quest Application and Letter (Limited to 8 Participants)
This world is changing so fast, shifting globally and locally in its politics, social movements, social media and natural environment. In response, many feel called to get clear on what is true for themselves and step into their personal power and action. This quest is a potent opportunity for you to live the questions that matter most to you, and claim who you truly are as a young adult in the world.
If you are 16-22, you and your family are naturally going through a period of life transition. You may be exploring new roles and taking on more responsibility for your own life, wishing to live more independently in the world. And, your family is likely learning new ways of relating to you as well. But becoming an adult in our modern world can be a confusing process. Every day you are showered with many messages and possibilities for how to live your life. How do you know what is right for you? What path to take? The Youth Quest is for young people that want to know themselves and their path more clearly, who want to mark the changes in their lives and are ready to step into their power and responsibility as young adults. Families are encouraged to participate in pre- and post-trip activities to witness and support this rite of passage for their child.
This adventure into the desert mountains involves both alone and group time in the wilderness. It’s a time for reflection, inward journeying, creativity and relating to nature. By encountering yourself and your own unique gifts and struggles, you will also discover your own ‘medicine’ or wisdom for navigating the challenges that lie ahead for you. In the process, you will be seen and appreciated by your peers, parents and extended family as the unique individual you are. When you return to your family and community as a young adult, you may find that you are looking at yourself and the world in a new way, better prepared to live your truth in this quickly changing world.
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 youth and parents, the Youth Quest is a rich opportunity to honor the transition you are encountering as a family. You young ones 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. Program Size is Limited to 8 Participants.
Youth Quest Inyo Mountains
Youth Quest Video MeetUp Call
Join us for a free video MeetUp call to meet your guides and learn more about the Youth Quest on either Feb. 21, April 2 or May 21. TO REGISTER FOR THE CALL: Go to our Registration Page
Trip Schedule
DATES: Saturday, July 27 – Sunday, August 4, 2019
Spring Youth Circles: Pre-Trip Meetings and community Youth Circles that hold questions of your own personal truth in these changing global times. Each family will receive one pre-trip meeting with the guides. These will be scheduled in February- June to support the process of preparation. If you’re curious, please contact Kim or Chris directly to learn about the monthly youth circles.
July 27, 8 am: Send Off Ritual, teens and loved ones, San Rafael, CA.
July 27- August 4: Youth Quest in the Inyo Mountains. Nine-day quest experience for teens with two days of solo time in nature, and time preparing and incorporating in base camp on either side of the solo time
August 4, 10 am: Family/friends pick up their returning questers at our wilderness basecamp in the Inyo Mountains.
Late Summer/Early Fall: Follow-up meeting and slideshow, SF Bay Area. Meeting with young adults after their quest to support them in the challenge of bringing the benefits of their quest experience back into their daily lives.
Fee: $1597 (Deposit $200) with lower sliding scale the earlier you register:
- Reg. by Mar. 1 for sliding scale of $1597- $1097
- Reg. by April 15 for sliding scale of $1697 – $1197
- Reg. by May 31 for sliding scale of $1797 – $1397
In an effort to make the quest available to families of all income levels, we have established a scholarship fund and also offer some payment plans (contact us for more details). Please contact us as well if you would like to make a tax-deductible contribution to our scholarship fund. Also, We Limit Our Youth Quest to 8 Participants so that we can best serve everyone attending. To help support this high level of individual attention and keep our groups small, we ask that you enroll as close to the full fee as you can reasonably afford (and trust you as the best judge of that fee level within our sliding scale).
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 approximately 30 minutes.
Guides for the Youth Quest
Kim Allen has been guiding youth and adults in their learning journeys in wilderness, farming, and outdoor educational settings for over 15 years. She is passionate about supporting people, particularly those marginalized from nature, in exploring the wisdom of the land while discovering their own inner wisdom. Read More….
Chris Morales is a wilderness guide, educator, and youth mentor passionate about fostering peace and justice in this world and has found his calling in facilitating experiences that support young adults in transforming the world through their own transformation. With experience in both international education and wilderness immersion, Read more….
REGISTRATION
Youth Quest Video MeetUp Call
Join us for a free video MeetUp call to meet your guides and learn more about the Youth Quest on either Feb. 21, April 2 or May 21. TO REGISTER FOR THE CALL: Go to our Registration Page
Register by mail: Please send (1) Completed Youth Quest Application and Letter and (2) a $200 non-refundable deposit to Wilderness Reflections, P.O. Box 311, Fairfax, CA, 94978.
Register Online: (for full fee and deposit only). (1) Complete your Registration Online and payment. (2) Complete your Youth Quest Application and Letter,
Contact Kim kimmarieallen(at)gmail(dot)com or Chris (ccmoral(at)gmail(dot)com) for more information.
Wilderness Reflections’ Office (415) 488-1917