The deep canyons, vast expanse and infinite river tributaries of the Gila Wilderness, unceded indigenous homelands of the Chiricahua Apache peoples and the world’s first designated wilderness area, is a wild place like no other. We begin and end this trip in the geothermal waters of the Gila Hot Springs Campground- a luxury and balm like nothing else on our way in and out of the backcountry.

These are no ordinary wilderness trips. Sarah Byrden, a wilderness guide of 25 years, is a master of her guide-craft, facilitating and bridging a life-giving dialogue and communion between the human and more than human worlds, between wild self and wild earth, which are in fact one great wilderness. These trips will be a more intimate encounter with wilderness than perhaps ever before in your life.

Countless participants have remarked over the years that this single week in the wild is worth the transformative weight of years of “therapy”. This single week will reverberate in your cells as a counsel of elders for months and longer.

Our work here is the recovery and amplification of the indestructible soul…which is our only true aquifer of sustenance.

No matter our ancestry or heritage, across cultures we share roots that understand Nature as teacher and elder, as eternal wisdom, love and intelligence. Many of us have forgotten, been interrupted or been severed almost completely. It is possible to go into nature and miss it altogether. It happens all the time, and ironically, most often in the modern day “outdoor industry”. We can hold on to our “front-country” mindsets and use nature as an object, backdrop and stomping ground for the drives of our ego. These trips are not that. Here, we will go into the wild, admit we are that wild, and let this encounter rearrange us. We will find the wilderness and all of her cycles of life and death, and be gifted map, mirror and medicine- trustworthy maps to follow and locate ourselves within. Mirrors in which to see ourselves and lives . And reservoirs of medicine to fill our cups.

If you feel a call, I assure you there is big medicine waiting for you on this trip. And that there is a way for the details, logistics and finances to come together.

This is an invitation for the deep nourishment, true adventure, slowing down, restoration, care, silence and transformation. This is a place to bring all of you. A place that can hold and welcome all of you.

It’s time for us to claim the old knowing- to return to a communion with the land, with ourselves and each other, with that which is sacred, sustaining and wise, and to walk that path together. This trip is a pilgrimage that will breathe life back into your lungs, quench what is thirsty and re-member us back down to the bone. There is an other-worldly yet profoundly primal and visceral power to the stunning red rock canyons and mesas of the Southern Utah desert. This land is ancient, dramatic and speaks in hidden rhyme and verse. Bears Ears National Monument is the modern name for the unceded lands that were home to the Ancestral Pueblo people- Ute, Paiute, Hopi, Navajo, and others- prior to their migrations south where their descendants live today near and along the Rio Grande Valley. We go here with acknowledgement of the people who walked before us, to tend the conversations this land will give us, to witness and to listen.

We come together to true our lives (true as a verb). Not to get out of our lives, but to reconnect with a powerful source so we can step more fully into them, with greater coherence and soul-fire. To return home with the spark to take action, to live differently, make necessary changes, abide in a place altogether closer to our marrow.

In the words of Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estes, “One of the most calming and powerful actions you can do to intervene in a stormy world is to stand up and show your soul. Soul on deck shines like gold in dark times. The light of the soul throws sparks, can send up flares, builds signal fires, causes proper matters to catch fire. To display the lantern of soul in shadowy times like these — to be fierce and to show mercy toward others; both are acts of immense bravery and greatest necessity. Struggling souls catch light from other souls who are fully lit and willing to show it. If you would help to calm the tumult, this is one of the strongest things you can do.”

These trips are powerfully framed and seeded with a single story from the oracular book Women Who Run with the Wolves. We take the entire week to walk our way through a story, which reveals itself, chooses us, and becomes an otherwordly archetypal frame and guide of deep insight and synchronicity. We enter deep time. We gain access to deep knowing, sustenance, replenishment and wisdom. We follow and listen to whatever arises in the moment, explore and knock on doors direct-perception through gorgeous and stirring archetypal qigong flows, primal movement on the earth, rowdy laughter and play, stillness, silence, speaking, listening, land-art, solo time and more.

We will dive deep, slow down, and become the breathing body that the wild wants to be near. We will remember- in our tissue and cells-that we are part of wise living system, an intelligent web of life. We will give space for the tender, fierce and soul-soaked parts of us, touch the wildness that we know we are made of but that somehow evades us in the busyness of our lives. We will honor our cycles. Gather the courage to see hard truths, the fire to shift what no longer serves, and the balm to gentle and replenish ourselves. Here lies the support to see, be seen and dive deep. We will raise up as a “sudden village” with the longed-for medicine of face-to-face connection and intimacy.

These trips are a space of immersive refuge for anyone who identifies a woman, femme, non-binary or gender queer individual who feels called to the wild, inside and out, and to explore the depth of the feminine soul. These trips strive to be inclusive of a broad spectrum of human beings who wish to explore a reclamation of the feminine soul through a more feminine approach to nature, self and process.

** We will not be hiking for all 6 days. We will spend multiple days without packs on our backs, day hiking, resting, soaking up slow-time and sinking into the earth’s rhythm.

The deep canyons, vast expanse and infinite river tributaries of the Gila Wilderness, unceded indigenous homelands of the Chiricahua Apache peoples and the world’s first designated wilderness area, is a wild place like no other. We begin and end this trip in the geothermal waters of the Gila Hot Springs Campground- a luxury and balm like nothing else on our way in and out of the backcountry.

These are no ordinary wilderness trips. Sarah Byrden, a wilderness guide of 25 years, is a master of her guide-craft, of facilitating and opening a life-shaping dialogue and communion between the human and more than human worlds, between wild self and wild earth. These trips will be a more intimate, sensual and vulnerable encounter with wilderness than perhaps ever before in your life.

These trips are a dive into the brave and bountiful work of soul, of cycles, and of wildness – yours and that of the natural world. We let the wild into our skin, let ourselves be touched by this immensity and power and let it rearrange us, bring us back into coherence on a cellular level. Countless participants have remarked over the years that this single week in the wild is worth the transformative weight of years of “therapy”. This single week will reverberate in your cells as a counsel of elders for months and longer.

Our work here is the recovery and amplification of the indestructible soul…which is our only true aquifer of sustenance.

No matter our ancestry or heritage, across cultures we share roots that understand Nature as teacher and elder, as eternal wisdom, love and intelligence. Many of us have forgotten, been interrupted or been severed almost completely. It is possible to go into nature and miss it altogether. It happens all the time, and ironically, most often in the modern day “outdoor industry”. We can hold on to our “front-country” mindsets and use nature as an object, backdrop and stomping ground for the drives of our ego. These trips are not that. Here, we will go into the wild, admit we are that wild, and let this encounter rearrange us. We will find the wilderness and all of her cycles of life and death, and be gifted map, mirror and medicine- trustworthy maps to follow and locate ourselves within. Mirrors in which to see ourselves and lives . And reservoirs of medicine to fill our cups.

If you feel a call, I assure you there is big medicine waiting for you on this trip. And that there is a way for the details, logistics and finances to come together.

This is an invitation for the deep nourishment, true adventure, slowing down, restoration, care, silence and transformation. This is a place to bring all of you. A place that can hold and welcome all of you.

It’s time for us to claim the old knowing- to return to a communion with the land, with ourselves and each other, with that which is sacred, sustaining and wise, and to walk that path together. This trip is a pilgrimage that will breathe life back into your lungs, quench what is thirsty and re-member us back down to the bone. There is an other-worldly yet profoundly primal and visceral power to the stunning red rock canyons and mesas of the Southern Utah desert. This land is ancient, dramatic and speaks in hidden rhyme and verse. Bears Ears National Monument is the modern name for the unceded lands that were home to the Ancestral Pueblo people- Ute, Paiute, Hopi, Navajo, and others- prior to their migrations south where their descendants live today near and along the Rio Grande Valley. We go here with acknowledgement of the people who walked before us, to tend the conversations this land will give us, to witness and to listen.

We come together to true our lives (true as a verb). Not to get out of our lives, but to reconnect with a powerful source so we can step more fully into them, with greater coherence and soul-fire. To return home with the spark to take action, to live differently, make necessary changes, abide in a place altogether closer to our marrow.

In the words of Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estes, “One of the most calming and powerful actions you can do to intervene in a stormy world is to stand up and show your soul. Soul on deck shines like gold in dark times. The light of the soul throws sparks, can send up flares, builds signal fires, causes proper matters to catch fire. To display the lantern of soul in shadowy times like these — to be fierce and to show mercy toward others; both are acts of immense bravery and greatest necessity. Struggling souls catch light from other souls who are fully lit and willing to show it. If you would help to calm the tumult, this is one of the strongest things you can do.”

These trips are powerfully framed and seeded with a single story from the oracular book Women Who Run with the Wolves. We take the entire week to walk our way through a story, which reveals itself, chooses us, and becomes an otherwordly archetypal frame and guide of deep insight and synchronicity. We enter deep time. We gain access to deep knowing, sustenance, replenishment and wisdom. We follow and listen to whatever arises in the moment, explore and knock on doors direct-perception through gorgeous and stirring archetypal qigong flows, primal movement on the earth, rowdy laughter and play, stillness, silence, speaking, listening, land-art, solo time and more.

We will dive deep, slow down, and become the breathing body that the wild wants to be near. We will remember- in our tissue and cells-that we are part of wise living system, an intelligent web of life. We will give space for the tender, fierce and soul-soaked parts of us, touch the wildness that we know we are made of but that somehow evades us in the busyness of our lives. We will honor our cycles. Gather the courage to see hard truths, the fire to shift what no longer serves, and the balm to gentle and replenish ourselves. Here lies the support to see, be seen and dive deep. We will raise up as a “sudden village” with the longed-for medicine of face-to-face connection and intimacy.

These trips are a space of immersive refuge for anyone who identifies a woman, femme or a non-binary individual who feels called to the wild, inside and out, and to explore the depth of the feminine soul. These trips strive to be inclusive of a broad spectrum of human beings who wish to explore a reclamation of the feminine soul through a more feminine approach to nature, self and process.

** We will not be hiking for all 6 days. We will spend multiple days without packs on our backs, day hiking, resting, soaking up slow-time and sinking into the earth’s rhythm.

Prerequisites

• No prior backpacking experience necessary. Participants must be physically able to carry a 35-40lb pack, and to 2-6  miles per day with this pack on their back. (You definitely don’t have to think this will be easy, it just needs to be physically possible for you- the rest is a mental dance)
• *Participants need to know they have the confidence, physical centering, and psychic anchoring to hold them in time and space. A clear sense of containment is required. This trip is not a fit for those who may be currently feeling destabilized, traumatized, struggling to heal, or in need of reestablishing basic nervous system or life coherency.”  (*Thank you to Liz Koch for this language).We will be moving not only into the vast wilderness of the backcountry, but into the wilds of our psyches, hearts and somas.  Of course, much healing is available here. And so many of us are been moving through instability in a shifting world…if you’d like to join but are wondering if this may apply to you, please reach out to Sarah. She is happy to get on the phone to see if this trip and timing is a fit for you.

Prerequisites

• No prior backpacking experience necessary. Participants must be physically able to carry a 35-40lb pack, and to 2-6  miles per day with this pack on their back. (You definitely don’t have to think this will be easy, it just needs to be physically possible for you- the rest is a mental dance)
• *Participants need to know they have the confidence, physical centering, and psychic anchoring to hold them in time and space. A clear sense of containment is required. This trip is not a fit for those who may be currently feeling destabilized, traumatized, struggling to heal, or in need of reestablishing basic nervous system or life coherency.” We will be moving not only into the vast wilderness of this coastline, but into the wilds of our psyches, hearts and somas. ( *Thank you to Liz Koch for this language). Of course, much healing is available here. And so many of us have been moving through instability…if you’d like to join but are wondering if this may apply to you, please reach out to Sarah. She is happy to get on the phone to see if this trip and timing is a fit for you.

What’s the Plan? Trip Details:

Location: This trip will take place in the stunning Gila Wilderness of Southern, NM. We will begin our trip soaking in the natural and healing waters of the Gila Hot Springs, with the option of soaking in this bone-quenching hot water on the night we hike out of the wilderness as well.

Meeting Time and Place: We will meet at 1 pm on September 1 at Doc Campbell’s Post in Mimbres NM. We will then caravan to the Gila Hotsprings Campground (3 minutes away) where we will stay for the night- we will have lunch (please bring your own lunch for this day), organize gear, settle in together and have ample time to soak in exquisite hot spring waters under a canopy of stars. We will wake early on September 2, have more time to soak in these divine waters, drive to our trailhead begin hiking from there. Bathing suits are required during daylight hours at the hot springs. 

Coming out of the “field” on September 6:  We will emerge from the wilderness in the afternoon of September 6, arrive back to our cars, unpack and caravan as a group to Doc Campbell’s outpost (who will be staying open late and waiting just for us) for an early dinner together before everyone heads in whatever direction they’re going. (Doc’s will have hot pizza, salads, brownies and ice cream ready for us, gluten-free options included. This dinner is not covered in the cost of the program and will run about $15-20/per person) From here, it is a personal option if you’d like to return to the Gila Hot Springs Campground for a night of soaking, camping and integration before making your way home on the 7th  (reservations are required and Sarah has made a handful for us in advance).  These hot springs are only a 15 minute drive from Doc’s and make for a delicious night of integration and body-care.  Or you may wish to depart from our dinner at Doc’s and head to your airport departure city/a hotel/various creature comforts. 

Travel: Please plan to arrive near (within a 5-6 hour drive) of our field area no later than August 31 and DO NOT BOOK any travel or make any plans prior to September 7. We will not make it back in time for travel plans on September 6. You can drive to a hotel or your departure city on the night of the 6th, but do not plan to catch a flight or meet anyone on this day.  Requested time off from family and work should be no shorter than August 31-September 7. If you can give yourself an extra day on either end of the trip, especially upon landing back into your life, this is a very kind idea if it’s logistically possible. And if not, you can trust that flow too. 

Closest Airports: 

NOTE: These approximate drive times are to Doc Campbell’s Outpost in Mimbres, NM 

El Paso TX- 4 hours hour drive .
Tucson AZ – 4.5 hours  hour drive
Albuquerque, NM:  5.5 hour drive
Santa Fe, NM- 6.5 hours
Silver City, NM: 1.5 hours
Truth or Consequences, NM: 3.5 hours

** PLEASE NOTE: Silver City is a 1.5 hours SOUTH of the Gila, and is the closest large town (population 10,000) with amenities (accommodation, 1 rental car company, hotels etc.). There is a very tiny airport here, and flights available from ABQ. No public transport available from here to the Gila.

Truth or Consequences,  NM is good stop over if you are coming from the North (Santa Fe/ ABQ). The Gila Wilderness is very remote! Which makes it very special.

CARPOOLS AND COST SHARING: As soon as our circle begins to gather, we’ll connect you to coordinate carpools and sharing the cost of rental cars and accommodations, which we highly recommend. This coordination happens every trip and creates a really fantastic connection and spirit of adventure before the trip. Others make it more of a solo adventure, which is just as beautiful if needed and preferred.

Meals: We will provide all meals from dinner on September 1-lunch on September 6, and then we’ll have that group dinner on the evening of Sept 6. You do not have to think about or shop for these. We will be well fed and you’ll have a chance to tell us about your dietary restrictions on your medical form. Please come with a sac lunch on September 1 and plan to pay for your own dinner at Doc’s on September 6 (per-determined menu)

ACCOMMODATIONS FOR THE NIGHT BEFORE AND ON THE FINAL DAY OF OUR TRIP: We’ll be meeting at 1 pm on September 1, which will give you several hours in the morning to drive to the Gila. Please plan accordingly. Do not plan on departing from Doc’s until at least 7 pm  on our last day, September 6. Please consult a map so that you make a realistic plan in terms of drive times. It will help that you’ll have a full belly for whatever you decide to do. 

Pre-Trip ZOOM call: Wednesday, Wednesday August 14 at 6:00 pm MDT

A Wild Companion: I bring my 2 year old pup, Fili, on these trips. It is very special to have a canine friend along for this journey. She is an incredibly sweet, sensitive, and lovely creature and has only ever added to these trips. If you are allergic, fear not, she will never enter your tent and she will be happy to oblige if you don’t wish to pet her.

What’s the Plan? Trip Details:

Location: This trip will take place in the stunning Gila Wilderness of Southern, NM. We will begin our trip soaking in the natural and healing waters of the Gila Hot Springs, with the option of soaking in this bone-quenching hot water on the night we hike out of the wilderness as well.

Meeting Time and Place: We will meet at 12 pm on September 1 at Doc Campbell’s Post in Mimbres NM. We will then caravan to the Gila Hotsprings Campground (3 minutes away) where we will stay for the night- we will have lunch (please bring your own lunch for this day – you can pick up chips, sodas at  Doc Campbell’s Outpost as well), organize gear, settle in together and have ample time to soak in exquisite hot spring waters under a canopy of stars. We will wake early on September 2, have more time to soak in these divine waters, drive to our trailhead begin hiking from there. Bathing suits are required during daylight hours at the hot springs.

Coming out of the “field” on September 6:  We will emerge from the wilderness in the afternoon of September 6, arrive back to our cars, unpack and caravan as a group to Doc Campbell’s outpost (who will be staying open late and waiting just for us) for an early dinner together before everyone heads in whatever direction they’re going. (Doc’s will have hot pizza, salads, brownies and ice cream ready for us, gluten-free options included. This dinner is not covered in the cost of the program and will run about $10-15/per person) From here, it is a personal option if you’d like to return to the Gila Hot Springs Campground for a night of soaking, camping and integration before making your way home on the 7th  (reservations are required and Sarah has made a handful for us in advance).  These hot springs are only a 15 minute drive from Doc’s and make for a delicious night of integration and body-care.  Or you may wish to depart from our dinner at Doc’s and head to your airport departure city/a hotel/various creature comforts.

Travel: Please plan to arrive near (within a 5-6 hour drive) of our field area no later than August 31 and DO NOT BOOK any travel or make any plans prior to September 7. We will not make it back in time for travel plans on September 6. You can drive to a hotel or your departure city on the night of the 6th, but do not plan to catch a flight or meet anyone on this day.  Requested time off from family and work should be no shorter than August 31-September 7. If you can give yourself an extra day on either end of the trip, especially upon landing back into your life, this is a very kind idea if it’s logistically possible. And if not, you can trust that flow too.

Closest Airports: 

NOTE: These approximate drive times are to Doc Campbell’s Outpost in Mimbres, NM 

El Paso TX- 4 hours hour drive .
Tucson AZ – 4.5 hours  hour drive
Albuquerque, NM:  5.5 hour drive
Santa Fe, NM- 6.5 hours
Silver City, NM: 1.5 hours
Truth or Consequences, NM: 3.5 hours

** PLEASE NOTE: Silver City is a 1.5 hours SOUTH of the Gila, and is the closest large town (population 10,000) with amenities (accommodation, rental cars, hotels etc.). There is a very tiny airport here, and flights available from ABQ.

Truth or Consequences,  NM is good stop over if you are coming from the North (Santa Fe/ ABQ). The Gila Wilderness is very remote! Which makes it very special.

CARPOOLS AND COST SHARING: As soon as our circle begins to gather, we’ll connect you to coordinate carpools and sharing the cost of rental cars and accommodations, which we highly recommend. This coordination happens every trip and creates a really fantastic connection and spirit of adventure before the trip. Others make it more of a solo adventure, which is just as beautiful if needed and preferred.

Meals: We will provide all meals from dinner on September 1-lunch on September 6. You do not have to think about or shop for these. We will be well fed and you’ll have a chance to tell us about your dietary restrictions on your medical form. Please come with a sac lunch on September 1 and plan to pay for your own dinner at Doc’s on September 6.

ACCOMMODATIONS FOR THE NIGHT BEFORE AND ON THE FINAL DAY OF OUR TRIP: We’ll be meeting at 12 pm on September 1, which will give you several hours in the morning to drive to the Gila. Please plan accordingly. Do not plan on departing from Doc’s until at least 6 pm on our last day, September 6. Please consult a map so that you make a realistic plan in terms of drive times. It will help that you’ll have a full belly for whatever you decide to do.

Pre-Trip ZOOM call: Wednesday, Wednesday August 14 at 6:00 pm MDT

A Wild Companion: I bring my 2 year old pup, Fili, on these trips. It is very special to have a canine friend along for this journey. She is an incredibly sweet, sensitive, and lovely creature and has only ever added to these trips. If you are allergic, fear not, she will never enter your tent and she will be happy to oblige if you don’t wish to pet her.