Wilderness Quest in the Utah Canyonlands
April 29 – May 8, 2011
This is a nine-day journey into the desert wilderness of southeast Utah. Out in these remote lands lies a vast world of space and silence, slickrock canyons, mesas and ancient towers of stone. To walk alone into this world is to step into the center of your life. It is fitting place to renew, clarify, or determine your life’s purpose and direction.
The Quest begins with setting up a group base camp. For three days we train together in contemplative and traditional ways of being in nature, methods that evoke initiatory states of awareness. We work together to clarify your personal intentions and prepare for the dynamics of fasting, solitude and exposure. Emphasis is placed on ensuring one’s own safety and the safety of everyone on the Quest.
On the morning of our fourth day in the desert you will ceremonially cross a threshold to spend three days and nights alone in a place of power that you have chosen. Most choose to fast while on their solo, consuming only water. In this sacred world and time nothing happens by accident, and you are given the chance to attune your inner life with the rhythms of nature. Who am I? Where do I go from here? Who are my people? What is my gift? These are some of the questions that may arise for you while you are alone on your Quest.
During this time Elizabeth and Elias remain at basecamp to provide physical and spiritual support as needed. Upon your return to basecamp we share stories and begin a group process of gentle re-entry, providing opportunities to deepen and integrate your experience. On the final night we will share a dinner together and a night’s lodging in Moab, Utah, to help ground our return to the “civilized” world.
Logistics and Costs
The Quest begins and ends in Moab, Utah. We meet in Moab at 7 PM on Friday April 29. Besides driving to Moab, the best option for those coming from a distance is to fly to Salt Lake City, Utah, and take a scheduled shuttle to Moab from there (a beautiful 4 1/2 hours drive). Your return travel day is Sunday, May 8.
The fee for this Quest is $900 per person; couples: $1,600. You are expected to cover your own travel expenses to and from Moab, plus your meals in town and motel cost for two nights in Moab (about $50/night double occupancy.) In addition, the cost for food at basecamp is divided equally among participants—about $125 per person.)
Registration
To register send your name, address, and email address to info@pathofthefriend.org; telephone: 1-303-216-2294. A preparation packet with a more complete description of the Wilderness Quest, equipment list, logistics details, and a copy of The Journey to the Sacred Mountain: A Vision Fast Handbook for Adults will be sent upon receipt of your registration.
Guides
Elizabeth Rabia Roberts and Elias Amidon are directors of the Boulder Institute for Nature and the Human Spirit. They have been guiding quests for the past 20 years. They are trained wilderness rites-of-passage guides and use a pan-cultural approach to personal transformation and wilderness experience. During the ‘90’s they helped found and teach the masters program in Environmental Leadership at Naropa University, as well as the Institute for Deep Ecology. For the past 25 years they have been active in teaching and service in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and the Americas. They have served on peace teams in Nicaragua, Burma, and Iraq. Their work is grounded in Buddhist and Sufi traditions. Elias and Elizabeth are editors of the books Earth Prayers, Life Prayers, and Prayers for a Thousand Years.
One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began,
though the voices around you kept shouting
their bad advice -
though the whole house
began to tremble
and you felt the old tug
at your ankles.
“Mend my life!”
each voice cried.
But you didn’t stop.
You knew what you had to do,
though the wind pried
with its stiff fingers
at the very foundations,
though their melancholy
was terrible.
It was already late
enough, and a wild night, and
the road full of fallen
branches and stones.
But little by little,
as you left their voices behind,
the stars began to burn
through sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice,
which you slowly
recognized as your own,
that kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world,
determined to do
the only thing you could do,
determined to save
the only life you could save.
- Mary Oliver
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mSee Letter from the Road #22, “Being Alone.”
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The Path of the Friend is a project of the Boulder Institute for Nature and the Human Spirit,
a non-profit 501(c)3 organization. 2434 Mapleton Avenue, Boulder, Colorado 80304 USA.