Trip Overview
9am Friday - 6pm Sunday
Big Sur, CA
Join us for 3 days, 2 nights in the Ventana Wilderness. This Backpacking Journey is an opportunity to be in ceremony with the land, self, and community through a 6-hour Solo Vigil.
No backpacking experience is required, and all levels of backpacking experience are welcome!
What to Expect:
• Beautiful Views of Ventana Wilderness
• ~2-3 Mile Hike One-Way
• Community Meals (dinners included)
• Fire Circles
• Council
• Songs & Music
• Embodiment Practices
• Nature-based Mindfulness
• Plant ID & Natural History
• Nature-based Ritual
• 6-Hour Solo Vigil
• A Break from Technology
• Two Experienced Guides (WFR Certified)
• A Loving & Safe Container
Basic Itinerary
Friday:
Landing
Morning:
Arrival &
Hike-In
Afternoon:
Set-Up Camp
Earth-Connection Practice
Evening:
Dinner
Fire Council & Intention Setting
Solo Vigil Preparations
Saturday:
Solo Vigil
Morning & Afternoon:
6-Hour Solo Vigil
“The work we have to do can be seen as a kind of coming alive...an awakening into our true nature.”
- Joanna Macy
Evening:
Fire Council & Storytelling
Sunday:
Incorporation
Morning:
Closing Circle
Hike-Out
Afternoon/Evening:
Return
Why a Solo Vigil?
For as long as we know, humans have gone to nature to listen and connect.
To connect with our innate belonging to the Earth,
to our purpose,
to our calling.
To listen deeply to our soul, and to the soul of the Earth.
The solo vigil is a time to sever from all modern life and come into raw connection with your own innate belonging and relationship with the Earth. Held in community, this is a powerful opportunity to remember who you truly are and listen to what wants to emerge from your soul.
As a practice in the art of emptiness, you may choose to fast from food during this time. In general, we orient a lot around food in our daily lives, and when this is taken away, we are allowed to drop deeper into the wisdom of our soul. A deeper listening happens when we aren't distracted by our usual grind.
For many, spending time alone in nature while fasting is scary and edgy while also exhilarating and empowering. Fear is normal, and helps you take care of yourself.
Your Guides
Deanna Renee Falge & Kelly Goldberg
Deanna
Deanna is a wilderness guide, ceremonialist, eco-somatic therapist, and dancer. She has dedicated her life to supporting the unfolding of people’s life journey and transformation by nurturing their emotional and spiritual connection with the Earth. Her personal peak experiences on the land have served as essential anchors for navigating her life and purpose, and she wants everyone to have this same opportunity.
Deanna brings a calm yet playful presence, attuned facilitation, and a reverence for the wilderness solo ceremony. She is trained in the art of wilderness vision fast guiding through the School of Lost Borders and the Earth-Based Institute. Deanna has also been deeply influenced by the work of the Animas Valley Institute, as well as her studies and training in dance, somatic therapy, embodiment facilitation, and outdoor education. Deanna holds a Masters in Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT) with a specialization in eco-somatic therapy, and a B.S. in Biological Psychology. Deanna is also a certified Nature-Connected Life Coach (NCC), certified Transformational Wilderness Guide (TWG) and Wilderness First Responder (WFR).
Kelly
Kelly is an accomplished backpacking guide, outdoor education facilitator, and trained ecotherapist with over a decade of experience in various settings and modalities.
Since participating as a high-school student himself in 2010, he has been leading a transformational group and community supported, nature-based workshop on personal growth for youth with Carmel High School (CHS) for ten years now. As a backpacking guide, he has led groups of youth and young adults on introductory backpacking experiences for 6 years and counting with the Ventana Wilderness Alliance and CHS. During the summer of 2018, Kelly participated in training on facilitation of wilderness rite of passage ceremonies with Rite of Passage Journeys, then proceeded to lead a group on a backpacking trip and wilderness ceremony as a guide with the same company. Since becoming a licensed associate therapist in 2024, and training with the Earthbody Institute in Ecotherapy practices, Kelly designed and implemented a handful of ecotherapy interventions for a team of clinical mental health therapists to utilize in clinical settings in collaboration with Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy techniques.
Being deeply supported in his own personal and professional growth by the rhythms, seasons, and landscapes of the more-than-human-world along like-minded individuals with shared reverence and experience, all moved Kelly to culminate his work as a guide for others on the path of life. Kelly brings his natural skill of empathic listening, and reflection to his work, with existential and analytical influence from the perspectives of Carl Jung, Ram Dass, Francis Weller, Joseph Campbell, and Bill Plotkin, to name a few.
With his initial connection to wilderness and ample work within the Ventana, Kelly brings a wealth of knowledge and intuition among the Big Sur backcountry.
He holds a BA in Adventure Education from Prescott College, MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from UMass, and is a California licensed Associate Professional Clinical Counselor. Kelly additionally holds a Wilderness First Responder (WFR) from the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS).
Tuition & Registration
$250 - $500 Sliding Scale
Please choose an amount that reflects your financial capacity
This program is offered at a significantly lower cost than many wilderness programs of similar length and scope. We are choosing to offer it at this reduced sliding scale because this is the first year that Deanna and Kelly will be guiding this particular container together. With that said, the lower cost does not reflect the depth of preparation, intention, training, or level of facilitation being offered. We each bring years of experience guiding wilderness solo ceremonies independently, as well as many seasons of leading backpacking trips and holding space together in the Ventana Wilderness. The lower cost reflects our desire to begin this shared offering in a way that is accessible, intimate, and allows us to feel into how it unfolds together.
We honor that some can contribute more than others. Your chosen contribution supports the sustainability of this work and the continuation of future programs.
What's Included:
• Pre-Trip Support
(e.g. gear list, physical prep, etc)
• Dinners for Friday and Saturday
• Cooking & Kitchen Supplies
• One-on-One & Group Support
• Two Experienced Guides
What's Not Included:
• Travel to-and-from Trailhead
(we will help coordinate carpools)
• Lunch and Breakfast
• Personal Snacks
• Camping Gear such as tent, pad, bag, etc.
(Note: we can help you find any gear that you need)
Application: