This fall we gather in the coastal mountains of Big Sur  — backpacking through oak and redwood forest, sleeping under stars, moving with the near presence of the great Pacific Ocean.

The trip draws from the five elemental domains of Enliven. And at the heart of the trip, each person spends 24 hours in solo fast — a ceremonial time alone on the land, without food, in intentional solitude to release what you no longer need to carry and step into what is being born within you.

This is wilderness retreat that takes the inner work seriously. Light enough to laugh in, deep enough to cross real ground.

Space // Awareness — sitting practice each morning, contemplative inquiry, dharma threads woven through the days.

Earth // Embodiment — qigong and gentle movement on rest days. Slow walking on the land. Time at creeks and meadows.

Water // Relation — partner sentence stems for inquiry. Council circles to set intention before solo, to return after, to share what's been moving. Group practice for honest contact.

Fire // Threshold — a 24-hour solo fast on the land. Council before to prepare. Story council after to receive what was found. The Four Shields life map as a frame for the inquiry.

Air // Play — embodied games, simple contact play, song around the fire, the aliveness that keeps deep work from becoming heavy.

These weave together across the trip — not as a fixed schedule but as a living container shaped to what the group, the land, and the moment ask for.

The trails we walk in the Santa Lucia Mountains cross the ancestral lands of the Esselen and Salinan peoples — who lived, hunted, gathered, and held ceremony in these coastal mountains for thousands of years. We carry their presence with us as we walk.

Our journey covers approximately 10.5 miles total over five days — an out-and-back route beginning and ending at the Kirk Creek Trailhead on Highway 1, with Vicente Flat Camp in Hare Canyon as base camp for the heart of the trip.


Day 1 | Thursday, October 15

Meet at the Kirk Creek Trailhead on Highway 1, just north of Lucia. Orientation, gear check, and group opening. We begin our ascent above the Pacific — the first two miles offer sweeping views up and down the Big Sur coast before the trail turns inland into Hare Canyon. We arrive at Vicente Flat Camp in the afternoon, beneath old-growth redwoods with Cone Peak rising above the canyon. Evening council to set intention for the days ahead.

Estimated mileage: ~5.3
Estimated elevation: +2,900' / -400'

Day 2 | Friday, October 16
Morning sitting practice and movement. A full day at base camp — the nervous system settles, the land begins to work. Slow time at Hare Creek, embodied games, partner inquiry, council. In the afternoon, participants walk the canyon to identify their solo spot for tomorrow. Evening council: each person speaks the threshold question they are carrying into the solo.Estimated mileage: 1–2 (exploratory, no packs)

Day 3 | Saturday, October 17
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Solo fast begins at sunrise. Each participant departs base camp for their chosen spot along Hare Creek — dispersed upstream and downstream through the redwood canyon, within calling distance but in genuine solitude. No food, no devices, no companions. Spencer holds base camp throughout. The canyon, the creek, and Cone Peak above hold what words cannot.

Estimated mileage: 0 (stationary for solo)

Day 4 | Sunday, October 18
Solo fast concludes at sunrise. Each participant returns to base camp through the morning. Story council to receive what was found — each person speaks from their solo without interpretation. Shared meal. Rest. In the afternoon, an optional walk up the trail toward Cone Peak Road for views across the Santa Lucia range and down to the Pacific. Evening closing council.

Estimated mileage: 1–3 (optional, no packs)

Day 5 | Monday, October 19
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Final morning practice. Break camp and walk out the way we came — the same trail, different walkers. The descent back toward the ocean, the Pacific reappearing, the world returning. We close at the trailhead at approximately 3pm.
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Estimated mileage: ~5.3
Estimated elevation: +400' / -2,900'