Registration is now full and closed. However, if you'd like to put your name on the waitlist please email Evan Miller
Join Pathways Retreat Codirector Evan Miller as he takes rest, reflection, and renewal on the road for a seven-night immersion in desert spirituality. Led by Todd Wynward, author Rewilding the Way: Break Free to Follow An Untamed God and founder of the Taos Initiative for Life Together, we will explore the desert spirituality of Judeo-Christianity’s wilderness prophets and desert monks in the wild, remote canyon country of southeast Utah.
This event will be held in early October, 2022. (Final date will be determined by April 1, 2022, subject to permitting by the National Forest Service.)
Expand the links below for more details
what is the itinerary?
We will start and end the trip near the town of Bluff in SE Utah. After spending an afternoon and evening in orientation & preparation, we will launch on the first morning in tandem inflatable kayaks for four nights from Sand Island to Mexican Hat. This 27-mile river journey takes us through scenic red rock canyon walls that include amazing Anasazi ruins and rock art, miles of remote wilderness and wildlife, and a few class II-III whitewater rapids. Once off the river, we will spend two more nights camping, including an overnight solo. Southeast Utah’s stark natural beauty and isolated wilderness is the perfect backdrop to evoke the desert spirituality of Judeo-Christianity’s wilderness prophets and desert monks, which will be a throughline of our experience together.
how do I get there?
Participants are responsible for their transit to and from the trip launch point in Bluff, Utah. Carpools are encouraged.
what is the tentative cost?
$675 per person for eight days / seven nights, based on a group of 8-10 participants. Cost may vary as the date approaches and specifics become defined.
what equipment will be provided?
All group food, all group camping equipment, kitchen equipment, and group river boating gear are included. Personal equipment such as tents, sleeping bags, sleeping pads, PFDs and some river clothing may be available upon request.
Please do not come on this trip if desert spirituality, remote wilderness travel, and deep personal reflection is not of interest to you.
benchmarks to be met for this trip to happen
By December 31, 2021: Baseline enrollment and $100 deposit from at least 4 participants. By March 15, 2022: Baseline enrollment and $100 deposit from 8 participants. April 1, 2022: Dates and costs finalized for trip; confirmation email with details and forms sent out. May 1, 2022: Med forms and trip registration paperwork completed by all participants. June 1, 2022: Full balances paid by 8 participants so that Todd can make necessary significant financial commitments [permit fees, staff, gear, food, programming, etc].
Deposits will be refunded in full after April 1, 2022, if the trip is not subscribed with 8-10 participants. Deposits will not be refunded if you withdraw after March 15, 2022.
Todd Wynward is a public school founder, small-scale farmer, wilderness educator, and Mennonite minister for watershed discipleship. He has been engaging in leading wilderness treks, education reform, and social change movements for twenty years, and has spent more than a thousand nights outdoors. He and his wife Peg founded a wilderness-based public charter school in 2001 and are now creating the Taos Initiative for Life Together [TiLT], a place-based incubator for intentional life change emerging in Taos, NM. His recent book, Rewilding the Way, was published by Herald Press. Find more of his writings and doings at taostilt.org or reach him via email.