Rites of Passage has announced a Spring Wilderness Vision Quest program in Death Valley, with the next session scheduled for March 24 – April 1, 2026. This nine-day structured experience responds to growing demand for authentic transformational opportunities in nature, designed for individuals seeking personal growth and self-discovery through immersion in wilderness. The organization has guided these journeys for more than 40 years, applying pan-cultural teachings and eco-psychological practices that support participants through profound life transitions.
More details can be found at https://wildernessquest.org/schedule/spring-wilderness-quest-26/
Participants in previous programs have reported finding clarity, purpose, and deeper connection to themselves and nature. These outcomes reflect the time-tested methodology Rites of Passage has refined over four decades. The program addresses a universal human need for meaningful rites of passage in modern life, offering a framework that honors indigenous wisdom while serving contemporary seekers. Death Valley National Park requires permits for overnight backcountry use in certain popular areas. The organization maintains full compliance with regulatory requirements to ensure participant safety and wilderness protection.
The program integrates five core elements that work together as both challenges and supports: solitude, immersion in nature, fasting, pan-cultural teachings, and community. Fasting during the solo period typically lasts three days, though modifications are available for those with individual needs. The Four Directions teachings provide a philosophical framework, guiding participants through stages of release, inner listening, claiming personal power, and connecting with the spirit of nature. These elements draw on more than 40 years of experience and include dialogue with the natural world, ceremonial practices, and journaling.
The nine-day journey unfolds in four distinct phases. Transition and orientation begin at a base camp near the wilderness, where participants gather for community meals, orientation, and their first ceremony. After selecting solo sites in the backcountry, each person departs for a period of solitude in nature, living alone while fasting or eating lightly. The solo culminates in an all-night vigil, a threshold moment representing symbolic death and rebirth. During this vigil, participants remain awake within a stone circle from dusk until dawn. Upon return to base camp, the group reconnects for integration work, examining how to carry insights and opened hearts back into daily life and relationships.
Community serves as a transformative container throughout the experience and beyond. Participants form a safe space for sharing and witnessing, which extends from the field into their wider circles of family, friends, and society. This emphasis ensures that personal healing becomes relational and contributes to social renewal. The gifts of understanding and compassion flow outward from the ceremony. The organization teaches and models ceremonial practices, including singing, chanting, dancing, and personal ceremony, all designed to help participants translate their wilderness experience into meaningful action.
Registration and additional program information are available through the organization’s website. Interested individuals can learn about the program structure, review safety protocols, and examine how the experience can support various life stages, from coming into adulthood to entering elderhood. The organization’s staff serve as guides and teachers, mirroring and supporting participants as they prepare for their solo and integrate their experience afterward.
For more information, visit https://wildernessquest.org/
Rites of Passage
PO Box 8454
Bend
Oregon
97708
United States
