CA Fall Vision Fast
Oct 24th, 2027 - Nov 4th, 2027 | Death Valley, California | Petra Lentz-Snow, Gretchen (Grae) Gerlach
“To thrive, to live, we must come to the thinnest places, where life and death aren’t opposites but bedfellows.” – Bayo Akomolafe
At the core, rite of passage journeys help us remember the medicine of death and rebirth. To become full members of creation, we must individuate. We must die to what is no longer true, and perhaps has never been true for us, and follow the call of our heart to let life use us fully and in accordance with our soul.
This truth is the foundation of every vision fast. And it reverberates poignantly in our bones when we venture into the threshold in fall, at a time when everything in nature is deeply engaged in the practice of dying. Every seed, every flower, every insect and mammal, we all share the precious impermanence of this body. Death is how life renews.
The CA Fall Fast takes place in Tüpippüh (Death Valley), during the very days that cultures around the world recognize as a time where the veil is thin between the worlds.
Suspended at the mid-point between the fall equinox and the winter solstice, the four day solo invites us to sit into the fertile darkness and pause. What needs to die, what needs to be released? How do we die to the old stories so that we don’t die from them? What conversations need to be had in the long nights, under the star strewn sky, to make it good with our lives and our relationships, to complete unfinished business, to make amends where needed and sever from patterns that no longer serve?
We may be solo in the threshold but we do not do this work alone. As we sit with our deepest fears and longings we are held by our ancestors and all that is holy to us. Time out on the land in ceremony – our body on the body of the Earth – beckons us to connect with the wholeness at the source, below whatever layer of trauma and separation we are holding in our life and lineage. So that from here, we may bring the love and the courage up to the surface necessary to show up in the next chapter of our life and of the human story with our whole self and grounded in service of life.
If we are to serve creations ongoing love story, we must find our song line; we must make a connection with the greater story that birthed us, and live the medicine forward that life seeded in us.
Finding what is our calling, how life wants to use us, who we are now and who we are no longer is indispensable, not only for ourselves but for our families, our communities and the living earth. This ceremony is an invitation to do so.
Who this offering is for: We welcome all cultural and gender identities and expressions to this ceremony. Diversity is a gift to the whole and we strive to reflect this in our guide team while actively building pathways toward fuller versions of inclusivity in the future. For more information or concrete concerns please reach out to [email protected]
Program Overview: The twelve day ceremony involves four days of instruction, four days and nights of solo time, and four days of incorporation. This is an immersion ceremony that will take place in Death Valley National Park (Tüpippüh Valley) on the ancestral, and present day homelands of the Timbisha Shoshone. We will gather and camp as a community for the first few days, working with intentions as well as in the last few days as we sit with the stories that came back from the land with you.
PREPARATION: Your preparation begins the moment you decide to come, and perhaps it has been happening long before that. Upon enrollment you’ll receive our official welcome letter with more directions on next steps. Preparation facilitates a natural kind of ripening toward the threshold and we recommend enrolling severals months ahead of time. Working with and severing from patterns or parts of ourselves that may want to be shed in the solo threshold on the land is a vital part of the ceremony
THRESHOLD: Your guides will maintain a safe perimeter around the area while you are alone. The solo days are Oct 28 – 31. Another participant’s solo site will be within walking distance. The two of you will partner each other by leaving assurance of your well-being at a stone pile erected along the borders of your respective areas once a day. This will be your only daily task and tether to your community during the precious four days and nights that you are out on the earth in ceremony. The only rule is do no harm to self or other. And return to us safely!
INCORPORATION: You will come back to human companionship and a break-fast feast on Nov 1. In council we invite you to articulate some of what happened in the vastness of the threshold. If for no other reason than to say ‘this really happened’, and honor the new medicine that is returning with you. As guides, we will listen, confirm, reflect and empower you — to live it forward. When all the stories have been told, we will celebrate together before you return to your life and your community.
Letter of Intent: As part of the preparation process, we ask that you write a letter of intent. What is calling you to this ceremony? What needs to die? Is there a particular life stage or event you are marking? You are welcome to take your time with your letter, as it is often a longer process to formulate the core knowing of why you are called to this ceremony. However, we ask that you have it ready at least a month before the program.
Program Questions Contact: Petra Lentz-Snow at [email protected]
Submit Waitlist form
This program is full; however, you may add your name to the Waitlist by clicking the Waitlist button below.
Submit enrollment form
Please fill out and submit the enrollment form and then pay the program deposit below. Before you pay the deposit, please read deposit section below, all deposits are non-refundable and non-transferable. After your enrollment form is complete, please submit all health and liability forms.
Pay program deposit
Deposits: This deposit signifies your commitment to the program and is deducted from the tuition balance. All deposits are non-refundable and non-transferable. They cover the work of the specific course you signed up for, including all communication involved as well as the fee that guides pay to the school administration for the course accounting.
Additional Deposit: Some programs require a second deposit to help us affirm commitments. Last minute cancellations make it hard to fill openings and incur a loss of income to the School and the guides.
Tuition Balance: Balance of tuition can be paid before or upon arrival. Simply deduct any deposits made from the amount you’ve chosen on the sliding scale.
Additional course details & Materials
The Fall Vision Fast is held as a 12-day immersion program in the wide open expanse of Tüpippüh Valley (Death Valley National Park), where we will hold camp among creosote bushes, ancient rock and sweeping vistas. We will meet at 9 AM on October 24th at our meeting place in Death Valley and then drive out to our base-camp as a group. The program will conclude by 2pm on November 4th. ADDITIONAL FEES: National Park Entrance ($30 per vehicle unless you hold a valid Park Pass) and $70 for camping.
You will be responsible for bringing your own food and equipment, though we can provide some gear if needed. We ask everyone to come prepared to live self-sufficiently. You will need to bring shelter and clothing suitable for a full range of inclement weather.
All participants must submit the required health questionnaire and liability form.
If you have questions about the enrollment process contact us at [email protected] or call 760-938-3333.
We acknowledge much of our work, including our headquarters, are in Payahuunadü, the ancestral, historical and contemporary homelands of the Nüümü and Newe peoples. We recognize the reality of colonial land theft, broken treaties and genocide that impact the people of this land and the land they continue to steward and are inseparable from. We contribute time, energy and funds to local Indigenous organizations and projects toward the restoring of right relations. This 12 day immersion program will take place in Tüpippüh Valley (Land of Red Ochre, Death Valley National Park), on the homelands of the Timbisha Shoshone. Both guides will donate a portion of the program profits to the tribe for land use during this program.
To learn more about our commitment to regenerative relationships please visit Cultural Relations.
