CA Men’s Rite of Passage
May 27th, 2025 - Jun 7th, 2025 | Big Pine, California | Sam DeBoskey, Scott Davidson
The world is changing fast… and we must do our best to keep up. We now face unprecedented waves of transformation. The blossoming and decay of our modern ways is calling attention to fundamental questions about who we are and how we relate — to ourselves, each other, and the world we’re part of. As we balance on the precipice it’s crucial that we take steps towards the sense of belonging that is our birthright while attending to the legacies of harm, hurt or trauma that are ours to heal. What those steps are is a mystery for each of us to enter, to seek, and say yes to if we dare. Where this takes us is the story that can carry us forward – filling our lives with meaning, with guidance, and a new sense of who we are and what’s possible.
These questions illuminate a new and yet very old story about what it means to be a man. In these times – what does that mean? What are the inherited forms of masculinity that are calling out to be transformed? Healed? Loved? What are the gifts and the wounds that need to be grieved, praised, and renewed to truly honor and embody this shared identity of manhood?
Through this rite-of-passage we invite those who identify as Men to take a leap – to look deeply at our notions of manhood – and to enter the threshold with an empty belly and open heart. Alone and together we’ll embark on a shared journey towards finding integrity, towards finding ourselves and community, and towards finding our yet-to-be written futures that are calling us to slow down and show up to embody the transformation these times are asking of us.
The time we spend in the high desert will be an opportunity to let what is unimportant fall away, to go alone into nature, without food and a bare minimum of equipment, for four days and nights and to feast on what we truly hunger for. In this space of solitude one can surrender to the mirror of the natural world and the depth-of-being that is calling out just beneath the surface. Are you hungry? Are you ready for this? Our world and the mystery we’re part of is waiting…
Program Overview:
This ceremony involves several days of preparation, 4 days and nights of fasting alone in a wilderness place, and a few days of incorporation. You will be supported physically, psychologically, mentally, and spiritually, so that you might fully benefit from this experience of fasting alone in the wilderness. You will cross the threshold and enter into your ceremony, making it your own. During the final days, we will join together for the sharing of stories. The guides will listen, support your understanding of the experience, and challenge you to give your vision practical feet – to live the life you have rightfully claimed as your own! When all the stories have been told, we will celebrate together before you return to your community.
Program Questions Contact: Sam DeBoskey 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
We encourage people to arrive by late afternoon / evening of May 26th, the night before we officially start. The group will then come together for its first meeting at 10:00 a.m. on May 27th. We will complete our ceremony on the late afternoon of June 7th. Please do not plan any flights for this day. Make all air travel reservations back for June 8th at the earliest. ADDITIONAL FEES: Camping Fee of $60 will be collected at the time of the program.
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.
Required: The Trail to the Sacred Mountain: A Vision Fast Handbook for Adults is available through Lost Borders Press Strongly Encouraged Reading: The Will To Change by Bell Hooks
We will gather in the eastern mountains of Payahuunadü (also known as the Inyo Mountains outside of Big Pine, California). These are the ancestral and contemporary lands of the Nüümü and Newe people.
To learn more about our commitment to regenerative relationships please visit Cultural Relations.
