CA Summer Vision Fast
Aug 11th, 2025 - Aug 23rd, 2025 | Inyo Mountains - Big Pine, California | Betsy Perluss, Scott Eberle
The modern day vision quest is a border crossing practice, an opportunity to reclaim our true place in the natural world. When one steps across the threshold and into the unknown wilderness, boundaries begin to dissolve and our vision begins to expand. The threshold place is a dreamscape, where we can hear, again, the voices of rock, tree, and wind. Following the ancient pathway of this rite of passage, we step into our true nature and remember our home among the wild. We become who we were born to be.
And so, we ask: Do you hear the movement of the river? Do you hear the singing of your sacred ancestors? Are you being summoned to the Land of Lost Borders?
Program Overview: This ceremony involves several days of preparation, 4 days and nights of fasting/living alone in a wilderness place, and a few days of incorporation.
PREPARATION: You will be readied physically, psychologically, mentally, and spiritually, that you might fully benefitfrom this solo experience in the wilderness. You will be given an ancient means of looking into the mirror of nature (“The Four Shields”). Preparation will also include the study of symbols, archetypes and ways common to vision fasts and rites of passage.
SOLO FAST: You will cross the threshold and enter into your ceremony, making it your own. You will live alone in the wilderness as so many have done before. Your Guides will maintain a safe perimeter around the area and make sure you have sufficient provisions. Safety is our utmost concern and you will be given the tools necessary to support your well-being.
INCORPORATION: During the final days, we will join together for the sharing of stories. The Guides will listen, help you to understand, and challenge you to give your vision practical feet—to live the life you have rightfully claimed as your own!
We welcome all BIPOC, women and men, transgender, and gender non-conforming people to this ceremony. We see our diversity as a gift to the whole.
Program Questions Contact: Betsy Purluss at [email protected]
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.
Submit Waitlist form
This program is full; however, you may add your name to the Waitlist by clicking the Waitlist button below.
Additional course details & Materials
We will be meeting at a basecamp in the Inyo/White Mountains 30 minutes east of Big Pine, CA. Please plan to arrive no later than 5 pm on August 11th. More logistics will be provided after you enroll. ADDITIONAL FEES: Camping fee of $60-$100 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.
Our group will camp together in a remote area located in the White-Inyo Mountains, in the traditional lands of the Nüümü and Newe people, 13 miles outside the small town of Big Pine in the Owens Valley, known by Paiute people as Payahuunadü, “the land where water flows."
To learn more about our commitment to regenerative relationships please visit Cultural Relations.
