PROGRAM FORMAT:
April-September: 2x meetings per month to review curriculum, connect with the community, and prepare for the retreat.
September 26-29: Retreat in Glacier National Park
October-December: additional education and support to help you integrate the learnings from the program and the retreat into your life.

Your registration includes pickup from FCA - Glacier International Airport in Kalispell. We can also provide train pickups if you choose that route. There is an Amtrak station in West Glacier and in Whitefish.

Your registration includes park entry and transportation within the park from the Glacier Institute to our hikes, stewardship projects, and workshops.

Your retreat registration includes four nights at the Glacier Institute Field Camp, located just inside the West entrance to Glacier National Park.

Participant Cabins: The Glacier Institute cabins are basic, hostel-style cabins with 5 single beds, bedside lights, and electrical outlets. Based on custom group size, participants may have to share a cabin with up to 4 other people, cabins are separated by gender. Couples may be paired up in the event there is ample space. Glacier Institute provides a bottom sheet for your bed as well as a pillow and pillow case, but please bring a warm sleeping bag. Sleeping bags are available to rent for $15 per participant. Be sure to bring a flashlight or headlamp for night trips to the bathroom as it is a short, level walk away.

Showers + Restrooms: A short walk away from the cabins (less than a minute), hot showers, flush toilets and running, potable water makes your stay extra comfortable. The rooms in the bath house are private, spacious, and sparkling clean!

Since everyone has different needs when in the field, you are encouraged to bring your own snacks. We’ll take care of breakfast, lunch, and dinner on the following schedule:

THURSDAY: Dinner
FRIDAY: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
SATURDAY: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
SUNDAY: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
MONDAY: Breakfast

We’ll be enjoying different trails in Glacier National Park during this event.

FRIDAY - Length: up to 5 miles roundtrip Elevation Change: 730 feet
The Avalanche Lake day hike is one of the most scenic and popular hikes in Glacier National Park! After traveling past the gorgeous Lake McDonald, we will begin our educational hike at the lush Trail of the Cedars trailhead. This boardwalk portion of the hike winds through an ancient forest thick with western red cedars and western hemlocks. We will then continue climbing along the Avalanche Lake trail, marveling at avalanche blowdown, massive glacial erratics, and a glacier-fed cirque basin that leaves every hiker misty-eyed.

SATURDAY - Length: up to 6 miles roundtrip, Elevation Change: 800 ft
This is the ultimate hiking experience! The Highline is arguably Glacier National Park’s most famous trail. Departing from Logan Pass, this trail leads you through some of the most scenic vistas in the lower 48, all while in view of billion-year-old geological features. We will wind our way up the Going-to-the-Sun Road from the west entrance, taking time to learn about the geology, wildlife, and cultural history along the way. Once at Logan Pass, we will begin our hike for an in-depth look at alpine environments, wildlife habitat, and geology – all while enjoying the sweeping views from the trail. NOTE: This is an out-and-back hike and the length of the hike may vary.

The research is clear, spending time in nature is beneficial for the body, mind, and spirit. On our guided hikes, you will learn techniques to turn any outdoor activity into a mindful experience. Experience the healing power of nature via guided self-discovery activities all weekend long on and off the trail. Participants will be provided with a small journal to take notes in as they hike, and we infuse self-reflection into all aspects of the event.

Through guided self-discovery workshops throughout the event, participants can look forward to a weekend of disconnection from every day life to facilitate a deep reconnection with themselves and each other.

While our healing journeys are deeply personal and unique to our lived experiences, we all have at least one thing in common: we’ve survived everything life has dealt our way so far. Healing in community reminds us that we are never alone in what we’ve experienced and that together, we rise.

We’re providing everything you need for the stewardship project.

Turn your pain into power. Part inspirational memoir, part practical guide, Hiking Your Feelings offers a toolkit to unpack your “trauma pack” and step into the best version of yourself.

Join wellness advocate and wilderness guide Sydney Williams as she shares her healing journey from eating and drinking her feelings to hiking her feelings. When Sydney unexpectedly found herself diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, while grappling with grief and unresolved trauma built up over a decade, she set out on a quest to turn her pain into power. Two hikes across Catalina Island and eighty miles later, she learned to disconnect from distractions and reconnect with herself, all through the power of nature. Now, she’s encouraging others to get outside and blaze their own trail to self-love, turning buried traumas into healthy coping mechanisms. With affirmations, prompts, and reflection exercises throughout—all presented from Sydney’s supportive and self-effacing perspective—Hiking Your Feelings offers a toolkit to unpack your “trauma pack” and step into the best version of yourself.

INSPIRATIONAL & INSIGHTFUL: Follow Sydney as she reflects on her own journey from buried traumas and poor body image to acceptance, healthy coping mechanisms, and self-love.

RELATABLE & UNIVERSAL: Touches on themes and problems that many struggle with, including grief and loss, sexual assault, poor body image, career stress, and the stigma of diabetes, all presented from Sydney’s supportive and self-effacing perspective.

HEALING POWER OF NATURE: Discover how getting outside—even just for a walk around the block—can help you tune into your body better.

HIKE YOUR OWN HIKE: Learn to love yourself as you are now. Go from eating, drinking, working, or spending your feelings to hiking your feelings.

UNPACK YOUR TRAUMA PACK: Identify new activities and rituals that will allow you to choose love over fear and lift the invisible weight from your shoulders.

PROMPTS, ACTIVITIES & EXERCISES: Apply the lessons Sydney has learned to your own life, through thoughtful tasks at the end of each chapter.