Wildtender offers immersive, educational wilderness programs that cultivate kinship with the natural world, embody earth-based wisdom traditions, nurture authenticity & wholeness of self, engender meaningful community, and foster ecological stewardship.

Upcoming Programs

Wild Pilgrimage

Gestalt Backpacking Pilgrimage to the Esalen Institute

April 28 – May 4, 2025

Big Sur

In the mountains east of Esalen, an enchanting, ecologically diverse, and psycho-spiritually fertile wilderness awaits. Over four nights and five days, we will engage in a contemporary form of pilgrimage, and immerse in practices and perspectives from Esalen's Gestalt lineage, while backpacking as reverent seekers through these ancestral lands of the Esselen Tribe, now known as the Big Sur backcountry. Our journey will conclude at the coastal grounds of Esalen Institute with a weekend of reflection and integration…

Wild Dharma

Zen Backpacking Pilgrimage to the Tassajara Zen Mountain Center

May 9 – 16, 2025

Big Sur

Following in the philosophical footsteps of the ancient, hermetic Zen sages, we will turn to the mountains in pursuit of a wild Dharma (timeless Buddhist wisdom) that is embodied and expressed by boulders, grasses, trees, and all aspects of the wild landscape. Our four-night backpacking journey through the mountains will deliver us to Tassajara to participate in a three-night sangha retreat including formal Zen instruction, light service work (three hours per day), hot spring baths, delicious vegetarian cuisine, integration, and rest…