WILD
wilderness immersion & leadership development
WILD, Back to Earth’s flagship summer backpacking program for teenage boys, is a nature connection / culture building program based in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California. We started in 2015, taking teenage boys to the same epic places where Back to Earth founders, Eli and Jesse, spent their teenage years exploring and growing. In the years since, we’ve guided hundreds of young people on meaningful journeys towards personal transformation, combining the nuts and bolts skills of wilderness travel and backcountry adventure, with rich practices of personal development and self-discovery.
Each summer, we offer seven- and nine-day programs for teens as young as 13, through high school and into early adulthood. We’d say we are ‘summer camp adjacent.’ There’s a lot that feels like a traditional camp - having fun with your friends, swimming in beautiful water, laughing and joking around the campfire.
We’re also not a camp in the familiar mold. You won’t find us bouncing from one activity to the next, keeping campers entertained. There’s an element of WILD that’s more like training. Training to pay attention, to embody curiosity, and to be fascinated by the world. Training to be competent, resourceful, patient, and considerate.
a day on trail
We begin each day in the backcountry with a morning practice that includes a traditional thanksgiving address and a physical warm up based in yoga, qigong, and calisthenics. We eat breakfast and pack up camp. We spend our days hiking, stopping when we can to swim or take in an epic view.
We make camp in the late afternoon, and spend the golden hours of the day relaxing, playing games, and learning skills. This is the time of day when we introduce new mindfulness practices, and teach skills like knot-tying and wilderness medicine. We eat dinner and then settle in around the fire for our evening council. Some mornings we might wake up before dawn to attempt a high mountain summit, or stay up all night tending a fire.
The biggest difference between the 7- and 9- day trips is the 24 hour solo ceremony offered to participants on the 9-day WILD One course. “The solo,” as it’s known, involves teens finding a “sit spot” where they spend a day and night alone, usually fasting. The solo ceremony is the gravitational center of trips for older teens. It offers a meaningful threshold experience, and a rare opportunity for teens to encounter their limits in a safe, centered, and developmentally appropriate way.
is WILD a good fit
for a teen in my life?
We’re happy to answer questions about what
to expect from the program and whether your teen would benefit from a summer adventure.
who is WILD for?
Something about taking teenagers into the wilderness makes people want to ask if this is a program for “at risk” teens. The short answer is no.
WILD is a 100 percent voluntary enrichment program for teens, 13 and up, who want to discover themselves and cultivate a personal relationship with the natural world. No prior backpacking or camping experience is necessary. This is not punishment, or boot camp, or rehab. This is a joyful and uplifting educational and personal growth opportunity.
The longer answer is that all teens are at risk of something. Whether its substance use and getting into trouble, social isolation and media addiction, or the general crises of meaning, purpose and connection that pervade modern society, teens today face risks - to their mental health, to their sense of meaning and purpose, and to a livable future on planet Earth - that previous generations did not. In this sense, part of WILD’s reason for existing is to directly address these risk factors facing young people today.
Wilderness immersion is a powerful teacher of inner-peace and well being, and is inherently therapeutic. That said, this is NOT wilderness therapy; we are not therapists, and we are not trained or equipped to substitute for licensed medical care of any sort.
a note on gender
We know that wilderness immersion and rites of passage are essential for adolescents of all genders, and we know that “boys” trips is not a category that speak to everyone. While we have the utmost respect for every young person’s relationship to their body, expression and identity, we continue to consolidate our trips by gender-identification in part because that is how we received instructions from our elders for adolescent rites-of-passage. There is also a special kind of trust that can form in groups who share a resonant experience of gender in our culture.
That said, we invite folks of all gender expressions to determine whether these trips are suitable for them, and we are prepared to work with teens and families to ensure that WILD remains a safe and welcoming space for all.
more than a
backpacking trip
These trips support participants to access their gratitude and joy, and to deepen their relationships with themselves, each other, and the natural world.
Our thoughtful and passionate guide team is dedicated to uplifting young people to become genuine leaders in their own lives.
In addition to having a good time, we teach awareness and mindfulness practices that sustain physical, mental and emotional wellbeing, not just while we’re in the mountains, but when we get home as well.
No prior experience or familiarity is required. We cover all of the basics, and are committed to being a safe learning environment for participants of all skill and knowledge backgrounds.
aPreciatioN from ParenTs
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Back to Earth saved us!
I was desperately looking for something for my teenage son to do during the lockdown of summer of 2020. I happened upon WILD on a parents site and immediately signed him up for the 10-day backpacking trip. He had a blast; I had a break; but, even more importantly, he developed new skills and a renewed sense of being capable and connected. To keep that goodness going,I signed him up for Mentoring Circles, which provides him with healthy, positive activities and an ongoing connection to excellent, supportive mentors and the out of doors. Highly recommended.Kate, WILD parent
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It's impossible to overstate...
how valuable and wonderful Back to Earth has been for our 16 year old - both for him and for us as his parents. He returns from these trips and gatherings in a state of calm, happy groundedness that is wonderful to see and to be around. You know how great it feels as a parent when your kid is having an enlivening, enriching, challenging, fun-filled experience? That's how it feels to have your kid involved with Back to Earth, times 100.- Elizabeth, WILD parent
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Exactly what I hoped for.
Far more daunting than navigating my own transition from adolescence to adulthood has been parenting a son doing the same. Since joining the first trip to Yosemite, Jesse and Eli have been profound role models for my son. Through their example, my son is learning the source of truest strength - the courage to be open and to connect. WILD has been exactly what I hoped for but didn’t imagine existed.
- Jennifer, WILD Parent
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WILD is so much more than a summer camp.
My son has benefited immensely from every trip he’s gone on. It’s a great change of pace from his usual urban lifestyle. He has come back each time with new levels of confidence, and stories of camaraderie and overcoming challenges. So grateful for Eli, Jesse and the whole team.- Andreas, WILD Parent
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More than I imagined!
I cannot say enough about this program and the guys who run it. My son went on his first backpacking trip with them last summer and it was transformative in so many ways. Not only did he gain experience backpacking, he went through an incredible spiritual and emotional transformation as well. He came away with life long connections to amazing people and a belief in himself that he hadn't felt before.- Sevgi, WILD Parent
WILD scholars
program
Expanding equity in wilderness education. This program is for high school sophomores and juniors in the San Francisco Bay Area who are in need of extra support to make a WILD trip possible.
field notes:
what we’re reading and writing
Our version of a blog - Original thoughts and re-posted content, on reconnecting to what is sacred and wild in ourselves and our world.
meet your
guides
We are mentors, climbers, builders, farmers, hunters, writers, poets, singers, dancers, medics, leaders, teachers, healers, learners, lovers of Earth and sky…