In ancient times as today, there is risk in coming alive. Like our ancestors, our first pledge is to the safety of those that we guide.

For many of us the idea of spending any length of time in the wild by ourselves is frightening. Bear in mind that the presence of fear must not always mean there is danger.   Today, few of us have spent enough time in the wild to feel “home” in our natural surroundings. In reality, you are much more at risk in your car on your daily commute than sitting in a wild place by yourself.

“We walk a spiritual path on practical feet.”  ~ Angeles Arrien

Open Sky Journeys takes practical preparation very seriously. Before we embark on the journey into the wilderness, we go over all equipment needs, look individual equipment over, train our participants in our emergency procedures, inform on the specific weather conditions of the area as well as the animal life and share precautions associated with the flora and fauna. By the time we reach our base camp, our participants are well prepared for what lies ahead.

While the participant is completely on her own during the 3 days of the Vision Quest, she will have a buddy, another Vision Quester who will once a day check on her stone pile built a little ways away from her Vision Quest spot. We take care of one another by taking care of ourselves and vice versa. The buddy pile is our “phone line” to base camp should we need assistance.

We require you to fill out a detailed health questionnaire to be aware of your general health condition and to be able to serve you in the best way possible in case of emergency. While a clean bill of health is wonderful, it is not necessary in order to participate in this journey. Many individual health issues can be accommodated if they are known ahead of time. Some may call for a slight modification in the ritual. The Vision Quest is not a fitness test but a time of contemplation and deepening. If you are called to quest and have specific health concerns feel free to speak to us about them.