Deepening Self
August 23 - 26, 2025
Deepening Self is a 4-day, 3-night guided wilderness backpacking quest designed for individuals seeking a greater sense of connection with their true Self. This group is co-led by wilderness guides and psychotherapists Shelly Froehlich, MA, LPC and Megan Newton, MA, LPC. We believe that intentional connection in the wilderness is a foundational practice to invite emergence, facilitate growth, and expand understanding of one's true nature. We are meant to evolve in relationship with nature, and it is this loss of knowledge and support that has, in part, separated us from our authentic, wise selves and left us disconnected from nature's healing wisdom.
what to expect
This group will offer you the opportunity to explore personal intentions to deepen your own sense of Self through nature-based practices. You will be offered guidance in a structured format that includes facilitated group process, intentional solo time on the land, nature-based rituals, and somatic-based practices. This quest will support you in honing your intention, identifying and working through the obstacles that separate you from that intention, and will initiate you into a greater embodiment of your intention and authentic Self.
Your desire to deepen your sense of Self may be in response to a recent life change, to discover a part of Self you are less familiar with, to shift ways of relating to yourself, to heal old patterns of behavior, to process grief or loss, to honor an identity or role change (adulthood, elderhood, queer, mother, etc.), or to turn more fully toward yourself. Whatever may be leading you here, this group is intended to hold space for you to fully acknowledge yourself and step into a more empowered, authentic sense of Self.
INVESTMENT
$925
If you are in need of financial assistance, please reach out to request and apply for a sliding scale.
5% of profits will be donated to the Native American Rights Fund (NARF). Read our Land Acknowledgement and Cultural Relationship statement.
Although our nature-based groups, wilderness quests, and rite-of-passage programs inspire personal growth and development, they are not psychotherapy and are not reimbursable by insurance.
LOCATION
Colorado Rocky Mountains (exact location to be determined)
GROUP INFO
Group is limited to 8 participants. This group is open to all people who can backpack uphill 5-6 miles. This group is for adults and is limited to 8 participants. This group is open to all genders, races, and sexual orientations.
GEAR
A specific gear list will be provided. Participants must supply all their own backpacking gear and food. Gear can be rented at various outfitters in the Boulder-Denver metro area.
fill out this form to sign up
PAST GROUP REFLECTIONS
“I gained insights into my capacity to experience and hold all of my emotions. I experienced a deeper connection to nature as a teacher, something that I will carry with me going forward. Recognition that all humans are going through their own processes, no matter how they appear on the outside, and an expansion of my empathy and sense of belonging to this world.”
“I felt really supported and held to take the deepest dive I needed to. I felt safe within the group even though I hadn’t met anyone previously. I really valued my solo time outside of the group process I felt it really helped me get reacquainted with myself. I also really liked the group processes. Plus the physical environment is epic and so healing. ”
“On this trip, I felt like I was reborn.”
“Our 2022 Deepening Self wilderness trip was a remarkable experience. A small group of courageous humans stepped into the unknown and returned transformed, in many ways unexpected. Group connection, deep reflection, physical and emotional effort, and intentional process in nature revealed stuck places in the psyche. In that often painful revelation, Mother Nature held us with grace and power, exposing new paths through the muck, offering a sacred place to release the thorns, and reflecting the truth within.
This experience was a rewilding of the heart. Deeping Self is a format that facilitates a return to our true nature, or, as one participant put it, “a rebirth.” We are profoundly grateful to those of you who allowed us to witness you respond to the tug to turn toward yourself and travel home to your essence.”
“This trip facilitated the perfect environment and supportive connections to finally pinpoint what has been holding me back in life. Each day was so thoughtfully planned out with ample time devoted to the serious therapeutic work, reflect in complete solitude, connect with nature, and to belly laugh and play among the group. The radical changes I’ve made in my life following this experience are remarkable and the supportive friendships from the group are still alive and well more than a year later. I am forever grateful for this experience.”
“[This trip] absolutely changed my life, and that is no exaggeration… I grew personally those 4 days more than I have in months in regular life. If you get the opportunity to head out on this type of therapy guided trip, do NOT hesitate. It will change your life. The 3 others who I went on the trip with are now some of my closest friends. We bonded in ways that can not be done in everyday life. I could not be more thankful for the journey that trip took me on but to have met a new community of individuals on a similar path as me to continue to support and be supported by. I will be forever thankful for this trip! Don’t hesitate, GO NOW!”
“The wilderness therapy trip that I took with Evolve in Nature was a profound experience for me and an important landmark in my therapy journey that I come back to over and over. [The leader] was an amazing, thoughtful, and supportive guide, both through nature and healing. The extended time in nature without family or technology distractions afforded me the chance to access parts of myself that had been difficult to do in one-hour therapy sessions alone. I left feeling reconnected with myself, the natural world, and my fellow trip-mates, who continue to support my journey towards my truest self.”