A six-day Salmon River journey to explore our relationship with nature, ourselves, and each other
Sit long in Nature, and after a while, she’ll sit within you. Let her take away your name, your history, and everything on your to-do list. Let her mess up your hair, dirty your feet, and awaken you to your inner poetry.
Tanya Markul
Hosted by Sylke Laine and Angie Stegall
Certified Nature Therapy Guides and Wayfinder Life Coaches
$2,995 per person
26-31 August 2024 | Main Salmon River | Idaho
The Slow Down
As Forest Therapy Guides and Wayfinder Life Coaches, we believe slowing down is both an art form and essential life skill.
Slowing down allows you to see what’s present for you NOW, rather than continually chasing productivity or your next achievement. It’s in this place of slowing down that you deeply connect with yourself.
“Sometimes, you have to go slow to go fast.”
DKish, Grand Canyon River Rafting Icon
What To Expect
The Salmon River will carry us into the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness, the largest contiguous swath of wilderness in the continental United States.
Once our guides push the boats off the ramp, we adjust to life on “river time.” No alarms, no calendars, no to-do lists, no obligations.
We’ll camp on sandy beaches and wake to the sounds of birds, flowing water, and the guides calling us for coffee as the sun rises above the canyon walls. The river, its flows and movement will direct how we engage with the more-than-human world each day.
You might find yourself:
- CONNECTING with your inner child while barefoot in a creek,
- SHARING your grief and joy with river rocks,
- LOSING yourself or FINDING yourself hanging out with an eagle or a bighorn sheep,
- PONDERING themes of art and ancestry below Native American pictographs,
- FEELING your body relax into the healing waters of a natural hot spring.
Time in camp might include coaching conversations, journaling prompts, games, campfires, time together, solo time, time in movement, and time to just BE. Everything is an invitation.
As we move ever deeper from the tamed into the wild world, this experience is also an invitation to stretch the boundaries of your comfort zone, physically, emotionally, and creatively. When the river becomes your therapist, who knows what might emerge? Angie and Sylke will be by your side to encourage, guide, and support you.
You’ll return home feeling rejuvenated, fully alive, and deeply connected to your own inner wisdom. Your roots around who you are and what you desire will be stretched and strengthened like never before.
I think everybody who goes on
2022 Retreat Participant
retreat is hoping to find that
place within her that gets lost in
the grocery store and the
everyday busyness of life.
Is this right for you?
Yes, if you’re a woman who:
- needs a BREAK from never-ending demands of life
- seeks FREEDOM from your overly-packed schedules and obligations
- feels DISSATISFIED with your life’s status quo
- are CURIOUS to explore your stories and hear other women’s stories, too
- want to (RE)CONNECT to your intuition + creativity
- CRAVE connection + belonging with Nature, yourself, and others
Your Guides for Nature Therapy + Coaching
Sylke Laine
Sylke is a certified guide with the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy (ANFT) and a certified Martha Beck Wayfinder Life Coach. Combining those two modalities, she teaches her clients how to emerge from soul-crushing overwhelm with clarity, confidence, and calm. She lives and practices her craft in Missoula, MT, homelands of the Séliš (Salish) and Ql̓ispé (Kalispel) people. Her husband and she first came here on vacation and felt an immediate pull by the land to make this their home. They immigrated from Germany in 2008.
For over 25 years, she has been spending as much time as she can on the river (including guided and private trips on the Main and the Middle Fork of the Salmon, the Colorado through the Grand Canyon, the Rogue, the San Juan and my local favorites, the Flathead, Clark Fork, and Blackfoot Rivers). She is certified in Wilderness First Aid.
Sylke holds an M.A. in Mass Communication, American Studies, and Psychology from Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, Germany and built a successful career as a UX Designer both in the U.S. and Germany.
Angie Stegall
Angie Stegall is a born Wayfinder, helping clients explore their wild insides while finding their way back to who they are at their core. She is a Certified Forest Therapy Guide with the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy Guides, and has extensive experience taking groups and individual clients out for nature-based coaching experiences.
Angie’s other certifications include: Martha Beck Certified Wayfinder Life Coach, Certified Sparketype Advisor, IFS-informed Coach, and American Red Cross Wilderness & First Aid/CPR certified. She’s written five books, including “Notes from
Nature: Tune Into Your Inner Voice by Letting Nature Take the Lead.”
As an avid outdoors person, Angie spent 16 days on a private trip rafting through Grand Canyon. She and her husband rafted all 149 miles of the French Broad River through North Carolina and Tennessee on a 13-day, self-supported trip. And in 2021, she and husband and two other friends spent three weeks on a self-supported trip kayaking 340 miles across Florida, from the Atlantic Ocean, up the St. Mary’s River, across the Okefenokee Swamp, and down the entire Suwannee River to the Gulf of Mexico.
The way we see the world shapes the way we treat it. If a mountain is a deity, not a pile of ore; if a river is one of the veins of the land, not potential irrigation water; if a forest is a sacred grove, not timber; if other species are biological kin, not resources; or if the planet is our mother, not an opportunity — then we will treat each other with greater respect. Thus is the challenge, to look at the world from a different perspective.
David Suzuki
What’s Included in The Slow Down’s $2,995 investment?
- Packing list and other logistical support (including 2-3 pre-trip Zoom calls)
- Meet & greet in Missoula, MT, the evening of August 25
- Transportation from Missoula to the river and back
- Professional river guides, boats, waterproof bags, and safety gear
- Double occupancy tent (bring or rent your own for privacy), sleeping pad, and camp chair
- All meals starting from first day’s delicious lunch to last day’s farewell feast (we’ll ask about any allergies and food preferences) plus an offering of assorted beverages
- Sessions to include movement, mindfulness, coaching, and nature journaling guided by Angie & Sylke
- All permitting and access fees
Space on this adventure is limited to 10 participants. We will close registration once the trip is full. Please register early.
Q&A
Are Guide gratuities included in the cost? NO – guide gratuities are not included in the program cost. We strongly suggest giving your river guides some love, and we are happy to discuss norms for tipping – just ask.
What is nature therapy? This is an invitational practice that guides you gently into your five senses. The forest is the therapist and Sylke and Angie will be your guides.
I’ve never rafted a river! Can I still attend? YES! The Outfitter we’ve chosen are experts in their field and have been taking people on the Salmon River for decades They’ll handle all the guiding and meals for us.
How “in shape” do I need to be? Any river trip will ask you to navigate uneven terrain. As long as you engage in regular, moderate physical activity you will be fine. Basic swimming skills aren’t necessarily required but will certainly help you feel more comfortable. If you have any health conditions or concerns, please reach out before signing up. We’re more than happy to have a conversation.
What of my own do I need to bring: You’ll need to bring your own sleeping bag and camp pillow, and your own tent if you don’t want to share one. If you don’t have access to one and cannot borrow one, let us know. You’ll also need to bring your own toiletries, clothing, and any specific snacks + beverages you desire. We’ll provide a detailed packing list, well in advance.
What’s your refund policy? All deposits and payments are non-refundable. A 3-payment plan is available via Paypal before March 1, 2024. Payment after March 1, 2024 is due in full. Trip insurance is recommended.
What about getting there? You’ll be responsible for your own transportation to Missoula, Montana, lodging and meals the night before and the night after your trip. We’ll share recommended lodging and dining options.
Claim Your Deliberate SLOW DOWN!
Send us your questions and we’ll get in touch right away.
AND if you know you’re ready to join us, click either below!
It’s a gift to yourself, to have the opportunity to slow down, reflect and be present while being prompted and lead by a thoughtful and sensitive guide. ~Julie
Anonymous
I felt incredibly peaceful, joyful, and centered after the experience — I couldn’t help but grin at everything and everyone around me. I felt more spacious than I had before we started.
I noticed so much. I felt so connected and aware of the world. It helped me slow down and take notice of how everything is connected. I talked about it all day.
Lynn Wood
Your curiosity and love of nature is infectious. I loved how you guided the forest bathing…you led in a way that did not overwhelm or surprise me. You acclimated us step-by-step, like dipping our toes in the water and easing our way into a warm and welcoming pool. You beckoned us gently into the woods and awakened a part of my soul that is clouded in the midst of noise.
Thank you all so much for your time, compassion and assistance in helping me with stepping outside my comfort zone. Now I can say ‘I DID THAT.’
