Mountain Quest

Three Week Coming of Age for Young Women

Ages 12 - 14 | July 9 - 29, 2024 | Return to Youth Programs

“My experience here has changed me for the better. It has strengthened my inner self, made me extremely grateful, and let me learn more about myself. My best experience on this trip was hiking, and having many interesting conversations with my fellow teammates. We had a wonderful experience with our guides, caring, loving and hardworking women, who have taught me so much. They helped me construct my Intent Statement, which is: I am a joyful spirit, who is capable, accepting and serves all. This was a memorable experience and will for always be remembered.” - Ronja, Age 13

This journey of self-discovery builds confidence and clarity for emerging young women.

The Coming of Age Journey is a unique opportunity to celebrate and honor the changes of this time in a girl's life. Like thousands of women before her, she will be welcomed into the larger community with a fuller understanding of the creative and visionary power inherent in her gifts as a woman.

Developed over fifty years of work with hundreds of individuals, this program helps young women enter adolescence with strength and self-confidence. Girls speak their truth and believe in their worth based on talents, skills and interests rather than on appearance, popularity or sexual appeal. Participants are physically, emotionally and spiritually stretched as they set out on a multi-day backpacking trip and 24-hour solo vigil. The journey gives young women an extraordinary opportunity to challenge themselves as they move beyond self-imposed limitations, take on greater responsibility, and work cooperatively with others.

Set in the forests, mountains, and waterways of Western Washington, this program is designed to empower participants to recognize and walk in the truth of their own spirit. Laughter, sweat, creativity, reflection, and new friendships all come together for those who are willing to discover more about themselves and their unique contributions to the world.

Family Participation

The initiate’s family plays an important role in The Coming of Age Journey. On the first day of the trip, parents and guardians send their child off, then spend time exploring the changes that are occurring in their daughter and in their family. At the conclusion of this 3-week adventure, parents and guardians take part in a process of incorporation. During this day-long event, parents and young people alike will have the opportunity to see one another with new eyes. Together in this way, they breathe new life into existing relationships, and explore the possibilities of what it means to be a family in the 21st century, with a new family member who is no longer a girl, but a young woman.

This journey welcomes all who identify as female, trans girls, and non-binary youth, knowing this journey is an initiation through the female lens. Please check out our welcome statement on gender identity here. Not sure which trip is right for your youth? Contact Us and we’ll help figure it out.

PROGRAM DETAILS

Ages 12 - 14

July 9 - 29, 2024

Olympic National Park
Starts and Ends in Bothell, WA

$3495.00; Deposit $600.00
Financial Aid is currently available

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Experienced guides support and mentor young girls on the path to womanhood.

After an 8-10 day backpacking trip, participants arrive at the Washington Coast and prepare for a 24-hour solo vigil.

trip description

Week 1-2 | Coming of Age participants, their families, and our staff participate in a send-off ceremony at the Journeys basecamp. This ceremony is followed, for participants, by intentional community building activities, camp skills training, and launching a 8- to 10-day backpacking trip during which wilderness, leadership and teamwork skills will be taught and practiced.

Week 2 | After their mountain journey, Participants will head for the Coast to prepare for their 24-hour solo vigil by the ocean. During this segment participants will be involved in expressive art projects, journaling and ceremony. After the 24-hour solo vigil is completed participants will hike back to the vehicles and transfer to a local retreat center. There, participants will celebrate their incredible Journey and the beginning of Young Adulthood. The group will participate in Womanhood Ceremonies. This section of the trip is focused on relaxation, art, conversations around becoming young women and celebration.

Week 3 | Participants begin their return to “the world” that they left behind, ultimately arriving back at basecamp to celebrate their incredible journey and the beginning of young adulthood. The young women and mentors will participate in council with group and individually, and prepare for the Parent Incorporation Day. The final day of the trip will be spent with participants and families creating a family covenant to reflect the privileges and responsibilities of the young woman.

Skills Introduced

Program Outcomes

Improved self-confidence
Group communication and problem solving skills
Understanding and taking responsibility
Ability to listen to intuition
Creative self-expression
Leadership and teamwork skills
Improved physical strength and personal resolve
Knowledge of natural history of Northwest terrain
Low-impact camping techniques
Understanding of a healthy and appropriate path to adulthood
Completion of a transformative rite of passage

Mountain Quest Staff

Tessa Crosby

Program Coordinator

Tessa (she/her) grew up in the great plains of South Dakota, dreaming about what it would be like to get lost in the forest, swim in wild oceans, and marvel at mountain peaks. This yearning to seek a deeper connection to the natural world led Tessa to a job with Americorps NCCC, where she was able to travel all over the western region of the U.S. Here she was able to form connections with the land through environmental restoration, trail building and maintenance projects, and in turn discovered and cultivated a deeper connection with herself. These invaluable lessons within the power of natural spaces, combined with her passion for youth and mental health advocacy led Tessa to the Big Island of Hawaii, where she fell in love with rites of passage work while facilitating these experiences for youth and young adults at Pacific Quest, a rites of passage based horticultural therapeutic program. After she completed her own initiatory fast in Hawaii, Tessa came to fully understand the power in cultivating one’s own story, as well as in sharing it with others. It is through storytelling that she finds a deep connection to her greater community, and feels most connected to herself. Tessa currently lives in Portland, Oregon where she is excited to begin her next adventure of working towards a Master’s Degree in Social Work at Portland State University in the fall. She is so incredibly excited to be guiding with Journeys this summer.

Karina Gallant

Program Guide
Karina first found home playing with the forests, streets and oceans of Washington. A local of Bellingham, she spent summers wandering the muddy beaches and spent late winter nights writing stories of the places she would go…

Guides for Mountain Quest for Young Women 2022

Onna Jaeger

Program Coordinator

Onna (she/her) arrived in the Seattle area in late 2019 with plans to pursue her Master of Social Work degree from the University of Washington. Onna was born and raised in Connecticut, just a short walk from a nature preserve that ignited her curiosity of the natural world. Through hikes and trips to Rhode Island in the summer, Onna learned through her parents that calm comes with walking and water - a piece of truth she holds sacred to her journey today. Onna followed her love of beautiful natural places and interacting with humans through study abroad programs in Spain and South Africa, majoring in Communications, Spanish & Women's Gender & Sexuality Studies. After her studies in 2016, she followed her desire to learn how to grow food, and chose to work at Riverbank Farm - an organic vegetable, fruit and flower farm in Roxbury, Connecticut, where she learned for 3 seasons. She felt greatly impacted by the gifts that farming offered her - a deep connection to herself, the land and humanity. There was a deeper metaphor to explore through healing alongside the land, which led her to guide at Pacific Quest, a rites of passage-based horticultural therapy program on the Big Island of Hawaii. Onna quickly grew a passion for facilitating the rites of passage program for adolescents at Pacific Quest, which she believes is a crucial form of initiation lacking in our society today. In April of 2019, Onna completed her own initiatory vision fast on the Big Island. She began guiding for Rite of Passage Journeys in 2020: teen Fire on the Mountain, coming of age Moon Rise, and pre-teen Call to Adventure.

Kensey circle 2.jpg — kensey nadler

Program Guide
Kensey Nadler was born nestled in the hills of Santa Barbra, Ca. She graduated from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, concentrating on outdoor adventure leadership and women's studies.. . .

Kensey Nadler

Program Guide

Kensey Nadler was born nestled in the hills of Santa Barbra, Ca. She graduated from Cal Poly, SLO with an undergraduate degree in Experience Industry Management, concentrating on outdoor adventure leadership and women's studies. She was lucky enough to be introduced to rites of passage through her epic mom who weaved them throughout her life. These experiences proved to her the incredible potency and necessity for this work. During her time in school, she explored the High Sierra with Outward Bound, led outdoor adventures for girls in the mountains of Colorado, and trained with Poly Escapes. She was awarded an Internship with the non-profit NARETOI Kenya “women empowering women”. Through her involvement, she was honored to climb mountains and learn besides an incredible cross-cultural group of Maasai and American women. This experience opened her to the opportunity for utilizing outdoor adventure as a platform to build equity, solidarity, and allyship amongst womankind. This has since been a core mission of hers. Once stateside, She co-founded Wilderonez- an adventure collective for womxn. Kensey has been exploring facilitating and creating outdoor trips and gatherings with Wilderonez on the central coast. She currently works for Adventure Club Slo where she guides those with diagnoses on nature adventures. She can also be found studying to finish up her Ayurvedic health coaching credentials. Kensey guides to connect folks to their inherent inner wisdom, one another, and the magic of nature. She is a lover of giggles, poetry, avocados, honeybees, and little wave surfing. She’s stoked to be working with Journey’s youth this summer as she believes they truly hold our future in their palms!

Marlee Maloy

Program Guide

Marlee grew up in the plains of central Oklahoma, wandering through wild spaces, exploring creeks, chasing armadillos, and climbing trees on her grandmother’s homestead. In 2019, she moved to Washington to attend The Immersion at Wilderness Awareness School. Through the program, she discovered the magic of building a soulful relationship with the natural world while in community. She continued following this thread by instructing WAS summer camps, completing the Wild Plant Intensive, and participating in the Nature Instructor Training where she worked with kids aged 6-16. After completing her own rite of passage offered through The Immersion, she was called to hold transformative experiences for young women. This passion led her to Journeys, and, specifically to guiding the Moon Rise and Mountain Quest Young Women trips, which she is committed to deepening into for years to come. When she is not guiding for Journeys, she is a nature connection mentor at Wilderness Awareness School working with 7-9 and 13-15 year olds. Marlee is full of wonder. Some things she wonders about often are how plants communicate with humans (and vice versa), how to empower youth to live their most vibrant lives, and what wisdom can be gleaned from the dream world. Marlee feels most alive when she is sharing stories and songs around a fire, dancing, practicing yoga, writing poetry, playing guitar, crafting, and spending time with plants, animals, and other wild humans.