Registration for this 9-day program is restricted to students at Sonoma Academy.
This is a classic coming of age Wilderness Quest program in the tradition of Rites of Passage, which has offered youth quests since our beginning in 1977. Since the dawn of humanity, young people have felt a need to undertake meaningful rites of passage as they approach adulthood. Lacking the opportunity to engage in positive initiatory experiences, youth may instead make attempts at self-initiation, which often fail to bring increased maturity and self-responsibility. Since our inception 30 years ago, Rites of Passage has offered the opportunity for youth to confirm and celebrate their entry into adulthood. The increased self-knowledge and self-respect that result from participation in a youth rite of passage can have a positive effect that lasts a lifetime.
Parental permission is required for participation of anyone under age 18. Both parents and young people are encouraged to contact us with any questions or concerns.
I am writing you this to thank you for the experience I was able to have of the Wilderness Quest and tell you, after a year, how much it changed my life. I have had almost a year to see the change inside me that has developed since returning from my time of threshold in California. It has given me so much more confidence and perspective in the way I treat myself and others.
–John, age 18.
