Radiant Awareness: Backpacking Journey to Tassajara

The format

This retreat is unusual in its structure: the backpacking section is the first four days, moving through the Ventana Wilderness toward Tassajara. The final two nights are spent at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center itself, where the pace shifts to seated practice and integration. This means you're not sitting for hours before you arrive — you're arriving awake and embodied from the trail.

Tassajara, nestled in a remote canyon south of Big Sur, is one of the oldest Zen training monasteries in the West. The center sits on natural hot springs and is accessible primarily by a rough mountain road or, as in this retreat, by foot.

What to expect

The first four days are hiking days. You'll be moving through wilderness with the group, carrying your pack, camping or sheltering outside the monastery. This isn't a casual walk — it's part of the practice. The eco-somatic emphasis suggests attention to sensation, breath, and your direct contact with the ground, sky, and effort of walking.

Once at Tassajara, the retreat settles into a more traditional format: zazen (seated meditation), instruction from the teachers, and the rhythms of the monastery. Two nights allows for a genuine taste of practice there, though it's brief. The integration piece suggests space to reflect on what the wilderness and sitting have opened up.

Logistics

• Location: Ventana Wilderness to Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, Big Sur area
• Total: 6 days (4 hiking, 2 at monastery)
• Format: hiking days followed by residential practice
• Lead teachers: Mike Smith and Ariel Johnson (SFZC teachers)

This retreat requires genuine backpacking fitness — you'll be hiking loaded for several days at altitude. If you're new to Zen practice but experienced on the trail, you'll find teachers and a group. If you're new to backpacking, this is not the retreat to learn in.