Mountains and Waters Backpacking Retreat
Think of this as a sesshin with different forms to suit wilderness practice. Recommended pre-reading for this trip is Shohaku Okumura’s The Mountain and Waters Sutra: A Practitioner’s Guide to Dogen’s “Sansuikyo”
The backpacking level of effort is moderate. Our first-choice destination is the Indian Heaven Wilderness in southwest Washington. The hiking is mostly gradual, but there are several short somewhat steep ups and downs. Total hiking distance over the 3 days is about 10 miles, with a total elevation gain of about 1000 feet. Sosetsu will lead this retreat.
Sign-up for the retreat will end Friday, July 30. Wilderness rules limit us to 12 people including the leader and assistant. We will have a mandatory pre-trip Zoom planning meeting after dharma talk on Sunday, August 1st, and a later gear check meeting for any participants with little backpacking experience.
It is unclear whether or not the Covid-19 pandemic will force some changes in how we can do this retreat. As it currently stands, we will each be responsible for our own meals.
Covid/weather/fire backup date is Sept 23-26. Registration fee will be refunded if the retreat is canceled because of covid/fire/weather or if postponed and unable to attend.