Elemental Camp
A Boy’s Rite of Passage
Ages 12-14 ~ July 26th-August 1st ~ $1,200 ~ Old Santa Fe Trail
Connecting adolescent boys with their authentic selves at this auspicious time, we invite acknowledgement of new responsibilities and opportunities with gratitude and support.
-
Our intention is to clear minds, balance bodies, cultivate courage, reclaim authenticity, ground agency and leadership, forge confidence and friendship, deepen skills, and have fun!
We maintain a set schedule around meal times and whole-group activities while leaving space within the structure for organic, imaginative flow, giving smaller groups freedom to choose from rotating activities that suit their energy in the moment.
Campers will explore land and emotional navigation and journal insights from meditation, nature immersion, and dreams. They will be presented with a kit including a compass and whistle, a journal and pencil, and a pocket knife.
The ritual aspect of the week centers around the elements, mystery, and physical endurance. The first day opens with an exciting ceremony to ground attention within the senses, igniting instincts and tuning into this brotherhood. The week continues with dynamic daily exercises in the pool and on the field. Expressive arts and improvised storytelling will guide through personal shadow work. The final night culminates in an event the boys have been preparing for all week, a fire ritual of individual triumph, followed by the group presentations of their creations. Surprise is important in these rituals, so we retain the details, however, we can answer all your questions in a call or email.
Our Mentors are prepared for the profound emotional cycles these adolescent boys are bound to process, and are dedicated to the experience of each initiate. Throughout it all, we weave in therapeutic support and plenty of space for laughter, adventure, and the pure joy of being young and alive in the wild.
-
This week will be full of activities like tug-of-war and ropes course challenges, wild forest fort building and archery, shadow/fire stalking and “the hunt”, field games, scavenger hunts, and pool time.
They'll cook over open fire, handcraft herbal salves and teas, carve personal talismans charged with their own meaning and power, and create knot-work crafts to take home as keepsakes.
The groups will build improvised stories as maps for their own mythical journey forward, and create choreographed presentations expressing the culmination of the week's events. These will be shared with each other at the closing ceremony.
Our Mentors will rotate whole group activities designed around their unique talents and education, as well as steward small group projects, light chores, self care, and cabin maintenance with their individual teams.
-
We're a team of experienced therapists, mentors, guides, and parents dedicated to ecological awakening in our community. We're passionate about initiation work that honors Earth's cycles and elements.
Our staff is trained in conflict and risk management and experienced in masculine archetypes and ceremonial practices. We're committed to acknowledging personal growth in positive, supportive, creative, and encouraging ways.
-
Camp Stoney at 7855 Old Santa Fe Trail
Camp Stoney at Bishops Ridge offers an exceptional facility at the southern foothills of the Sangre de Cristo mountains—200 acres of pristine woodland, a ropes course, archery range, pool, and comfortable camp-style accommodations that let campers truly immerse themselves in the experience.
What The Truck Catering (on site)
Christina Caruso has built a reputation around Santa Fe for her satisfying menus and culinary range. Well-seasoned in Camp Stoney's kitchen, she's committed to nourishing and fueling these growing boys with delicious, hearty meals.
Allstate Insurance (Jim Wilson)
Jim Wilson has navigated the complexities of insuring our specific activities and secured comprehensive coverage that allows our mission to move forward with confidence. While we're fully covered for all camp activities and participants, we will still ask families to provide health insurance information so we can coordinate care efficiently in case of injury.
Frank Ortiz: Green Builder, Alternative Energy Technician, Physical Therapy Assistant, East & West Wellness Practice, Apprenticeship in Holistic Ceremony and Primitive Skills, Studying Community Agriculture, Handyman & Tree Work, Men’s Wellness Circle Work, Elk Hunter, and Land Steward!
Nathan Weick: Degrees in Sociology-Cultural Anthropology & Spanish, Masters in Special Education, Work with Cultural Resource Management & Archaeology, World Traveler, Teacher of Anthropology & Special Ed @ ATC!
Tyler White: Montessori Educated, Career in IT & Startup Entrepreneur, Men & Family Life/Career/Leadership Coach, Co-Leader of Multiple Men’s Groups & Conferences!
Cedar Luke: Home schooled, grown with passion for alternative education. Degrees in Latin American Studies and Social Justice, certified in Intercultural Education. World Traveler, Wilderness Therapist and Outdoor Education Facilitator. Land, Water, and Traditional Life-Ways Advocate.
Marc Reynolds: Education Coordinator @ Reunity Farm, Executive Director & Head Coach of Santa Fe Youth Lacrosse, Masters in Science & Teacher at SF Prep, Outdoor/Movement Educator, Rite of Passage Advocate!
Brayden Schmick: Multi Instrumentalist, Producer, Improviser, & Performer (Seanchai & Ancient Fusion), Violin/Viola Instructor!
Building Resilience and Wonder
-
We welcome a limited group of 30 boys to participate in this exciting experience. Our intention is planted with deep sincerity and care, understanding that initiation is not about rigidity or force, but about creating space for growth through joy, connection, and meaningful challenge.
This is not a disciplinary or tactical camp. This week is an immersion into nature, to learn from the elements and connect with the wild wisdom that lives in all of us. This perspective is designed to complement your family's beliefs, not conflict with them, and we honor the backgrounds and traditions that each boy brings.
We understand that what these boys need most is fun; expansive, soul-filling fun. We trust that through imagination, adventure, and authentic connection, the deepest lessons will naturally take root.
In our modern culture, too many young people face this threshold without guidance or community. By choosing this camp, you're actively participating in your son's passage, joining us in offering him what our society has largely forgotten how to provide.
This is our collective offering: a conscious, carefully crafted journey that honors both the gravity and the joy of seeing themselves more clearly.
If you answer YES to these questions..
Your family is ready!
Is your son compelled by/curious in nature and on his own?
Is he willing to be screen-free for a whole week?
Is your family looking for the opportunity to honor the transition from boyhood to manhood that is inevitable for your son, with ritual and respect?
Is your son ready to challenge his body, mind, and spirit, participating wholeheartedly in the process of journeying into his depth?
Can your family shine light on ancestry, culture, values, trusting the unknown, relationship with the animate, and love for Earth?
Will your son respect himself and his peers as well as his camp mentors in this vulnerable and challenging environment?
Can your son recover quickly from failure and mild injury in this encouraging and supporting environment?
Are you as parents, ready to acknowledge and respect your son’s growth, integrating the work we do this week into your relationships and your home?
Take the next step!
Email or Text from here.
Share your interest and contact information.
We will then schedule a family meeting to finalize Enrollment.
Recommended reading:
“Wild Mind” by Bill Plotkin
“Iron John: A Book About Men” by Robert Bly
Studying Nature’s map of wholeness, we find our true wild kinship with Earth.
FAQ
-
A Rite of Passage is an event marking an important stage in someone’s life, especially birth, puberty, marriage, and death.
We stand by this term because it sums up the purpose of this camp. The “rite”, is the setting of intention. It is not cultist or religious, but a planned practice that celebrates the participants.
These precious life stages should be cherished in our memory as epic expansion and self learning experiences. Defining it as a Rite indicates an allowance, acceptance, and encouragement by the community, and the ownership from the self.
The “Passage” is being seen and appreciated by loved ones, peers, mentors, and the self, in the intensity of the growth at this moment.
When we use “ritual”, we describe the focus in the purpose to connect with nature. This will not get too weird, but it will be wild!
-
Text or Email Annie with your contact information and interest in the camp.
We’ll schedule a phone call to answer any questions and make sure it’s a fit.
Finally, there will be several date options for your family to choose from, where we can meet in person shortly to sign waivers and contracts, finalize payment, and distribute the supply list.
-
Campers and their families will arrive at Camp Stoney (Bishops Ridge) at 3:00 pm on July 26th. They will have the opportunity to settle into their cabins and meet with the staff. At 3:30 we will gather for a Trail-head ceremony to send the boys off down the arroyo for the initiatory ritual. Families will depart after the campers are out of sight.
Pick up is at 10:00 am on August 1st. The campers will be all packed up and full from breakfast. We will gather for an hour of integration with campers and families to discuss together how to continue the practice of respect and individuation that campers have been working on. The campers will have an opportunity to share favorite aspects and lessons from camp, and Mentors will share insights from their experience as well.
-
All leadership will have radios at all times.
An emergency driver will be available at all times.
We will be fully equipped for minor injuries.
We have a certified life guard for the pool.
All medical/allergy info will be carefully reviewed by camp leadership.
Forms and Waivers can be viewed at the bottom of this website.
-
Only emergency information will be conveyed during the camp week.
We will contact parents as soon as possible about all incidents regarding their campers.
We will convey messages from parents to their campers only under emergency circumstances.
As of now, this camp will not be posting social media updates.
-
Campers will be bunking in A-frame cabins that sleep 10 campers and their assigned Mentor. Each cabin has a bathroom. There are two bathhouses with multiple showers.
This camp is catered from the kitchen inside the main lodge, and meals from dinner on the 26th to breakfast on the 1st are included, along with snacks daily and two dinners that will be prepared and cooked by the campers over the camp fire.
All activities during camp are included, as well as a welcome “kit”
We cannot offer Financial Aid this year as it is this event’s inception. All funds are needed to bring this camp to fruition. We look forward or offering scholarships in future.
Please view the Terms and Conditions for further information regarding camp boundaries.
-
Clean and tidy A-frame cabins host teams of ten campers on bunk beds with a bathroom dividing campers from their assigned Mentor’s room. Two bath houses with multiple showers meet all hygiene needs.
A large lodge space hosts an indoor option for mealtimes and group activities, while outdoor porch space provides an opportunity for outdoor barbecue and fire pit social event time.
The activities within the 200 acre forest facility are explained within the camp description.
-
All Camp leadership are background checked and searched on offender websites.
All Camp leadership are working full time in the respective fields of anthropology, psychology, and outdoor education.
The Mentor Contract will be available for families to view as we strive for transparency. The specific Bios and photos of the staff will be visible soon!
-
8-10 Breakfast (buffet style), slow and gradual, alongside art projects, puzzles, stretch/exercise, chess, intentional walks
10-12 Individual team activities selected by group consensus (choice of hikes, fort builds, archery, etc.)
12-1 Lunch (buffet style)
1-3 Pool and Field games, individual respite
3-7 Whole group activities, a rotation of Mentor’s specialties (+snack)
7-8 Dinner-(buffet style or over campfire)
8-10 Night walk & Hygiene time
11:00 Lights out
-
At the family enrollment meeting, we will note all special needs and accommodations, making sure we are prepared for each boy’s specific needs. We’ll have forms, contracts, and waivers to fill out. These forms are attached at the bottom of the website for you to preview.
-
The family enrollment meeting is very important to us. We hope to get to know your family and answer all your questions. Though there will be no contact except for emergencies during the camp, the boy’s work throughout the week will be strengthening the family bond. The integration meeting on the last day is especially intended to reunite and reconnect in ways that move forward with respect and love.
As the creator of this event, I realize that I want my child to have the same experience and will be making myself scarce through the activities. My roll once the camp begins is medical, behavioral, and organizational. I trust these Mentors deeply to run this camp and navigate the campers dynamics.
-
Participants will receive on arrival: a compass, a whistle, a whittling pocket knife, & a journal/pencil. They will make herbal salves early in camp, and a personal talisman will conclude the kit.
They will macrame a plant hanger and choose a house plant for their pot.
Art supplies will be available for use, and boys will be encouraged to create when it calls to them.
-
A specific list will be distributed at our enrollment meeting. Besides the obvious (clothes & toiletries for 7 days and 6 nights), campers will need a sleeping bag and pillow, headlamp, swim trunks, sunscreen, sun hat, strong hiking shoes, and flipflops/shower/pool/shoes
+They will also bring something sentimental/emotionally connected from their childhood (preferably a favorite stuffy) that will not be coming back home