Queer Rites Of Passage: Story As Ceremony with Toadstool Walks
July 6 - 12, 2026 Registration Closes: June 29, 2026
A contemporary Queer Rite Of Passage program, designed for the modern Queer adult human seeking a supportive space to claim themself within the context of the current times we are living in.
Whether stepping into adulthood, middlehood, parenthood, elderhood, otherhood, marking a transition, an ending, a beginning, celebrating, grieving, this is an opportunity for a threshold experience, witnessed and supported by Queer guides, community, and the land.
Many of our ancestors may have experienced the potency of community supported rites of passage and we believe that initiated Queer adults bring an important flavor of collective healing by realizing and claiming our gifts while being seen. Let’s mark our gender affirming surgeries, hormone-related therapies, name changes, breakups, commitments, current roles, and identities by pausing together in witness and support!
Inspired by solo fasts, vision quests, nature therapy, forest bathing, traditional and nontraditional rites, rituals, and ceremonies of all kinds, this is a community call to those who feel the pull to go deep around the campfire with fellow kin who are curious and feeling the call to step into our expansive ways of being.
Traditional land-based rites of passage programs are often set in wild, remote, off-grid environments where some backcountry experience is necessary as questers typically head off into the wilderness for a multi-day solo fast from food, people, and shelter.
Neither backcountry experience nor special outdoor gear will be needed for this program. We will be living together on forty acres of private retreat space set in the rolling meadows and forested foothills of Southern Vermont. Basecamp at Beaver Falls is nestled beside an expansive pine and hemlock forest with a river running alongside wide, flat, well-marked trails. Accommodations include both camping, indoor lodging and meals.
This six day program is an invitation to those who may be craving more than a weekend-long retreat but may not be drawn to, ready, or able to participate in an extended multi-week off-grid initiation due to time, resources or other barriers. This program centers the story circle as the ceremony, meaning that the sharing and listening is what will inform and shape the 24 hour threshold ceremony, along with the support of the land and the guides. Some participants may determine that their threshold ceremony may involve a fast from food, people, and/or shelter, while others may benefit from a ceremony that looks radically different.
This Queer Rite of Passage program is a response to the modern day reality that there are many ways to give space to human seasons of becoming, that there is no one path of initiation that fits all, but there are major benefits for you, your community, the land and beyond, that come with exploring these potent acts of marking time, crossing thresholds, and creating our own ceremonies with the love and support of experienced guides.
*This event is substance-free, which means we ask folks to leave alcoholic beverages and non-prescription substances at home. You do not need to identify as a person in recovery to join a substance-free event with us. For more on our trip substance policies, you can click to view our General Trip and Refund Policies here.
GENERAL INFO
Location: Basecamp at Beaver Falls, Halifax, VT
(Wabanaki and Elnu Abenaki Lands)
Age: 18+
Start Date: July 6, 2026 - Arrival @ 2-4pm - Opening Circle at 5pm
End Date: July 12, 2026 - Departure @ 11am
Cost: $1000-$1775 sliding scale
To find out where you fall best in our sliding scale, see the “How much should I pay?” dropdown below.
Includes: All meals, lodging, programming
Doesn't Include: Personal clothing, toiletries, flights
ABOUT YOUR GUIDES
Tam Willey (they/them) and Jett Cazeaux-Moore (they/them) met at the first Queer Mirroring Guide Training offered via Wild Mountain in 2022 where they became close friends. They each bring extensive guiding experience as well as deep care to rites of passage ceremonial practice. Together they founded the Butch Legacy Death Club, where they have been supporting each other to get their affairs in order with an intention to ultimately support others to do the same. Tam and Jett are a nurturing paternal dynamic duo and could not be more thrilled to be co-guiding this program.
Tam Willey (they/them) is a nature based guide and mentor, exploring themes of belonging and attention through story and immersive ways of being together that support a culture of reciprocity and relational kinship. Tam's work is informed by their background as an artist, musician, local handy person, children’s woodworking instructor, custodian, skateboarder, LGBTQIA+ youth advisor, community advocate, and trainer of nature therapy guides across the globe with the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy. Tam is passionate about bioregional herbalism, community supported agriculture, fermentation, food reclamation, skill sharing, rites of passage, tech wellness, and outdoor recreation. Tam has been collaborating with The Venture Out Project since 2017 as an instructor, community liaison, and guide, launching the first Queer Forest Bathing retreat in 2018 in Lyle, Washington.
Tam holds CPR, First Aid, Wilderness First Aid, Mental Health First Aid, Wilderness Mental Health First Responder, and Nature Therapy Guide certifications.
For more information about Tam, check out ToadstoolWalks.com.
Jett Cazeaux-Moore (they/them) has been surrounding themselves with folks practicing ceremony and creatively marking events in communion with the natural world since their first Saturn Return, nearly twenty five years ago. Jett has found healing in the natural world & in community, and followed this thread with opportunities over the next 15 years. They have worked for Outward Bound & Open Sky Wilderness Therapy on the Colorado Plateau, as a practitioner of Joanna Macy’s Work that Reconnects, have a degree in Ecopsychology from Prescott College with focus on experiential education & community involvement, have been an Organizer for the 2nd largest small town Pride events in Moab, UT., and guided with Pacific Quest horticultural therapy. Most recently, they’ve graduated as a somasource practitioner for a movement based rites of passage program in Boulder, CO.
Jett has collected these lived experiences like talismans & tools to better serve, heal and share with those along the path. They’re so excited to support you in this story that is calling to you at this time in your life.
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In order for Venture Out to remain financially viable and sustainable, we have had to increase our prices to account for the increased expenses we are incurring as well as the corporate pullback around DEI support and initiatives. Our priority will always be to keep our trips and experiences as affordable as possible. At the same time, our goal is also to remain self-sustaining so that we can continue to serve our community for at least another 10 years. We are doing everything we can to continue to keep our prices low and we appreciate your understanding of our pricing so that we can continue to flourish as an organization with a queer staff.
Of course you can always spend time in nature for free on your own. What we are offering is not just a wilderness trip, but a chance to create community. On a TVOP trip, you will meet people with shared identities, have meaningful experiences and conversations in community, have someone else plan the logistics of your adventures including food and gear, and have certified Wilderness First Responders on hand should you ever need one. All of the money we collect goes towards operating costs for our programs.
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Our sliding scale is meant to make our trips and events more accessible for those who experience financial barriers, are looking for reparations pricing, and/or have high travel expenses. Paying a higher amount allows us to provide more opportunities to others. Paying a smaller amount is recommended for those who would not otherwise be able to afford the estimated value. Please choose an amount that you will be able to pay, but will not hinder your ability to afford food, housing, etc. By paying as much as you can, we are able to serve more of our community members.
Our sliding scale recommendation:
- Low: Yearly income $30,000 or under, struggles to meet basic needs
- Mid (pays estimated value): Yearly income $40,000-$75,000, some expendable income
- High: Yearly income $80,000-$100,000, comfortable, never struggle with basic needs
Need more examples? We follow the Green Bottle principle. Click here to view and find out where you fall.
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Information for our land acknowledgment was gathered from nativeland.ca, which provides an estimate of original indigenous land occupation, but does not take into account migratory patterns or movement of the many surrounding communities. We recognize the historical complexity of indigenous movement across the land, and honor with gratitude the many, many surviving native nations whose land we benefit from in our work to diversify the outdoors.
