Year Round Offerings > Workshops, Retreats, & Events > Autumn Alchemy
Autumn Alchemy Day Hike Series
A three-part reflective hiking series
• All ages • Sliding scale $20-50 per hike
• Saturdays: Sept 25, Oct 24, Nov 21 (choose one, two, or all three hikes)
Program Details
Autumn Alchemy Day Hikes
Program Description
As the seasons shift, so do we.
Autumn Alchemy is a series of three guided hikes that invite you to step into nature and reflect on the beauty of the changing landscape.
Together, we'll journey through hikes where we Gather, Remember, and Release - celebrating the harvest, honoring where we've come from, and embracing the quiet invitation to let go as winter approaches. While these hikes are designed to be experienced as a series, each one can also be enjoyed as a standalone experience. Learn more about each hike’s themes below.
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Tentative Location: Wallace Falls
As autumn fades and the forest settles into winter’s quiet, November invites us into stillness, surrender, and deep listening. The landscape reminds us that letting go is not an ending - it is an essential part of every living cycle.
This hike is an invitation to slow down, release what no longer needs to be carried, and create space for rest and renewal. Through guided reflection, nature-based contemplative practices, ecological learning, and moments of community connection, we’ll explore the wisdom of the darker season and the quiet transformations that happen beneath the surface.
Logistical Details
When is it? Saturdays: Sept 25, Oct 24, and Nov 21. Participants can choose to join one, two, or all three of the hikes. Hikes begin at each trailhead 10:30am and will last until approximately 2:30pm. If taking the Journeys shuttle, plan to be at Basecamp at 9am and arrive back around 4:30pm.
Where is it? Location varies with each hike; for more information see the hike descriptions in the dropdown above. Journeys will provide a shuttle from our basecamp in Bothell, WA to the trailhead; we will meet at Basecamp at 9:00am. Alternatively, participants can travel to and meet our guides and group at the trailhead, arriving there no later than 10:30am.
Who can attend? Open to all ages, these gentle, family-friendly hikes welcome anyone looking to get outside in community. Participants should be capable of hiking 4-6 miles on lightly maintained trails at a relaxed pace (about 1-2 miles per hour).
How much does it cost? This series is offered on a sliding scale of $20-50 per session. No one will be turned away for lack of funds.
Meet Your Guides
9am-5pm (times may vary)
All Ages
Varies, Shuttle Provided
$20-50 Sliding Scale
At A Glance
Dates Session #1: July 3-9, 2027
Dates Session #2: August 13-19, 2027
Cost: $1495
Duration: 7 days
Who: All-Genders, Age 10-12
Location: Backpacking, Olympic Coast
At A Glance
Session 3: Nov 21, 2026
Christopher Criqui
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Criqui is a white, genderqueerdo born and raised in rural Pennsylvania on unceded Susquehannock territory. Their journey as an environmental educator began after moving to the Pacific Northwest and developing relationships with the humans and more-than-humans who inhabit this place. Through their work with IslandWood and the YMCA’s BOLD & GOLD, Criqui sees teaching as a means of facilitating societal reconstruction and is deeply committed to justice-oriented and culturally sustaining education. Criqui is especially interested in the queerness found in the natural world and what humans might learn about their own identities from it. Outside of teaching, they like to play silly games, do silly dances, and ask silly questions. Their boyfriend describes their personality as “being born out of a mechanical bull.” Criqui is good at hearing hummingbirds, getting distracted by plants, and appearing confident even when they aren’t all the way there.
West Liberty
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West (they/them) is a proudly enrolled member of the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana and a descendant of the Turtle Mountain Tribe. They grew up right in the middle of the big city of Seattle.
As a born and raised city kid, they spent their youth exploring parks and beaches but also immersed in the hustle and bustle of city life. As a young person they had the opportunity to go on a wilderness Rite of Passage trip that helped them connect to nature and wilderness in a new way. Now, they spend each day in deep connection to the land they live on at Songaia Co-Housing Community in Bothell, WA where they have learned much about permaculture, herbal medicine, and many aspects of community life.
They have spent much of their career as a caregiver of children and are excited about supporting young people and their families in connecting to nature through wilderness rites of passage. West is also a visual artist and dancer. Their happiest space is deep inside the creative process, listening to what wants to emerge and bringing it forth.