Shadowcraft Intensive

Adults Only

Duvall, WA and other PNW Locations

$4,495
Financial Aid Available

In-person:
5/20/25 – 5/25/25
7/15/25 – 7/20/25
9/19/25 – 9/25/25

Virtual:
6/18/25 (6pm-8pm)
7/7/25 (6pm-8pm)
8/18/25 (6pm-8pm)
9/8/25 (6pm-8pm)

Sometimes
if you move carefully
through the forest,

breathing
like the ones
in the old stories,

who could cross
a shimmering bed of leaves
without a sound,

you come to a place
whose only task

is to trouble you
with tiny
but frightening requests,

conceived out of nowhere
but in this place
beginning to lead everywhere.

Requests to stop what
you are doing right now,
and

to stop what you
are becoming
while you do it,

questions
that can make
or unmake
a life,

questions
that have patiently
waited for you,

questions
that have no right
to go away.

“Sometimes”
By David Whyte

Shadowcraft is an adult rite of passage that invites you to step into a deeper sense of belonging within yourself and the world, especially in the midst of what is unseen, unknown, and unsavory. For those seeking to meet the chaotic energy of this moment with courage and clarity, this intensive offers an opportunity for deep practice grounded in direct relationship with nature.

We will use awareness exercises, archetypal embodiment, community ritual, movement, and time in darkness as tools for accessing new edges and inner resources. Connection with nature and the night will serve as a primary source of both refuge and challenge, a doorway through which to explore what it means to be a steward and protector of that which you care about most, even when you cannot see what lies beyond the next bend in the trail.

At the heart of the course are not answers, but a series of sacred questions: 

• How do we celebrate and protect the wild beauty of this world while accepting fear and grief as steadfast companions?
• How do we remember our relatedness and forge enduring bonds of kinship with each other and the earth even as we are buffeted by the winds of collapse and change?
• How do we as a community ritualize the moments of transformation that call our unique gifts into greater expression for the benefit of the “village,” especially when smoke appears on the horizon?

Shadowcraft is woven directly from these threads of inquiry. Participants can expect to meet parts of themselves they may have never encountered before, and come away with a fortified sense of personal agency and deeper trust in the web of support and connection that is always available – in ourselves, each other, nature, and beyond.

A Note of Caution

This course is a significant undertaking, and will ask deep questions of you: who are you in the midst of uncertainty and challenge? How do you tap into courage when it matters most? What are you willing to let go of in order to more fully meet this moment in your life and on the planet? Participants should be in generally good physical and mental health, have awareness of their own trauma and triggers, hold a strong sense of self-responsibility, and be ready to engage in a transformative experience with a significant degree of uncertainty and mystery.

Shadowcraft consists of three in-person overnight sessions in May, July, and September 2025. These sessions are at the heart of the Shadowcraft experience and provide the opportunity to learn and practice key skills and core routines in a beautiful setting while strengthening culture and connection within the group.

Logistics:
Dinners are provided for all in-person sessions. Participants will camp on Wilderness Awareness School land during sessions one and two, while session three will take place on another beautiful piece of land in the Pacific Northwest. 

See below for more information about these in-person sessions.

Core Routines

Individual at-home practice of the core routines is an essential part of Shadowcraft. These routines include Sit Spot (returning to a spot in nature on a regular basis), fox-walking, gratitude, and tuning into one’s surroundings with intentional awareness. These routines serve to deepen connection, calm the nervous system, and turn surface-level learning into embodied knowing. They become indispensable tools as the course progresses, providing an anchor and grounding point that participants can readily return to whenever needed.

Virtual Sessions

In addition to in-person sessions, the course includes several group calls to reinforce key aspects of the curriculum and nourish connection during our time apart. Participants will also have peer-to-peer check-in calls to share stories and further cultivate the core routines and awareness practices they are learning.

Session One

May 20th at 6pm to May 25th at 3pm

The first session is focused on developing group culture and introducing the physical and non-physical skills and practices that are at the heart of Shadowcraft. These include movement and stealth, animal forms, camouflage and concealment, intuition and awareness, self-regulation, listening to the signs of nature, and working with fear. At the same time, participants will begin to engage with the thematic and archetypal elements undergirding a significant rite of passage already unfolding in their own lives.

Session Two

July 15th at 6pm to July 20th at 3pm

In the second session participants continue to put key skills into practice while also leaning further into energetic and archetypal exploration. Activities, games, and challenges provide ample opportunity to strengthen group connection and embody the learnings from session one, as well as further integrate the core routines.

Session Three

Sept 19th at 8am to Sept 25th at 3pm

Session three is the culmination of Shadowcraft. This 7-day experience will push your intuition and skill to new edges and directly challenge your fears and perceived limitations. Successfully navigating this rite of passage will require deep trust in yourself, your fellow participants, and nature herself.

• Feel a longing for a closer relationship with nature and the earth 
• Are able to identify a significant transition or transformation already occurring in their lives, something they wish to lend energy and momentum to
• Value community, vulnerability, and group process
• Are comfortable with hiking, camping, and other basic outdoor activities, and know how to take care of their own needs in the outdoors
• Have a high degree of emotional capacity and self-responsibility
• Have worked with their trauma in the past and hold strong awareness of their own sensitivities and triggers
• Are ready to invest time into practicing the routines of nature connection on their own outside of in-person sessions
• Ready to Apply: You can do so here.

Payment Options and Financial Aid

A 25% non-refundable deposit is due upon course registration. Payment plans and/or financial aid (in the form of a price reduction) are available to help bring the course within reach for those who otherwise might not be able to participate. The financial aid application is included in the Shadowcraft application.

Questions?

Please contact Carlin Gettliffe at carling@wildernessawareness.org for any questions or clarifications about this program and the application process.

Carlin Gettliffe

Carlin is a somatic coach, fungiphile, and rite of passage facilitator. His experiences in the tops of apple trees and sneaking around in the dark as a child led to a deep and lasting trust in the power of nature to invite our truest selves forward. As a synthesizer and edge-walker he has dabbled in many worlds, spending time as a business founder, science fiction writer, bartender, physics researcher, and hitchhiking vagabond. He weaves multiple complementary elements into his facilitation, including perspectives from somatic trauma therapy, gender reconciliation work, poetry and myth, archetypal embodiment, and the Light Dark Institute. Carlin is a graduate of the Immersion and Nature Instructor Training at the Wilderness Awareness School. 

Emily Gibson

Following her 2005 graduation from the Wilderness Awareness School Immersion program (then called Anake) Emily spent 10 years on staff at WAS in various roles instructing youth and adults, managing programs, and supporting adult rites of passage. A lifelong student of the wild, her truest self materializes in exploration and play with the mysteries of shadowcraft, something she has introduced and shepherded countless others into. In her other trade as a real estate agent, she enjoys helping her clients peel back the layers of the journey that go deeper than the transactional surface – the life changes, the big questions, and the search for connection to home and to place.

Chris Laliberte

Chris spent 20 years at Wilderness Awareness School, where he founded the Community School program, instructed and coordinated The Immersion, and also held several Program Director and leadership positions. In addition to being passionately committed to transformative nature connection, Chris is a Storyteller and long-time student of Myth and the power of stories to shape our perceptions, our worldview, and our communities. He completed a Master’s in Mythological Studies at Pacifica Graduate Institute, and has studied with Michael Meade and other leaders in the movement to understand and re-shape the myths we are living as individuals and communities.