Overture Backpacking

“By such a river it is impossible to believe that one will ever be tired or old. Every sense applauds it.”

-Wallace Stegner, Overture: The Sound of Mountain Water

Signal Fire announces Overture, our third annual backpacking retreat, located in the wilderness of southern Mount Hood National Forest. Organizers Daniela Molnar and Ryan Pierce will lead a group of eight through this old growth wonderland, the site of last year’s popular Love Triangle trip. We’ll hike through pristine Opal Creek and Bull of the Woods Wilderness areas, visit historic mining site Jawbone Flats, and soak at Bagby Hot Springs.

This week-long adventure is intended for creative people of all disciplines, regardless of previous outdoor experience. The program is offered at-cost, with Signal Fire organizing shared food, transportation, collaborative activities, and visiting artists. Our retreats are unique from production-based artist residencies in that most of the emphasis is on the shared experience itself: immersion in a wild landscape, the simple skills and physical accomplishments of backpacking, new friends, and discussion on the capacity of wilderness for creative regeneration.

Our days will be divided between moderate hiking (usually shorter stretches with our packs and optional day hikes), skill-sharing of low-impact camping techniques, short projects and games to open our senses to the landscape, and self-directed time for independent exploration and expression in this amazing place. Participants will also receive a bound reader with a curated selection of writings on regional natural history and meditations about place. We will use the reader to inspire daily discussions and activities. This year’s trip will have a particular emphasis on the intersection of creative writing and visual art.

Participants: Kirsten Furlong, Laura Gibson, Charlotte Keniston, Shaw Pong Liu, Abinadi Meza, Nina Montenegro, Brian Pietrowski, Jillian Vento, Linda Wysong.