Diamond in the Rough
Colorado Retreat

Haycamp Mesa, Southwest Colorado

September 18–26, 2027

Welcome

Direct and intimate contact with the wilder natural world is an ancient and profound doorway to inner awakening. Our practices of attention, inquiry, simple ceremony, and group sharing help us enter this doorway more fully.

Each Day Includes

Nature Teachings · Inquiry · Connection in Community · Meditation · Solo Time · Group Sharing · A 24-Hour Solo

The Foundations

Developed and led by John Davis for 30 years, this retreat draws together two powerful paths. The School of Lost Borders’ teachings and practices ground our work in immersion in the natural world, ceremonial ways of relating to the land and ourselves, and a four-fold map of nature, including human nature: body, heart, mind, and spirit. Our teachings and practices offer an inclusive, nonjudgmental intimacy with yourself and your life’s journey.

The Diamond Approach® brings clarity, depth, and richness to the lessons of wild nature. Its practice of open-ended inquiry and its understanding of the terrain of consciousness lead to a more thorough realization of our inner truths while providing us pathways through obstacles. Integrating these paths offers a deeply transformative journey to connecting with our authentic presence and being at home in the world.

The Retreat

Our days are built around solo time in nature with brief teachings and inquiries. This gives daily opportunities to expand your experience through the presence of wild nature. In the evenings, we share the unfolding stories. One day is devoted to a 24-hour solo and opportunities for deeper contact with your natural presence in, and as, nature. In our experience, a genuine sense of community forms organically on these trips.

Our drive-in basecamp offers easy access to solitude in a nearby meadow, pine forests, and a high, open mesa with views of mountain peaks and vast plateaus. You can choose how far to walk on your solos.

This retreat is appropriate for those who are new to the Diamond Approach and camping, as well as those who have extensive experience with either. Previous wilderness experience is not necessary.

We offer a sliding scale so that cost need not be a barrier to this experience.
To learn more about our way with money, visit the School of Lost Borders website.

$975-$2,900*

*Sliding Scale

Dates: September 18–26, 2027

Location: RSL Ranch on Haycamp Mesa, near Cortez, CO.

Accommodations: Camping at a drive-in basecamp

Meals: Bring your own breakfast and lunch every day. Communal dinners.

Camping fee: $110

Deposit: $300 to reserve your spot

After you register:‍ You will receive a private link to the Logistics page with:

  • Forms & waivers

  • Safety Protocols

  • Gear list

  • Food details

  • Directions & travel

  • Emergency contacts

  • Payment information


Questions? Contact our Retreat Coordinator

Register & Pay Deposit

From the Land

  • Rocky mesa overlook above a green valley under a dramatic cloudy sky

    The Mesa

  • A white daisy in bloom on the forest floor

    Wildflower

  • A lone pine growing from a rock outcrop above a forested valley

    Solo Ground

  • Retreat participants standing together in a circle at dusk

    Evening Circle

  • Rocky slope and pine forest in the Colorado high country

    High Country

  • Weathered wooden sign carved with “Nothing and Everything, Nobody and Everybody"

    Nothing and Everything

  • Sunrise glowing through the trees over a quiet meadow

    Morning

  • Retreat participants gathered in a circle among the pines

    Gathering

  • Sunset over a high meadow ringed by pines

    Evening Light

Your Guides

John Davis, founder of Diamond in the Rough, with mountains behind him

John has been a Diamond Approach teacher since 1983 and a vision fast guide and trainer. He is the author of The Diamond Approach. John has been a guide at the School of Lost Borders for more than 30 years and is a certified Wilderness First Responder.

Guide

John Davis

Kelley Parke with a backpack outdoors with trees and mountains behind him

Marlena is a long-time Diamond Approach student, Senior Faculty at the Co-Active Training Institute, a Master Certified Coach, leadership trainer, and meditation teacher. For many years, she was an Outward Bound instructor, a river guide, a Wilderness EMT and is certified in Wilderness First Aid.

Guide

Marlena deCarion, CPCC, MCC

Nihar Shah, retreat assistant, near a river with kayak

Nihar has been a Diamond Approach student since 2007. Recently, he has been enjoying sensing his oneness with urban nature: the song of the birds lifting his spirits, the trees offering the support he needs to make contact with the urban, civilized world, and the squirrels in the yard reminding him that his inner "weather" mirrors the outer.

Assistant

Nihar Shah

Kelley Parke

Kip Dooley smiling in a cap and dark t-shirt, standing in front of a large tree trunk

Kelley Parke has been a Diamond Approach student since 2012 and works as a psychotherapist. His interests in psychology, spirituality, and ecology inform an ongoing inquiry into how we might cultivate reciprocity with the Earth. Happiest in a canoe, he loves exploring nature and sensing into the preciousness of existence.

Assistant

Kip Dooley

Kip Dooley is an ordained teacher in the Diamond Approach and a lifelong educator. Their heart sings with love for all that is real and revealed in nature, with nature, as our nature.

Assistant

Marlena deCarion smiling outdoors in an orange vest and cap

If you feel the call

A $300 deposit reserves your spot.

Register & Pay Deposit