LOCALadk Magazine

LOCALadk 35 Behind the ease of movement is careful structure. Each retreat begins long before anyone sets foot on the trail. Preparation calls, group chats, gear lists, and orientation sessions are standard. Participants are in- troduced to Leave No Trace principles, basic backpack- ing skills, and the emotional contours of multi-day wilderness travel. Groups remain small, often no more than six participants. "I start a group chat," Costa said. "That's where it be- gins. People are asking what they need, what they're bringing. The magic starts there." But the real foundation is safety. Costa carries a Garmin emergency device and maintains detailed emergency protocols, including medical information, evacuation routes, and regional hospital contacts. Her training in CPR/AED and First Aid (BLS), Wilderness Advanced First Aid, and Mental Health First Aid allows her to respond to both physical emergencies and emo- tional distress in remote settings. "There's an emergency plan," she said simply. "Al- ways." That preparation allows participants to loosen their grip on control, often for the first time in a long time. Costa is intentional about how she structures her retreats. They are intimate by design, meant to foster trust and honest exchange rather than performance or scale. She also does not separate her work from her story. Costa describes herself as a wounded healer. Her own experience of surviving abuse, moving through recovery, and rebuilding a life of meaning is not back- ground detail. It is part of the practice itself. "I walk the talk," she said. "I recover out loud." That transparency changes the tone in the group. It flattens hierarchy. It makes space for honesty that might otherwise stay unspoken. The Adirondacks introduce something many partici- pants do not expect, silence that is not empty. "In the beginning, people try to fill it," Costa said. "They talk, they move, they stay busy. Then it shifts." What she calls an "alive quiet" begins to settle in. Wind through trees, water over stone, the distance between human voices. It is not absence. It is pres- ence without interruption. By the second or third day, something changes. Conversation slows. Attention deepens. "That's when it becomes profound," she said. "Peo- ple start to understand what it means just to be." For many, especially those arriving from cities, time itself begins to loosen. "There is no schedule," Costa said. "People ask when they should eat, when they should do things. You can eat when you want. There are no rules out there." Days begin to follow natural rhythm instead of social structure. Sunrise, movement, rest, dusk. Even basic needs shift meaning. Hunger becomes information. Rest becomes instruction. The body begins to speak more clearly than the calendar. Each retreat combines practical outdoor education with reflective and creative practices. Participants learn gear setup, trail navigation, and Leave No Trace ethics alongside journaling, meditation, yoga, nature crafts, Tarot, and elemental ceremonies. The physical component is significant. Participants carry packs of approximately 30 pounds and hike between 4 and 10 miles per day, with regular breaks built into the pace. "There are breaks," Costa said. "Many of them. It's about integration, not pushing through." Retreats combine outdoor education with creative practices.

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