The Humans
tamarix
Tamarix belongs to Boulder Mountain and the waters that course these dense forests and deep canyons; the magic of language; water and shadow; the scent of sagebrush; the feeling of sandstone on bare feet; the Oak-groves; his many cats; his woman Brianna; Grief, Longing, and Death; as well as Love, Belonging, and Life.
Tamarix has been claimed by the traditions of wilderness guiding, bardic poetry, rogue wine-drunk taoism, cat-worship, folk herbalism, and animistic witchcraft, as well as the deep stories of the dark trickster, the hunter, and the death doula.
As a wilderness rites-of-passage guide, Tamarix brings his 10+ years experience as a wilderness therapy guide, his intimate relationship with the non-human world, and his deep trust in both the wisdom of wild spaces and the power of ceremony. Tamarix is the senior editor of the “Circles on the Mountain” journal of the Wilderness Guides Council, holds many seats for the Oak and Bone School of Belonging and Remembrance, and is always working to create more ways to bring the magic of this ceremony to his people.
Brianna
Many find their first time sitting in ceremony to be an affirming and heart-opening experience, confirming their suspicion that there is more to the depths of the human experience. This was not the case for Bree.
Bree was brought to this work kicking and screaming. After a life spent building a beautiful citadel of self-protection, the ceremony was now asking her to dismantle it all. Through her process of resistance and suspicion, her soul began to slowly gain her trust and initiated her into a world of animistic enchantment and belonging.
Her wounding brought her here. The promises that civilization made to her people did not hold water, and at an early age, Bree was given the gift of abandonment and disillusionment. She now lives towards the legacy of eroding the dam that keeps us contained in the decaying story of civilization and expanding the possibilities of what it means to be human.
Bree specializes in the art of being tough and tender, the cycles of birth and death, nourishment and destruction. She’s known for getting her ass kicked by the phases of the moon and for breaking ceremonial taboos.
Usually, you can find her cooking elk stew, baking nettle donuts, or dreaming up new types of flour to satiate her gluten incompetent pallet. Bree acts as the Wild Food Kitchen person, making sure her people are well-fed and adequately supplied with snacks. She also tends the School of Wild Medicine and timidly apprentices with the School of Initiation.
Bree is doing this work for the lonely people, the Children of the Dirt, the street kids, and the shitheads.
Nicholas
Born in a winter storm on the Kuskokwim River in a small town in Western Alaska, Nicholas grew up steeped in the wisdom of knowing where his food comes from - catching salmon, gathering berries in the summer, and hunting Caribou and Moose in the fall and winter.
For many years he lived as a wanderer, finding work as a carpenter, welder, and mechanic throughout the West until he found The Wilderness Awareness School which grounded him and reminded him of the old ways of living. Remembering his purpose for being on this planet - to bring ceremony back to his lineage - he dedicated his life to ceremonial work, with the Vision Fast being the anchor.
Working and studying with organizations such as Wilderness Awareness School, Journeymen, Cascadia Quest, School of Lost Borders and The Oak and Bone School of Belonging and Remembrance, he has found a home on Boulder Mountain where he currently lives.
Nicholas is claimed by myth, poetry and the bardic ways of calling rain down from the sky with words of honey. He is an avid meditator, will fish until the fish bite, pick flowers at odd hours, and is a roamer of all lands. He is currently studying holistic health and integrative movement through the Chek Institute as he learns to help people live pain free holistic lives. He continues to learn, deeply listen, be humbled by his human mediocrities and practice unconditional love.
Joseph
Angelo Joseph Lazenka began guiding vision fasts in 1984 and often says that the work grew him up and now he is asking it to grow him down into the rich territory of elderhood.
He began working as a guide with the School of Lost Borders in 1993 and from 2003 - 2018 held a variety of titles including: Guide, Teacher, Director, President, and Board Member. Now, in his late 60's having left administrative responsibilities, he continues to guide and train while carrying the question of what it truly means to pass the work onto the next generation.
