Mount Hood Rainforest Retreat

Registration is open

June 23 - 28, 2024

6 days & 5 nights camping in the lush rainforest near the base of Mount Hood in Oregon

Space is limited to 24 people

Time in Nature is one of the primary resources for the continued cultivation of the herbalist.

This immersive outdoor adventure is geared for plant healers of all levels. Our observations of Nature strengthen our clinical skills by offering insights to pattern recognition in client assessment and the development of effective treatment strategies for those who come to us.

The wild places of Mount Hood will be our classroom for this week-long rainforest retreat. Our days will be spent hiking in the rainforest, meeting with plant friends, and developing our role as agents of Nature. Plant walks, plant identification, plant communication, discovery of self, discussions of ecology, and wild harvesting ethics will ensue. Evenings will gather around the campfire for story time and medicine making.

This will be a gathering of remembrance and an opportunity to practice traditional Earth Centered herbal arts in a community setting guided by herbalist, Heather Luna.

The Mount Hood Bioregion

The majesty of Mount Hood meets the mighty Columbia River in central Oregon’s old-growth rainforest. The natural beauty of the area has captivated people for thousands of years. The Mt. Hood National Forest extends across more than sixty miles of forested mountains, lakes, stream, and waterfalls. It is home to a diversity of wildlife, plants, fungi, and lichens. It has over 200 miles of Wild and Scenic rivers that provide habitat to migrating Chinook salmon, Coho salmon and steelhead trout.

At 12,240-feet high, Mount Hood is Oregon's highest peak of the Cascade Range. It is a dormant stratovolcano, and although the mountain has not erupted since the 1700s, high elevation vents still emit sulfurous steam and minor earthquakes occur deep under the mountain. Mount Hood is located about 50 miles east of the Portland metropolitan area. Around 1800, Lewis and Clark were the first Americans to document their view of Mount Hood as they explored Oregon.

Native American tribes including the Molalas, Kalapuyans, Chinookan Clackamas, Shinookan Wascos, Northern Paiute peoples, and Sahaptin speakers all lived within the area and many of them called the mountain Wy’East. Native people regarded the mountain as a sacred place. In one myth from the Klickitat Tribe, the Great Spirit has two sons, Wy’east and Pahto, who engage in a destructive battle to win the affections of a beautiful woman named Loowit. Enraged at his sons, the Great Spirit turns all three into mountains: Pahto is Mount Adams, Loowit is Mount St. Helens, and Wy’east is Mount Hood.

Herbs & Plant Life

We have so many plants to meet on this trip! Paul Bergner has compiled an extensive plant list (70+ pages) for the Mt. Hood region. There is also a document on Poisonous Plants.

You will be sent these files upon registration.