What to Expect at Your First Men’s Adventure Retreat

You can be comfortable leading a meeting and still hesitate over a retreat registration page.

What are the men like? Will the whole thing revolve around running? Am I going to spend five days trying to sound interesting?

Those questions deserve useful answers. At an adventure retreat, the shared activity is only part of the experience. Where you sleep, how the days are arranged, and the opportunities to get to know people matter just as much.

Here is what we are building at Unrationed Outside Zion, and what is worth asking before you come.

What will the days feel like?

The gathering runs from April 21 through April 25, 2027: five days and four nights, with tent camping at Zion Ponderosa Ranch Resort. We provide the tent. You bring your sleeping bag and pillow.

The rhythm includes meals together, time outdoors, guest-speaker sessions, and unhurried time at camp. Glen Van Peski and Paul Watkins are the announced guest speakers. The current itinerary places a shared outdoor challenge in the middle of the week, with time afterward to slow down and consider what you want to take home.

There is a difference between reading that itinerary and knowing whether it fits you. Look at the lodging as closely as the landscape. Think about the time away from work and the arrangements you need to make at home. A good decision can hold both anticipation and practical questions.

Do I need to arrive knowing other men?

You can begin those conversations before the trip.

Public registration includes access to the Unrationed community from registration through April 30, 2027. We will help facilitate introductions and conversation through the app, calls, and chat so you have opportunities to get to know other attendees before arriving.

Start simply. Tell people where you live and what drew you to the gathering. Ask another man what he is looking forward to. You do not need a polished explanation of your life to participate.

Familiarity grows through repeated contact. Taking part before the retreat gives that process somewhere to begin; it does not require you to become everyone’s friend before the flight. As John O’Donohue wrote, “No threshold need be a threat, but rather an invitation and a promise.”

Is this mainly for endurance athletes?

No. Zion is not only for endurance athletes. Physical challenge is part of the gathering, and choosing an appropriate challenge takes an honest conversation about your experience, preparation, and the confirmed event arrangements.

Bring the facts of your current life to that conversation. What have you done recently? What time can you give preparation? What questions do you have about terrain or support?

Final route details and support arrangements need confirmation. Ask the organizers about them rather than treating a distance on a page as a personal recommendation. A willingness to prepare is useful. So is the willingness to say what you do not yet know.

What if I am skeptical of men’s retreats?

You can ask direct questions.

Who is hosting? What happens in the group sessions? What is expected of participants? How are personal boundaries handled? What happens if an activity is not appropriate for me?

Unrationed is not a faith-based organization. We care about the questions that sit underneath a man’s work, relationships, and ambitions, and about giving those questions company.

If a particular format or expectation matters to your decision, ask before paying. You should have enough information to make a considered choice.

How should I prepare for being away?

Make room for the trip in the life you will return to.

Agree on responsibilities at home. Give someone at work the information they need. Read the preparation material instead of assuming a last-minute gear order will handle everything.

Airfare to Las Vegas is separate from registration. Confirm travel timing with the team before booking, especially your return flight: the group transportation schedule will determine the appropriate departure window.

You can also write down one question you would like to spend time with. Keep it plain. “What do I want this next season to look like?” is enough.

What happens after the retreat?

We think about the gathering in three phases: orientation, disorientation, and reorientation.

Orientation begins beforehand as you meet men and prepare. Disorientation is the time away from familiar routines. Reorientation is the work of bringing what you notice into ordinary life.

A useful return might be a conversation you have been postponing, a practice you want to keep, or a man you continue calling. The experience becomes yours through those choices.

If you are considering your first retreat, explore the Zion gathering. Read the itinerary and practical details. If something important remains unanswered, ask us about Zion. You can begin with a question.

Explore Zion

Sources

Zion gathering: https://unrationed.com/zion-2027

John O’Donohue, To Bless the Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings (Doubleday, 2008), “An Invitation and a Promise”: https://www.friendsofsilence.net/quote/2025-05/invitation-and-promise