A small operation, by design.
MindTreks runs mindfulness hiking retreats in the Cascade Mountains. We were founded by Elena Marchetti in April 2019 and have stayed deliberately small. We run between fourteen and eighteen retreats per year. Every retreat is capped at eight participants. We have three lead guides and a part-time operations manager. We are not planning to add a fourth program, a second location, or a corporate-retreat offering.
This page exists because our prospective guests reasonably want to know who we are and what we are doing before booking. Below is a direct answer to that.
What we teach
We teach a secular, evidence-based form of mindfulness practice drawn from the MBSR (Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction) program developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in the late 1970s. The specific practices we run on retreat are:
- Walking practice. Three formats — counted breath, body-scan in motion, and open awareness — applied while hiking at a deliberate pace.
- Seated practice. Short morning and evening sits, typically 20–45 minutes, at the lodge.
- Breathwork. A small set of well-studied breathing techniques (box breathing, slow nasal breathing, and coherent breathing). We do not teach Wim Hof method, holotropic breathwork, or other intense breath practices on retreat.
- Silent intervals. Structured periods of group silence ranging from one hour to a full half-day on the multi-day program.
What we do not teach
This is an unusual section on a retreat website, but we think it is more useful than the alternative. We do not teach:
- Any religious or spiritual tradition. We will discuss the historical roots of mindfulness practice if asked, but we do not chant, use mantras, or perform rituals.
- Specific outcomes. We do not promise stress reduction, anxiety relief, sleep improvement, weight loss, or any other health or wellness outcome. The research on mindfulness is real and worth reading; we are not in a position to predict what will happen for you.
- Medical advice. Our guides are trained in wilderness medicine for trail safety; they are not your healthcare providers. If you are managing a health condition, consult your physician before booking.
- Plant medicine, fasting, extreme cold exposure, or sensory deprivation. These belong in different programs, run by different people.
The guides
We have three lead guides. At least two are on every retreat. The biographies are short on purpose — what matters is what they have done and what they are trained for.
Elena Marchetti — Founding Guide
Eleven years as a backcountry ranger across Yosemite and the Cascades. MBSR Teacher Certification from the Center for Mindfulness, UMass Medical School (2017). Wilderness First Responder. Leave No Trace Master Educator. Founded MindTreks in April 2019.
Daniel Okonkwo — Breathwork & Recovery
Registered Respiratory Therapist (inactive, 2008–2017). Registered Yoga Teacher 500-hour (2018). Joined MindTreks in 2020 after relocating from Atlanta. Leads our breathwork sessions and the cold-weather portions of the winter retreat.
Sage Kawamura — Trail Leadership
Eight years guiding for the Sierra Club's national Outings program. Four seasons with the Pacific Crest Trail Association in trail and conservation work. American Mountain Guides Association (AMGA) Single-Pitch and Hiking instructor. Wilderness First Responder. Leave No Trace Master Educator. Joined MindTreks in 2022.
How we are funded
MindTreks LLC is owned by Elena Marchetti (60%) and Daniel Okonkwo (40%). We have no outside investors, no parent company, and no affiliate programs we participate in. Our revenue is entirely from retreat fees. We do not accept sponsorships from gear companies, supplement companies, or anyone else; we don't run sponsored blog content; we don't sell mailing-list access.
We do run paid advertising on certain channels (online search, occasionally on programmatic networks). The advertising we run is for our actual retreat programs, on our actual website, with no upsell or follow-up funnel.
Where we operate
Our base is in Bend, Oregon. Our lodge and cabin properties are leased — not owned — from local owners we have worked with since 2019. All of our routes are on public land in Deschutes National Forest and the Three Sisters Wilderness, and we hold the commercial-use permits required by the U.S. Forest Service. We file a route plan with the local ranger station for every retreat before departure.
We do not run retreats outside the Cascade region. We do not run virtual programs. We do not run private one-on-one retreats.
Contact
If you have a specific question that is not answered here or on the retreats page, the contact form reaches Elena directly. For media inquiries, please write to hello@mindtreks.com with "Press" in the subject line.