PACK TRIP | BONANZA CREEK COUNTRY RANCH | MARTINSDALE, MONTANA
June 14–18, 2026
THE EXPERIENCE
Howdy! Thank you for being here.
This experience invites you to return home. Home to presence, to truth, and to the expansion of your own story. Together with the wisdom of the horses and the holding of the sacred Montana landscape, we will explore what it means to be fully alive in each unfolding moment. And understand what prevents us from presence too.
Throughout our time together, we’ll soften the need to control and release the pull to overthink. In this shared stillness, we open to a deeper cycle, one guided not by the mind, but by the innate knowing of body, heart, and herd. One that stirs with the wildflowers of this spring season and crisp mornings.
Each day you’ll spend intentional time with the horses, learning from their wordless guidance and steady presence.
You’ll also gather in circle with others. Our human herd: to explore themes of boundaries, grief, and relationship, both with self and others. Through these practices, you’ll rediscover your capacity to choose connection, to rest in authenticity, and to belong to the greater whole.
There will be time for quiet reflection, for long exhales, for riding out across the tumbling horizon and letting its beauty mirror your own becoming. You’ll have opportunities for solitude, gentle movement, or simply to listen. Here we have the horses grazing, wind in the grasses, and your own heart returning home carrying songs.
Your facilitators and guides - the horses, the land, and your experienced retreat leaders June & Nick, both Gestalt trained and practiced, will hold space for your unfolding with compassion, presence, and care.
Everything you need to know about your stay, from what to bring, to the flow of each day, will be shared in your welcome packet.
We are deeply grateful to share this journey of presence and reconnection with you.
Come as you are. Leave as who you’ve always been, before the world told you who to be.
With warmth and gratitude,
June & Nick
GROUND INTO PRESENCE ON THE TRAILs of montana
THE DETAILS
ABOUT THE JOURNEY
DATES
Sunday June 14 - Thursday June 18, 2026 (5 days / 4 nights)
INVESTMENT
Early Bird Pass: $3400 ends 1/1/26
Full Price Pass: $3550
Payment plans are available at check-out.
ADD-ONS DURING STAY
On-Site Massage ($150 hour)
Car-pick to and from airport ($250 roundtrip)
LOCATION
Bonanza Creek Ranch, Martinsdale, MT is a family owned cattle ranch in the Castle Mountains of Montana where beautiful scenery, good honest horses, adventurous riding, western hospitality, and life empowerment await you.
ACCOMMODATIONS
Experiences Passes include lodging, meals, activities, horseback riding, coaching, and new life skills.
CABINS
You will stay in one of our four secluded, cozy cabins, each with its own charm and character. Enjoy your private deck with morning coffee and breathtaking views, or unwind under a star-filled Montana sky. Sharing space often leads to new friendships and unforgettable memories. Bring your own friends or family to share a cabin or bunk with a friend you've not yet met. Shared and private rooms are available. View the cabin details here.
CAPACITY
Limited to 10 riders age 21 and older. Please reach out for any exceptions.
COACHING
Group coaching in the CHOOSING PRESENCE pack trip involves everyone in a circle supporting and relating to each other in a safe place allowing the horses to do their work and heal us.
HORSES
You will connect with horses on the ground at different levels and experience riding in beautiful Montana. Come and meet the herd.
RIDER EXPERIENCE LEVEL
This retreat is open to experienced and advanced riders only. To best enjoy and have fun, everyone needs to have riding experience and be able to canter outside an arena.
RIDING
Part of the charm of Bonanza Creek is the rugged beautiful country we get to ride, and part of the learning and healing comes from spending time on a horse and soaking in the strength of the mountains and the forests.
CANCELLATION POICY
Due to the nature of this experience and the planning involved, refunds are not available. If you need to cancel, we’ll do our best to fill your spot from our waitlist, though we can’t guarantee placement. Travel insurance is recommended.
THE DAILY SCHEDULE
2026 TRAILMAP
Day 1 – Arrival & Welcome
Arrive in the afternoon and settle into your cozy cabin. Take time to breathe in the quiet, meet new friends, and join us for our opening circle under the gazebo. You may even meet your horse before the day closes with a delicious, home-cooked dinner shared around the lodge table.
Day 2 – Opening Presence
Begin the day with a hearty ranch breakfast, then step into the open-air arena for Equine Gestalt work—where the horses help you come into the moment and into yourself. After a ranch-style lunch, saddle up to explore the Castle Mountains on horseback. In the evening, enjoy appetizers on the deck, dinner with a view of the Crazy Mountains, and stories around the firepit.
Day 3 – Deepening Awareness
After breakfast, return to the arena for another morning of self-discovery alongside the horses—our best teachers in choosing presence. Following lunch, head out for an afternoon ride through this beautiful rugged country. Massages are available before and after dinner in our quiet, private massage cabin.
Day 4 – Riding into Freedom
Enjoy breakfast and a morning circle with the horses as we continue our journey of healing and presence. The afternoon brings another breathtaking ride into the mountains, feeling the freedom and peace that comes with open country and good horses. A delicious dinner and optional massages close the evening.
Day 5 – Closing & Return Home
Saddle up for a special breakfast ride along Bonanza Creek savoring the silence. Be present as you enjoy your meal along Bonanza Creek amongst the aspens and we gather for our closing circle. Take in one last ride across the Montana landscape before lunch and heartfelt goodbyes.
THE LOCATION
Bonanza Creek Country Ranch
Bonanza Creek Country Ranch is part of a family operated cattle ranch in the Castle and Crazy Mountains of Montana. The Voldseth family, which are the fourth and fifth generations living on this land still own and work the ranch and run 1500 head of cows on 25,000 acres.
For you, that means beautiful views from your cabin, peace and quiet, lots of places to ride with our wranglers, fishing, mountain trails to hike, and places to explore and hunt on the Lewis and Clark National Forest.
EARLY BIRD - ENDS JAN 1 2026
EARLY BIRD - ENDS JAN 1 2026
THE INVESTMENT
EXPERIENCE PASS
Early Bird $3400 | Full Price $3550
Early Bird pricing ends 1/1/26. Payment plans are available at check-out. Space is limited to 10 spots. Questions: email us at hello@thisiswater.life
THE GUIDES
-
NICK SHARP
Nature-Based Therapist & Experiential Guide
Nick Sharp is a gestalt therapist and nature guide dedicated to helping humans remember their inherent connection to the natural world. His work invites individuals and groups into direct, embodied experiences that cultivate presence, attunement, and self-awareness.
Through carefully designed, multi-sensory experiences, from equine therapy to immersive off grid sailing experiences, Nick hosts folks in organic spaces where transformation unfolds through relationship: with self, others, and the living world.
Nick holds a Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology and Counseling from Naropa University, with a concentration in Wilderness Therapy, and is a graduate of the Gestalt Equine Institute of the Rockies. His approach integrates psychology, mindfulness, and ecological consciousness for contact and a grounded sense of belonging.
-
June Voldseth
June Voldseth built Bonanza Creek Guest Ranch in 1993 as a way to bring together two of her passions—horses and people. What began as a fun adventure in the guest ranch business soon became much more – inspiring, and life-changing.
At just the right time in her career, she discovered the Touched By a Horse equine gestalt program, which opened the door to making Bonanza Creek a place where guests could truly learn to live their dreams. June completed four years of training through the program, earning certification in both the Equine Gestalt Method and the Gestalt Coaching Method, developed by Melisa Pearce, a pioneer in the horse-human healing movement.
June has grown and healed through the Touched by a Horse program and has spent the past decade hosting transformative Cowgirl Retreats. Equine Gestalt Coaching is her deepest passion. She finds joy in watching people open their hearts, heal old wounds, and rediscover their strength as they connect with nature, horses, and themselves. June believes these retreats awaken a powerful truth — that real change begins when we take responsibility for our own lives, stop placing blame, and choose to move forward with courage. True freedom, she says, doesn’t come from resisting our fears, but from understanding and facing them.
A proud mother of two wonderful daughters and one son, and Nana to eight amazing grandchildren, June embodies the cowgirl spirit. Shaped by her Wyoming ranch roots and deepened by a lifetime of working alongside her husband and son on their 25,000-acre Montana ranch, she lives what she teaches.
