Singing the River: A Bardic Journey
Re-enchanting Ourselves through Song, Story, and Deep Listening on a Creative Adventure to the Rhythm of the River
Green River, Utah
September 15-22, 2025
8 days in a remote canyon setting,
45 miles of flat-water paddling,
16 participants max
Guides: Samara Jade, Mica Sun, Monika Denise & Lauren Bond,
Pricing: $2800
The deposit and cost of The River’s Path Canoe Adventures are non-refundable. We strongly recommend purchasing travel insurance through our partner Outward Travel to protect your investment.
Join two musical bards and two seasoned river guides for a musical and mythic adventure down the Green River through Labyrinth Canyon.
Attuning to the voices and music of the river both within and without, we awaken to symphonies of stillness and sound, nature and story – exploring the bardic arts of song, voice, and mythic narrative as a personal and collective medicine for the unfolding future before us and the gifts we have come to give in this world.
Together, we will wind our way downstream through the breathtaking ancient landscape, stopping at a succession of beautiful layover spots along the river, making time for —
- Group singing, vocal expression, and “song-catching” with Samara Jade
- Mythic storytelling and healing narratives with Mica Sun
- Re-membering our human selves with collective song, story, sacred council
- Exploring canyons and connecting with the land and more than human-kin
- Campfire circles and delicious food
- Personal reflection and creative practice, culminating in a day-long solo wander on the land on the Autumn Equinox.
The trip will be held by four guides well-versed in the realms of river-paddling adventure, soulful inquiry and ritual, the languages of nature and ecology, and the arts of singing, song-making, story-crafting, reflection, contemplation, conviviality, and joy.
The centerpoint of the journey will include a daylong facilitated solo wander at one of our favorite layover spots along the river, with an opportunity for seeking stillness, clarity, deeper story, song, guidance, and a sense of renewal informed by the journey ahead.
This paddling retreat is open to all levels of technical and creative experience — we are all singers, storytellers and adventurers at heart. Singing the River together, we will weave the fabrics of renewal in our musical and mythic journey.
Meet Your Guides
Samara Jade
Utah Guide
Samara Jade is a writer and singer of catchy medicinal songs, holder of sacred space, spelunker of the underworld, and avid explorer and guide of the wilderness and inner landscape of the soul. Through her music, workshop facilitation and one-on-one “song doula” work, Samara stands in service to guide others through the processes of transformative creativity and animistic nature connection – while enchanting our inner and outer worlds through song. Samara lives in the Southern Appalachian mountains of North Carolina (Cherokee homelands), though strong tendrils frequently pull her to the Olympic Mountains of Washington State (s’Klallam/Chimacum). www.samarajademusic.com
Mica Sun
Utah Guide
Mica Sun works as an oral storyteller, actor, songwriter, musician, poet, playwright, producer, mythologist, stiltwalker, and clown for children and adults of all ages. Also a preschool teacher, permaculture certified landscaper, land-steward, and rites of passage facilitator, Mica is initiated in The Mankind Project. With creative partner Samara Jade, Mica has been touring an original two-person live mythobardic storytelling-and-song show across the country over the past year. Mica lives in Southern Appalachia, where he writes, performs, produces shows, and strives to develop better land-based community, while nurturing and carrying mythic and initiatory tales for the evolving world. www.micasun.com
Monika Denise
Utah Guide
Monika Denise is a medicine woman of the soul, a songcatcher and grief tender at the intersections of stone and river. With a background as a board-certified art therapist and trauma therapist, Monika Denise founded Four Moons Howl LLC where she offers Soul Medicine for the Souljourner. Her offerings include 1:1 sessions, Soul Medicine Through the Seasons workshops, and collaborations with other soulful practitioners. Monika Denise has tended the community for Wild Heart since its inception and co-facilitates embodied grief rituals, personalized rituals, and retreats as co-founder of Medicine For Our Times. She is a potter, artist, paddleboarder and creator of My&Moon, a lunar calendar for cyclical living. Since 2020, Monika Denise has co-guided soulful canoe trips on the Green River in UT for The River’s Path. She comes alive in the red rock and is a grounding, healing presence that evokes transformation. Throughout every thread of her offerings, Monika Denise is in service to inner liberation and healing—braiding together intuitive somatic support, sacred practices and therapeutic art as resources for individuals to live a life of authentic freedom in connection with body, earth, spirit and community. Learn more about her at fourmoons.earth
Lauren Bond (she/her)
Lead Guide
Lauren Bond has always belonged to the river. From a childhood of following streams to the deep kinship she has found in Labyrinth Canyon and the St. Vrain as an adult, her life has been guided and shaped by the water.
In 2004, she floated through Labyrinth Canyon for the first time. She didn’t yet know what she wanted to do with her life, but she knew this was the place. Today, she can confidently say that this is, indeed, the place. She has been on over 60 journeys through Labyrinth Canyon, and she has no doubt that this canyon brings a magic of its own, far beyond what she can offer herself. This collaboration with the river emerged when she followed the wisdom shared by waterfalls, trees, birds, and a very sweet porcupine. There is no place else she would rather be.
Lauren holds an MA in Environmental Leadership from Naropa University, and is a certified Transformational Wilderness Guide through the Earth Based Institute. Lauren worked as a naturalist, river guide, wilderness guide, and environmental educator before she started leading her own river journeys with The River’s Path in 2010.
What to Expect – Overnight Canoe Trip on the Green River
While the exact itinerary will change based on the theme of the trip, some things are common for all trips down through Labyrinth Canyon:
We’ll canoe a total of 45 miles down the Green River through the steep canyon walls of Labyrinth Canyon in Utah. The trip begins at Ruby Ranch (located just south of I-70) to Mineral Bottom (located near Canyonlands National Park). Four to five days of paddling will be interspersed with layovers at wilderness campsites along the canyon. Paddle days are usually 7-15 miles each or about 3-5 hours of gentle paddling. The river has no rapids and hardly any current. It is muddy and shallow (except for high water in May and June)
While in camp, in addition to our theme program activity, we may swim, take short hikes or explore side canyons. After we all pitch in during camp setup, we’ll have plenty of free time to relax, enjoy our surroundings and have the opportunity to get to know each other as we experience the beauty around us. Then we’ll come together each evening around the campfire.
The River’s Path guided overnight canoe trips involve staying deep in the wilderness with no electricity or cellular reception, and in case of an emergency, evacuation will be done via rescue boat or helicopter. If you need to have medically necessary equipment that uses electricity or need to stay in contact with someone at home, the guides will have a texting device available. Please contact Lauren Bond at 303-859-7174 or lauren@theriverspath.org to discuss.
Temperature changes quickly and can be unexpected, so it is important to bring items from the packing list in case of any drastic changes. Rain and thunderstorms can pop up at any point. Temperatures for each month can range from the high 60s and low 30s for March to the high 100s and lows in the 70s for August. Please see the NOAA graph for Labyrinth Canyon monthly weather averages.
The section of the Green River we will be on is considered a Class I river with no rapids. This is essentially a flat water trip.
Each canoe accommodates two people and they include two Crazy Creek camp chairs with backrests. Canoes will carry all of the personal gear and camp supplies.
The River’s Path will supply 2 dry bags, one large and one small, for your personal gear.
Group gear provided includes: canoes, paddles, life jackets, canoe seat backs, camp chairs, full kitchen setup. Supplies provided include: all food, shade canopy and river toilet with a privacy shelter.
Your personal camp gear that you are responsible for includes: tent, tarps, sleeping bag, and anything else you need that is not provided. That being said, we highly recommend you approach this with a minimalist mentality. Everything you bring, along with your canoe partner, must fit on your canoe. We will supply you with a complete packing list.
While many adventurists kayak the Green River, the amount of gear, supplies, and coolers of fresh food on our journey requires canoes.
The River’s Path will provide food and drinks for all meals and snacks. We can accommodate most diets including vegetarian, vegan, paleo, gluten-free, and dairy-free. The water is too muddy for most portable water filtration devices, so we will pack all drinking water.
If you have other needs or concerns, contact the trip guide, Lauren Bond at 303-859-7174 or lauren@theriverspath.org
It’s important to note that this is a collaborative experience. To form a strong community and have an even more powerful, life changing, memorable experience, each individual in the group will participate and share in camp responsibilities. Everyone helps with setting up and taking down camp, unloading and loading canoes, cooking meals and cleaning up. Each individual must bring their own tent, sleeping bag and pad, as well as other items on the packing list. Those using a hammock must provide an appropriate setup for that.
During your trip through the Labyrinth Canyon you’ll find a slow meandering river with steep colorful canyon walls, amazing side canyons (and maybe evidence of ancient civilizations), incredible stars, unforgettable sunsets, and a hushed serenity you’ll find no place else. No matter where you look you’ll see the unforgettable and awe inspiring colors and sounds of nature.
You might consider long sleeved shirts and pants, bug lotion and head netting if you are extremely sensitive to bug bites. Birds like golden eagles, peregrine falcons, canyon wrens, screech owls, and more can be seen along with small animals like beavers and larger ones like desert bighorn sheep and deer.