Wilderness Outreach

Testimonials:

"I was being recruited at college by a Catholic Men's group. I was interested in joining them because of their emphasis on masculine spirituality. The group was invited to participate in a Wilderness Outreach expedition and I was invited to go. It was a profound experience. We went deep into prayer, deep into work and deep into masculne spirituality." Justin Bennett, High Sierra 2007, Gila 2008

"There were many good things that came out of the retreat for me. I did not anticipate how difficult it would be and how much I would grow as a result. The theme of the retreat was "Ora et Labora", Prayer and Work and as brothers in Christ did we ever work. Attending Mass and receiving Christ daily gave me that extra strength to give of myself in work and prayer so that the retreat became a learning experience and a time of great brotherhood with other men engaged in the same battle. In addition there is nothing quite like participating in Mass on a mountain top with the wilderness and a beautiful sunset as our Sanctuary." Chris Miller, Gila 2008

“As a man, I am always looking for a challenge to see if I “have what it takes”.  This was the constant theme throughout Wilderness Outreach 2008.  Do I have what it takes? This was the question of the week.  Every man was tested.  His strength was tested, his faith was tested, his courage was tested, his endurance was tested.  All of us shared in each others struggles and we, as a band of brothers, picked each other up when we felt we could go no further.  Each of us was tested in a unique and personal way.  God knows us through and through and the evil one knows our vulnerabilities be it pride, or envy, sloth or lust, anger or indifference.”

Ryan Anthony, High Sierra 2008 

"What an outstanding group of individuals and leaders. I have had the opportunity to work with many great volunteer crews over the years and this group has to be rated with the best.We are excited about your continued interest in returning to the Sierra. The young men on your crew last year were really a great group to work with."

Mike Ketscher, Trailshots Superintendent, Sierra National Forest, USFS.

"My band of brothers surrounded me with support and encouragement.  They had an authentic spirituality that lifted me.  And when I celebrated Mass I could feel their reverence.  These men are moving quite far in their spiritual path and it was a privilege for me to be able to bring the sacraments to them in the wilderness.

Not every man or priest is designed for this experience, but if you are it gives you an opportunity to retreat to the mountains, to simplify life, to get away from the artificiality of the world, to be with a band of brothers, to be a spiritual father.  It also helps you grow in your own masculinity.  During seminary, you have a band of brothers that challenges you physically, intellectually, and spiritually.  As a priest moves into the parish, the need for this camaraderie does not diminish."

Father William Hahn 

"I wanted express my gratitude for the work that you and your crew performed on the Pacific Crest Trail in the John Muir Wilderness of the Sierra National Forest last week. Talasi and I both greatly enjoyed meeting you and your crew, and were equally impressed with your crews enthusiasm as we were with the quality of your work. We were both amazed at the amount of work that you were able to accomplish within a week. Not only did you accomplish an astounding amount of work, but you did it in a wilderness-friendly way that protected wilderness values.

I want to personally thank you for helping protect these precious lands for the American people. Wilderness areas are some of the last places left where we, as humans, are able to easily see that we are members of the ecosystem, not separate from it. For that reason alone, amongst many others, maintaining wildness in these areas to the greatest degree possible is essential to our future. Thank you for standing up for wilderness and helping make it more wild than when you arrived."

Rob Mason

Wilderness Manager

Sierra National Forest

"This was real camping, real working, real spirituality. God's land is beautiful, and it was great to share my faith with other brothers in Christ. Daily Mass next to a beautiful mountain river was awesome. This adventure challenged me, but isn't that how we grow? Go on a Wilderness Outreach retreat!"
Fr. Chuck Kelly

References: Please note: email addresses are give with @= (at) and .=(dot) This will ensure that our references emails are not "mined" by a web crawler. So when trying contact

johndoe(at)aol(dot)com use the ordinary form of johndoe@aol.com

Priests

    Fr William Hahn, Pastor, St Peter, Chillicothe Ohio 740-574-5486,

email= secretary(at)stpetershillicothe(dot)com 

    Fr Mathew Hoover, Pastor St Peter in Chains, Wheelersburg Ohio, 740-575-5486 email= saintperersinchains(at)juno(dot)com

    Fr Charles Kelly, Pastor, St Anthony, Winters California, 530-795-2230

email= fatherkelly(at)hotmail(dot)com

    Fr Jeff Coning, Director of Vocations, Diocese of Columbus Ohio, 614-221-5565

email= frjeff(at)seekholiness(dot)com

    Fr Brian Doerr, Director of Vocations, Diocese of Lafayette in Indiana, 317-846-3850

email= revbdoerr(at)priestforever(dot)org

Participants

    Ryan Anthony email= anthr8(at)gmail(dot)com

    Nick Weidenbenner email= weidenbenner(dot)2(at)osu(dot)edu

    Chris Walsh email= cwalsh(at)ohiodefensecouncil(dot)com

    Jeff Simpson email= jeff(dot)simpson(at)ubs(dot)com

    Justin Bennett email=

bennett(dot)497(at)osu(dot)edu

    Dominic DeMatte email= dominic(dot)dematte(at)gmail(dot)com

    Chris Miller email= cmillert17(at)aol(dot)com

    Bill Bennison email= bbennison(at)columbus(dot)rr(dot)com

    Bob Franz email= BFranz(at)opers(dot)org

    Jeff McKenna email= byHiswill33(at)yahoo(dot)com

    Greg Franz email= franz5136(at)hotmail(dot)com

References:Please note: email addresses are give with @= (at) and .=(dot) This will ensure that our references emails are not "mined" by a web crawler. So when trying contact

johndoe(at)aol(dot)com use the ordinary form of johndoe@aol.com

United States Forest Service

    Pat Hart, Manager of Recreation and Trails, Idaho Panhandle National Forest

208-267-6755 email= pahart(at)fs(dot)fed(dot)us

    Steve Petesch, Trail Superintendent  Idaho Panhandle National Forest

208-267-6755 email=spetesch(at)fs(dot)fed(dot)us

    Mike Ketscher, Trail Superintendent Sierra National Forest California

559-877-2218 email=mketscher(at)fs(dot)fed(dot)us

    Dave Warnack, Trail Superintendent Gila National Forest New Mexico

575-388-8201 email=dwarnack(at)fs(dot)fed(dot)us

Communities of Service

    Fr Raymond Flores, Pastor, Our Lord of Mercy, Hatch New Mexico 575-267-4983

email= ourlordofmercy(at)zianet(dot)com

    Eddie Rodriguez email= lascrucesrods(at)yahoo(dot)com

    Jason Wyatt email= conscious(dot)since(dot)77(at)gmail(dot)com

    William Glover, Past Grand Knight, Knights of Columbus, San Jose California

408-629-8229

    Albert Leuschen, Knights of Columbus,

Clovis California