find your flow
Introductory river retreat
with Emily Cole
A 6-Day river canoeing and personal journey
PAGE IS IN THE PROCESS OF BEING UPDATED
How do we prepare ourselves to be the most vibrant, present versions of ourselves? How do we find the courage to turn towards the adventure of life, feed the longing for the wild, for inner peace, for connection?
Let the rhythm of the river guide our days, be curious without algorithms and AI to influence our creativity. And laugh. Find our flow.
The Find Your Flow experience is more than a retreat. An adventure. A surrender to what is Wild Within us. There isn’t another container like this one. You can sign up for countless personal growth retreats, paddling courses, or adventure packages. This is different – it contains the powerful forces of nature, the gentle safety of Elements Adventure Company, and the playful connection skills of your guide, Emily Cole.
Set on the beautiful Middle Shuswap River in British Columbia, this experience is designed for novice paddlers and those looking to deepen their relationship with nature and self through water. Expect a blend of river skills, mindfulness practices, and time to rest, play, and reflect — all held in a supportive, inclusive environment.
Led by certified life coach and paddling instructor, Emily Cole, you’ll learn the basics of whitewater paddling in a safe, supportive environment while exploring the deeper currents within. Whether you’re brand new to the river or seeking a fresh way to engage with flow—this is your invitation to slow down, tune in, and move with purpose.
Your experience includes 6 days of guided canoe instruction and riverside camping, with all group gear and meals provided. You’ll take part in facilitated group conversations, life coaching sessions, and outdoor skill-building activities led by Emily. The retreat also weaves in nature-based practices designed to deepen reflection, all within a small, like-minded group that fosters connection, curiosity, and shared adventure.
If you have been hovering around the idea of one day, the possibility of, the maybe…. Then here is the open door, asking you to walk through.
Join us at our hideout in the Monashees on April 23 – an auspicious time as our Earth Mother reawakens the streams, meadows and mountains with her warm spring glow.
Trip Dates
April 23-28, 2026
BOOK HERE
Trip Duration
6 Days (5 nights camping)
Cost
$2750 + GST /person
EARLY BIRD SPECIAL save $150 before
December 1
Policies & Procedures
Click here to see trip policies and procedures.
Bonus
Receive a 10% discount on a lakewater course in advance of the retreat and a 15% at Western Canoe and Kayak for accessories that you might need for the trip
Your Coach, Facilitator and Instructor
Elements Adventure Company is very fortunate to have certified life coach, Emily Cole, as one of our most experienced wilderness canoe guides and instructors on our team.
We are excited to offer this special 6-day paddling retreat led by Emily, that will combine her skills in canoeing and coaching into one fun weekend of personal growth, movement, canoeing skill development, laughter, and plenty of fresh air.
You can learn more about Emily’s diverse background below and her unique coaching business, Wild Within Coaching here.
Details
- Dates: April 23-28, 2026 (4 days on the water, includes 5 nights camping)
- Location: Middle Shuswap River, BC
- Price: $2750 + GST
- Included: 2 certified guides/instructors, fully-catered trip with delicious, healthy and sustaining meals and snacks, group camping/cooking equipment (please bring your own tent or rent from us), Monashee Hideout accommodation fees, shuttle, and all paddling gear (canoe, paddles, PFD’s, helmets, drybags).
- NOT included: drysuit rental ($136+GST), personal clothing and personal camping equipment (tent, sleeping pad, sleeping bag), transport to/from the Middle Shuswap River.
Prerequisite paddling and camping skills
We recommend a Level 2 Lakewater Canoeing Skills Course or equivalent lake canoeing skills in both bow and stern positions. Paddlers should know the following strokes: hip draw, stern draw, hip pry, stern pry, forward, backward, J, sweep.
The main focus of the paddling curriculum woven into this trip are the foundational skills required in river canoeing – appropriate for even seasoned paddlers. There is always room to fine tune our strokes, enjoy time paddling, and offer your support to newer paddlers while picking up a few more advanced tips on the side.
This retreat trip is an excellent primer for multi-day back country river trips, such as our Lower Stikine Expedition and further river courses to advance your skills. With opportunities for practice in both the bow and stern, rescue practice, and on-going feedback for improvement throughout the trip, you can expect to come away from this course feeling confident with the foundations of safe and skilled river canoeing.
Retreat Style: how is this trip unique?
In addition to covering the most relevant material from our level 1 tandem river course, we will focus on transformative processes, meaningful group discussions and offer a variety of other self-care and self-exploration practices. Each experience will be unique to fit the group and Emily comes ready with a flow of topics and curriculum to offer, often themed around purpose, meaningful relationships, clarity of future vision, and integration of grief and loss healing. With years of experience in canoe guiding and wilderness therapy, a balance of structure and flexibility are some of Emily’s strengths.
The Value of doing Personal Work Together: Group work can feel very vulnerable at times and in this vulnerability is the power to transform. It can sometimes also be easier to see ourselves in another person going through a similar challenge. We create many of our core patterns that no longer serve us while in relationship, and we heal and grow them through relationship. Emphasis on creating and holding a safe container together is a core element of these experiences and gives us the greatest tools to grow in relationship to self and others, feel supported, and learn from alternative perspectives.
More about Emily...
Emily Cole has spent over a decade guiding groups in the wilderness. She first began a career as an outdoor educator with university students in central Alberta, and soon found herself guiding world-class wilderness river expeditions such as on the Nahanni River in the NWT. It was on these expeditions where Emily discovered her natural talent for adventure, leading people – and gourmet backcountry cuisine!
The next chapter of her development was in working with at-risk youth in a therapeutic wilderness program in Southeast Alaska – gaining extensive flatwater paddling skills as an added bonus. In this new setting, Emily was able to grow her coaching skills to support youth in creating change in their personal habits and relationships – and it was powerful! This experience and passion led to formal training as a Certified Professional Coach and a Health and Wellness Coach.
Emily has grown her own wilderness therapy and coaching business to guide more people through intentional, transformative wilderness experiences. She is currently part-way through achieving a degree in counseling to support her work as coach and guide. You can learn more about Emily and Wild Within Coaching here.
What to Expect
You can expect days full of laughter and deep conversations, improvement in paddling skills and better understanding of yourself with what actions to take to bring your greater vision to life.
This retreat will be quite full; it is best to come in well-rested and organized to get the most out of the trip. We will camp and share meals together, explore ourselves through metaphors of the elements and nature, support each other in clarifying and planning our individual visions, and having fun in a beautiful place all the while. You always have choice in what to participate in and how to show up to that activity. There will be group discussions and structured conversations on offer, guided and free time to journal and space to meditate, relax and have some down time.
Itinerary (6 days)
- Day 1: Arrive at the Monashee Hideout near Cherryville, BC by 3pm, get settled, dinner, paddling theory
- Day 2-5: Movement & Meditation, paddling instruction, short 1:1 sessions with facilitator, evening personal development session
- Day 6: Movement & meditation, group reflection, bid farewell to the group and travel home