Reciprocity Rx™

2026 Challenge

1. KNOW

Foundations Online Program

February-September 2026

2. GROW

Volunteer Project + Acclimate

July 29-31, 2026

3. GO

75-Mile Trek to Tumanguya

July 31-August 8, 2026

The Reciprocity Rx™ Challenge

This isn’t just a trek. It’s a transformation.

The Reciprocity Rx™ Challenge is a three-part journey designed to reconnect you to purpose, place, and people. Through a blend of education, stewardship, and adventure, you’ll prepare your body, mind, and spirit to summit Tumanguya (Paiute name for Mt. Whitney — rough translation, “old man” or “guardian spirit”) and bring the medicine of reciprocity back to your community.

Step 1: KNOW

Lay the foundation with our Reciprocity Rx™ Foundations Program—an online certification that helps you deepen your nature-based care practice and explore the 4Rs: Receive, Reflect, Return, Reconnect.

Step 2: GROW

Join us in Sequoia National Park for a two nights of acclimation and action—volunteer alongside park stewards, integrate your learning on the land, and build trail team bonds before the big climb.

  Step 3: GO  

Put your preparation into motion on a 75-mile guided trek to Tumanguya (Mt. Whitney) with our partners at TSX Challenge. Experience awe, effort, and emergence on one of the most iconic landscapes in the country.

STEP 1: Start with a strong foundation.

KNOW

Reciprocity Rx™ Online Program

February-September 2026

Reciprocity Rx™ Foundations is an eight-month certification program facilitated via Zoom by Sydney + Barry Williams of WITW Consulting, Melissa Sundermann, DO, FACOI, DipABLM, FACLM (aka Doctor Outdoors), guest experts and Program Advisors to help protectors, providers, and pathfinders restore their own wellbeing, reconnect with the land, and bring nature-based reciprocity into the way they care for themselves, their communities, and the populations they serve.

learn more
Group of volunteers in orange safety vests working together in a lush green forested area near a body of water.

STEP 2: Make the Shift

Healing in Nature → Healing with Nature

Two volunteers wearing yellow reflective vests with the National Park Service logo, standing outdoors with trees and a large granite monolith in the background.
Four hikers with backpacks and hats exploring a red rock wall, with some pointing or touching the surface.
Three women cutting logs under a tent with a grassy background and a few people in the distance.

GROW

Volunteer Project + Acclimate

July 29-31, 2026

As we start to embody the 4R’s together in person, we’ll take some time to acclimate to higher elevation (our camp is at 7,200 feet), do some short hikes with your gear, and give back to the parks while we’re at it! If you are well-resourced, we recommend making a donation to Indigenous Women Hike (IWH). Jolie (founder of IWH) regularly stocks pantries and fridges around her community, giving us one more way to support reciprocity in the region.

See our Work in Sequoia National Park

STEP 3: Challenge yourself, in community.

No matter who you are, backpacking the Sierra can be a life changing experience.

The Trans-Sierra Xtreme Challenge is a 75 mile backpacking trek across Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. The inspirational journey traverses some of the most remote, least-traveled regions of the Sierra before culminating with an ascent on Mt. Whitney (elevation 14,505 feet), the highest point in the lower 48 states. This week-long trans-Sierra hike to Mt. Whitney is open to fit and motivated individuals of all ages and experience levels. You’ll cover 75+ miles in one week, with over 20,000 feet in cumulative elevation gain and 18,000 feet in cumulative elevation loss.

IS THIS FOR ME? 

Click here to read through TSX Challenge FAQ's

watch this to learn more!
next info Session on 12/14

Reciprocity Rx™ Challenge 2026

a 75-mile Trek to Tumanguya (Paiute name for Mt. Whitney)

$2,999-$3,999*

*sliding scale registration, payment plans, and opportunities to support equitable access can be found below

What’s Included?

FOUNDATIONS
Online Certification Program

  • The Reciprocity Rx™ Online Certification offers three live virtual sessions each month:

    • KNOW: Each month, we explore a new Reciprocity Rx™ theme through science, story, and lived experience. Led by Sydney + Melissa, these sessions blend evidence‑informed content, reflective practice, and discussion to help participants know themselves, their purpose, and their place in the larger ecosystem of care. 

    • GROW: Our monthly community gatherings create space to share reflections, exchange insights, and learn from peers across sectors. Led by Sydney and the Reciprocity Rx™ program advisors, these circles nurture belonging, empathy, and collaboration—because when we grow together, our capacity to serve and steward expands, too.

    • GO: Led by Barry, these hands‑on sessions build confidence for time outdoors and in facilitation—covering safety, logistics, accessibility, and embodied learning. Participants practice translating lessons from the classroom to the trail, modeling reciprocity in motion.

  • Every module includes a recording of the live teaching session plus a companion workbook filled with reflection prompts, rituals, and recommended readings to help you integrate reciprocity into your own life and community care.

  • Receive a signed copy of Hiking Your Feelings by Sydney Williams, Doctor Outdoor's Guide to Nature and Lifestyle Medicine by Dr. Melissa Sundermann, a Reciprocity Rx Trail Journal, and hand-selected supplies to support your journey.

  • Access a secure online space for discussion, reflection, and collaboration with fellow protectors, providers, and pathfinders — a place to exchange insights, share resources, and grow together.

  • Gain access to a curated collection of peer-reviewed research, reflective essays, and practical tools for integrating nature-based care and stewardship into your professional setting.

  • Join periodic guest sessions with leaders in lifestyle medicine, change management, environmental health, and conservation to broaden your understanding of reciprocity in practice.

  • Start and end the journey in community. Orientation helps participants set intentions and get comfortable with the platform; the closing circle invites shared reflection and integration.

  • Download ritual cards, seasonal check-in templates, and printable prompts to help you weave these teachings into your daily and professional rhythms. These are especially helpful in the months that follow the trek!

  • Upon completion, earn your Reciprocity Rx Certificate and gain access to advanced facilitator training, continuing professional development, and our Alumni Circle — a growing network of protectors, providers, and pathfinders leading with reciprocity.

ADVENTURE
75-Mile Trek to Tumanguya

  • We can do hard things, so let’s go get it! After we check out of our campground in Sequoia in the morning, we’ll head out of the park meet the TSX team for our transportation to the trailhead and kick off our adventure! This is a great time to pick up any other items you may want or return items to your vehicles before we set out.

    What’s included

    • Transportation between Fresno/Clovis, CA area meeting point and trailhead, plus return trip to your vehicle after exiting on the east side

    • Guided trek over 1 Week to Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks and Mt. Whitney

    • All meals and snacks while in the backcountry

    • Backpack, tent, sleeping bag and pad if needed

    • Personalized pack-check prior to departure

    • Group gear and equipment

    • Flexible cancellation policy

    • Inspiration for a lifetime

  • What’s not included

    • Meals in the front-country

    • Lodging in the front-country, pre- or post-trek

    • Gratuities for your guides and drivers (not expected, but always appreciated!)

Why sliding scale fees?

We recognize that we’re living in a time where access to transformative experiences like this one is often shaped by inequities far beyond our control—skyrocketing tuition, widening pay gaps, generational wealth disparities, systemic barriers to education and advancement, and the emotional labor of simply existing in a world not built for everyone. We believe that care should not be reserved for the few, and we are committed to making this program as accessible as possible.

Sliding Scale: $2,999-3,999

Sliding scale pricing and scholarship opportunities are available, because healing, connection, and reciprocity belong to all of us.

🌿 Choose What Feels Right for You: we believe in making this work as accessible as possible, while honoring the time, energy, and resources it takes to create and hold these experiences. Our sliding scale is an invitation to self-select the tier that best reflects your current reality. No proof needed, just your honest reflection.

  • This is the true cost of the program. If you have access to abundance — personally or through your employer — your contribution helps sustain this work and makes it possible for others to join at a lower rate.

  • This tier is for those who are navigating early career transitions, paying down student loans, or stretching their resources to grow professionally. You’re invested in your path, and we’re honored to walk it with you.

  • Reserved for folks in lower-wage service roles — like public lands professionals, nonprofit staff, and community organizers — whose work supports collective well-being. This tier reflects our commitment to reciprocity and access.

  • If none of the tiers above are accessible to you, we are happy to discuss sponsorships, scholarships, trade/barter arrangements, etc. 

    If you are well-resourced and would like to make a donation to pay it forward, you can do so here.

Applications are open!

Thank you for your interest in joining the Reciprocity Rx™ 2026 Challenge!
Registration is now open and limited to 12 participants. Due to high interest, we’re using a brief application process to ensure equitable access rather than add-to-cart event registration.

Apply for the Reciprocity Rx™ Challenge