Solful Journey
About Solful Journey
Our mission is to provide authentic experiences in areas of natural beauty that help facilitate exploration of the inner-self in a safe and supportive environment.
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We welcome all individuals to join us on our inclusive wilderness experiences. Solful Journey believes in the healing, restorative, and creative power of nature. Travel with us as we unplug and intentionally seek moments to silence the mind, listen to your body, and seek to discover our authentic being in areas of natural beauty. Awe and wonder await participants as our trained guides facilitate experiences that will help you gain new perspectives and new levels of gratitude.
Daily mileage travelled and feats of individual physical strength are not what brings us together. Community, togetherness, and the beauty of accomplishment are what drives our existence as we seek to better ourselves through the support of one another.
We seek to provide avenues of professional and personal development that are grounded in the fundamentals of experiential education that will open avenues to lasting change.
Travel to areas of natural beauty that create awe and wonder
Discover a pathway to your authentic self and the power of nature
Learn to reawaken the inner light that shines in all of us through fun and play
Pam Popp, Trip Leader
John Weiland is an avid adventurer who loves to learn and lead groups on excursions along Lake Superior or into the mountains out West. Married, father of two grown children, and a recently retired public school teacher, John has been focusing his efforts on fitness, creativity, meditation, and overall well-being as he continues to grow professionally and personally while exploring what life has to offer.
Drawing upon 20 years of graduate level work for UW-La Crosse and 35 plus years in public and private school systems, John is always searching for new challenges and striving for personal insight to share with colleagues to assist in discovering and unleashing personal potential.
Joshua Hein, Trip Leader
Josh is an outdoor enthusiast who loves being in nature. In his career, Josh is an Elementary Health and Physical Education Teacher, Outdoor Pursuits Instructor, and Masters of Education Facilitator. As a son, brother, husband, and father, Josh loves trail running, hiking, canoeing, kayaking, paddleboarding, cycling, and fly fishing. He believes in constructing natural play spaces, working for equity and social justice as well as building community.
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Josh is a certified Wilderness First Responder, with additional certifications in First Aid/AED/CPR, ACCT Level 1, Health & Physical Education EC-A, and is a certified Social Justice Educator.
Stephanie Hein, Trip Leader
Growing up outside, Steph comes from a place of gratitude in the experiences she has had. As a mother of three and educator at the middle school level, Steph has eagerly sought out ways to share her love of the outdoors with others. Whether camping with eighteen 3rd graders, canoeing with 8th graders, or "lost" on the secret path of her four year old, Steph embraces and remains open to all that our natural world offers. As a certified yoga instructor, Steph connects the strength of community with the time allowed to look inward. She firmly believes in the power of nature as a tool of tapping ourselves into immediate awareness.
Outdoors. Experiential. Exploration.Yoga. These words are what Pam is all about. Being outdoors is one of her favorite and essential parts of her life. Her love for nature and passion for adventure has led her and her family to amazing places. For the past 22 years, she has been teaching middle school in an environmental, experiential program. This program gives students opportunities to use local resources to explore and learn as well as to understand the importance of stewardship.
Pam found yoga and then became a certified yoga teacher, she also teaches paddleboard yoga. Yoga has taught her to be mindful and just pause. Taking a pause, especially in the outdoors, allows her the chance to truly feel connected with herself and Mother Nature. The feeling of connectedness to oneself and your surroundings is the best gift.
Each day, Pam is thankful to explore, to teach, and to share her love for nature.
Mike Hesch, Trip Leader
Mike finds peace, perspective, joy, and humility
in the outdoors and the adventures it affords. In addition, Mike believes that it is in relationships with others that we often can grow into our best selves. Combining these two can lead to amazing personal growth. Mike’s outdoor passions include kayaking, fly-fishing, camping, and hiking. He has a passion for protecting cold water fisheries and the natural spaces that house them. Mike is a constant learner and loves to serve others through his 20+ years of professional work as a personal and executive coach and leadership development practitioner for Mayo Clinic. Married, father of two with a love of family and pets, Mike loves to watch his family grow and continue his own personal self-growth.
Caitlin Hanney, Trip Leader
Caitlin has a love for the outdoors and connecting with other people. She believes in the power of taking time to slow down and be present. Caitlin brings these beliefs about the positive effects of nature and community building into her career as a 5th grade teacher and plans to continue to share her love for the outdoors with her students for years to come. It was Caitlin’s first backpacking trip to the Bighorn Mountains during her grad school program that she got to experience the backcountry beauty and all it has to offer. Every year, she finds her way back seeking all the benefits being connected to nature. Caitlin is passionate about spending time with her family and friends, health and fitness, uplifting others, swimming, plants, yoga, and discovering new places.
Meet the Staff
John Weiland, Founder
The two facilitators we had on the trip, John and Josh were both not just knowledgeable about nature, but clearly passionate. This makes the students more invested in the experience. I could see their desire to be outside and the desire to share it with others.
— Rachel, Big Horns 2019
— Becky, Big Horns 2019
Highlights of the trip:
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The people and laughs
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The singing and jokes
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The hiking and unplugging
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The lakes and swimming
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The morning yoga and mediation