TAPS Outdoors
Get re-connected with the wild and healing power of nature through experiences of awe and peer-support.
You’ve made it to the TAPS Outdoors trailhead. Wherever you are on your grief journey, we are grateful for your trust as a fellow trekker and survivor on this trail. We know the journey to get here has had its challenges because we’ve been there too.
On the TAPS Outdoors trail, it’s the experience of living that we explore. We invite anyone who steps on the TAPS Outdoors trail to take an in-person or virtual dive right into every single bright and dark corner of life, your loved one’s and yours.
When you step onto the TAPS Outdoors trail, you’re choosing to take life into your own hands by expanding what you define as a “comfort zone.” Nature can invite us to reconsider the way we see the world around us, help us make meaning out of our experiences, and catapult us into a life fuller than we ever imagined.
Here you’ll have the opportunity to learn new skills both in the wilds of our earth and your heart. From day trips to overnights, from camping to cabins, from treks to paddles, from walks to climbs, from the park in your hometown to one of America's iconic National Parks - TAPS Outdoors is ready to help you get re-connected with the wild and the healing power of nature, wherever you are and whenever you’re ready.
If you have any questions please email adultprograms@taps.org or call 800-959-TAPS (8277).
by joining us in the following programs we offer throughout the year and/or get inspired by browsing through the many survivors stories of resilience, hope and healing.
In this revitalized episodic series, survivors can follow along online as TAPS explores healing environments, provides weekly tools of connection, and fosters a community centered in awe of nature.
Survivors of all ages, visit our calendar of events and plan to gather with us, both online and in person, at one of our therapeutic outdoor events. Experience healing through some of the world's most inspiring landscapes.
Fresh Air to Your Inbox
The A Breath of Fresh Air series is for everyone and requires no previous outdoor experience! Subscribe to receive all of our content in your inbox! With weekly videos, activities and resources, we’ll help you find the right tips, tools and tricks to navigate the wilds of our natural world and the wilds of your grief. There are no obligations, just tools and opportunities to connect with your fellow survivors.
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Oftentimes we feel lost in the wilds of grief, and no one person’s grief journey looks the same. A friend or family member’s trail may look a bit different than yours, and that’s okay. But what is most important when navigating the wilderness? A map.
At TAPS Outdoors we can help you develop your plan, set goals, join you on the trail and discover new parts of ourselves along the way. While your grief map can (and likely will) change, you can trust that TAPS is with you every step of the way.
The life source. We NEED to hydrate in order to survive. Both literally and figuratively. The grief trail is draining, so we need to fill our cups before we can start giving. This means drinking our water so we can thrive and filling our cup with what we know keeps us going.
Not only do we need to nourish our bodies to navigate this grief wilderness, we need the right kinds. Our grief can push us into unhealthy habits that don’t fuel us for the journey, and instead drain us. When it comes to nourishment for the trail, this can look like eating foods that give us energy, taking time for self-care or scheduling time along the way to call friends who fill you up.
You feel it, see it, smell it coming...or maybe you don’t. It’s grief’s rain. It’s not much, but it’s enough to pause and make changes for. This is why we always carry rain gear and extra clothes. That song comes on the radio, you pass a truck that looks just like the one they used to drive, the memories come flooding back - we’ve all been there.
We have to take a moment, acknowledge that it’s raining and find the right tool in our bag to navigate the experience. We are still here on the trail, we don’t need to seek shelter from the experience, but we cannot let it take us over. This is when we pull out the rain gear. It allows us to continue experiencing our lives, enjoying the world around us, all while honoring the rain we are walking through.
Sunshine: we need it, but too much of it can hurt us. So, what do we do? We create a boundary. How many times have you been soaking up the sunshine on your trail of grief, like a good series on Netflix or a long weekend with friends, and then all of a sudden you feel absolutely drained? Sometimes the sun can just take the energy right out of you if you get too much of it. Remember, our healthy boundaries are necessary on this trail of grief.
There’s nothing better than ending a day of trekking by sitting around a warm campfire soaking in the comforts of camp and those we share our journey with. The tool of building warmth is a TAPS favorite and one we know is critical to grief wilderness survival. This warmth can look like moments of joy, comfort, love and what melts away the hard moments and allows us to embrace the gifts we experience along the way.
There will be darkness on this journey, that we know. But on our list of essentials is illumination. All we need is a flashlight or headlamp to brighten the trail when the day’s hike was longer than anticipated, or we seem to have lost our way. Illumination on the trail of grief can look like your favorite song or book when times are feeling dark or a conversation with a friend you know can always brighten your life.
When night falls or storms blow through, we seek shelter. This isn’t just that rain storm we threw our rain gear on for. This is a time to stop. Shelter is knowing where we are safe, where we can find protection when we need to hunker down, and a place to rest and recuperate. This can look like a good night’s rest in your bed, an afternoon nap in the hammock, a weekend getaway in a cabin or a phone call to TAPS. This is a time to regroup and check in with your map.
This is your go to kit for when something comes up on the trail that knocks you down. You brush up against a log and it cut your leg - time to find a safe place to stop, clean the wound, bandage up and get back on the trail.
The multi-tool. The go-to when things get tough and we need to fix, create or rig something. This isn’t like first aid, this multi-tool can be used when we need to make changes, improvements or alterations.
