A Different Pace in the Santa Cruz Mountains

There is a particular contradiction to working in tech in Santa Cruz. Many of us spend our days thinking about what comes next while living in a place that is constantly asking us to notice what is already here.

A morning can begin with Slack messages, product meetings, funding conversations and a dozen browser tabs, then end a few miles away beneath redwoods that have been standing for hundreds of years. The ocean is close. So are the mountains. Still, it is remarkably easy to move through a week without spending much time with either.

Technology is especially good at rewarding constant attention. There is always another notification, another decision, another problem waiting to be solved. Santa Cruz offers a useful counterpoint to that pace. The landscape around us operates on a much older timetable, and sometimes spending time in it simply gives everything else a little less room in your head.

That is part of the thinking behind The Reset Day, taking place October 10 at Reggiardo Ranch in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

Hosted by Steve Fortunato and Wendy Figone, the day brings together forest therapy, food, gentle movement and reflection. Wendy is the founder of Somatic Ecotherapy and an ANFT-certified Forest Therapy Guide. Steve, founder of Reggiardo Ranch and roomforty Hospitality, brings his own emphasis on hospitality, generosity and making people feel genuinely cared for.

Forest therapy is not really hiking in the usual sense. There is no summit to reach or mileage goal to hit. The practice is intentionally slow, with the focus on being present in the landscape rather than moving through it quickly.

The rest of the day follows a similar rhythm, with time among the trees giving way to food, conversation and hospitality at the ranch. The retreat materials describe a mix of forest therapy, farm-to-table dining, movement and guided reflection.

For a community that spends so much time thinking about acceleration, October 10 offers something different: a day in the Santa Cruz Mountains with good food, good company and a little more space to pay attention.

If you can’t make the retreat, take this as a reminder to unplug for a while and reconnect with the sea, the woods, and the air around you.

The Reset Day takes place October 10 at Reggiardo Ranch.
Learn more and reserve a place here.