why men recommend itwild adventurers' endorsements

2013 Weeks

The ability to be open and honest, without a façade among men who act the same way is an incredible gift. To work on being authentic and real and to be acknowledged for the same has been awesome.

The time spent at Wild Adventure was unlike anything I have ever done. The fishing & Montana experience was amazing but the friendships and stories of the men that met there was unforgettable and life changing.

This trip challenges your assumptions of life, the status quo and conventional thinking all while enjoying fishing with other men.

A life changing experience in the pristine wilderness setting of Montana. Take a chance – you will never regret it!

Life, liberty and the pursuit of adventure meet you in Montana in a unique way.

Truly a great starting place for the novice fisherman to learn to cast and see file from a completely different perspective…at the same time.

The Smiling Moose Ranch was a deep rugged luxury. Gourmet cooking on a mountain range. I will always be in This Wild at Heart.

Great trip, great guys, beautiful venue & great fishing!

A wonderful fishing trip on the Madison River for fighting Rainbow Trout. Met some great men from other states and shared great life stories. WHAT A BLAST!

What comes to your mind when you think the words “men’s retreat”? Well, get that thought out of your head. This is a chance to “unplug” and go on an adventure with other men to find out what Jesus meant when He offered “life to the fullest”.

Morris/Walter Week

This was truly a wonderful experience. The setting is magnificent, the fishing was great, the food phenomenal and the time spent with other men was challenging and enjoyable.

Great time – Well worth the time, effort and cost. Men, it may be the only time in your life that you share your true self and hear the same from other men. Amazing experience.

Amazing fishing experience – The river is spectacular – A true bucket list top 5.

Jan, Thanks for the opportunity to connect what my heart longs for. To find purpose, to find peace, to find direction.

Amazing time! The whole week was fun filled with men from all walks of life coming together getting to know each other with great food and fishing and sharing what it is to be a man, husband and/or father in this world.

This is really cool! Eating, drinking, fly fishing with a bunch of guys and then be able to “burp the Tupperware”, get out a whole bunch of garbage I had been carrying around. Now begins the fight for my wife, my love. Praise God!

The life stories of men being real with each other have a profound impact on each of us in the telling and listening.

I came out here desperate. Desperate to feel and find faith again, unable to walk alone anymore. I came here feeling as if I was in the driver seat of life; I am leaving in the passenger seat, hopeful and excited.

This trip has been so awesome for me to be in the wilderness to have God change my heart to meet men who need God and to have new friends to be with, to have tem hold me accountable.

Marty Sherman Week

A week where you will remember what you were like before he pressures and strains of the world took over. A perfect setting with the opportunity to discuss with peers the truly important things in life. The hospitality makes the whole experience comfortable and fun.

Learning better how to live the adventure and get back my heart. Thanks for the permission to go their and be healed. A game changer!

Come on, be a man there is real adventure with other guys who are built just like you, who are all longing for high adventure to go deep.

The Wild Adventure…. I am a busy business guy that came on this trip with a bad attitude! I do a bunch of guys trips and quite frankly did not need another. What I was out of touch with was how bad I needed a heart examination. This time, any man serious about having a serious examined life will benefit from this wonderfully fun, deep time.

Smiling Moose has been a place where I have been able to rest in beauty and serenity. A place where I have heard my heart cry and a place where friends have touched by heart and inspired me to be a better man.

Go to truly connect with your heart, to better connect with the hearts of your loved ones - to be a better husband - to be a better father - to be a better friend.

Food great, wine great, the time with each other FANTASTIC!! Everyone needs a time like this.

The fishing was great. The fellowship was better. The process of opening me up to the Lord, His voice and my heart was the best part and what I will remember the most. Thank you for your great gift to me.

Our time at Wild Adventure was terrific. The service, better, the hospitality was over the top. The unexpected experience was how deep the relationships went in just four days.

Doug Howe Week

This week has changed my life and my perspective on life. I will come again.

Without any expectation other than experiencing Montana, the Smiling Moose Ranch will be one of the highlights of my life. Doug’s presentations were top-shelf. Twelve inspiring gentleman.

The week has kick started my spiritual journey, that has been very slow to start due to the craziness of our world.

The most impacting and fun week I can remember with a group of great people. The combination of Montana beauty, the best fly fishing experiences and a program that unleashed a man’s true potential is life changing. I will surely be a better man for this experience!

This was a wonderful adventure where I got closer to God and nature. The opportunity to meet other guys and share the experience was incredible.

The fishing, food and fellowship are first class. I’ve never experienced more personal growth in the course of one week.

See & experience the best of men. Become a better version of yourself. Experience fly fishing & nature unparalleled.

Wild Adventures gave me an opportunity to become a better man by sharing our experiences with other men in a spectacular environment.

YPO Week

Wild Adventure... A terrific week of introspection, great fly fishing, in a magnificent environment in Montana, combined with the pleasure of learning from 11 other men that shared the experience with me.

A reminder in a relationship-starved world of the energy that comes from guys talking, fishing, eating and living together, a chance to blow away some of the fog that settles in the daily habits of life.

A very enjoyable week of fishing, eating and camaraderie. The discussions of life and religion were informative and enlightening. Hearing other men’s life stories gave me perspective and a reflective view of my own journey.

What a week! Thanks for providing a true adventure for my body, mind, and soul.

A great experience I will always remember. An experience that has such great potential for me I can wait to learn more.

To Jan, Ken, Chris and all the guys; Thanks for a great week of comradelier, fishing and nature. Appreciate all the time and thought you have put into this great wild adventure.

Wild Adventure... A time and a place for men to discover the truth about themselves and to take actions to become better men as a result.

This has been a unique and unexpected experience. The tranquility of fly fishing mixed in with deep, personal discussions with people you just met – along with magnificent food – is an experience not to be forgotten.

An adventure worth taking.

Week Seven

This was a fantastic experience, excellent fishing, gourmet food, choice wine, and most important the opportunity of a quiet and beautiful setting to reflect on your life.

The time spent together with men – some friends, some strangers – makes you realize you are not alone in your failures and short comings along with your dreams and victories. You come away with the strength and knowledge that many others experience the same as you and you draw great strength.

Breathtaking surroundings… Experiencing genuine, raw, interaction with men.

This was without a doubt the most influential week I’ve spent in 30 years. The way the time is arranged to spend doing great fun stuff that opened up my heart to receive deep restoration.

Hearing the testimonies of great men from all walks of life encourages me to stay in the fight.

This has been a great time of reflection in a perfect place to pause to do so. I have taken away a lifetime’s worth of things to think about and act on.

Reading 'Wild at Heart' is not good enough. Walking through it with fellow weary warriors is vital!

This is so much more than a fishing trip. It’s time spent finding out who you are and who you’re capable of being. Thanks Jan & Chris.

I came not knowing what to expect from a group of strangers. I left with a group of friends who helped me to see a clearer path to the hearts of my wife, my kids and even my own heart.

The past 5 days have been the best 5 days of the past year. From adventure, food and fellowship, unbelievable beauty, to sitting around the file each night, has been a life changing experience! Thanks, Jan, for providing an amazing event!

Jan and Louie Week

A genuinely powerful week full of “Wild Adventure” and a gathering of honest and fantastic guys.

This trip was a rare opportunity to think about ideas & issues I (we) rarely think about… among respectful, non-judgmental, well-meaning men. The mixture of heavy thought and discussion with fishing, shooting, smoking, drinking, and carrying on in a beautiful setting is remarkable.

I had deep personal issues and nobody to speak to. I found them, my new “Band of Brothers”. A week of trust, honesty, talk that was open and straightforward. I’m glad I came. I look forward to my return.

Reading 'Wild at Heart' is not good enough. Walking through it with fellow weary warriors is vital!

I would encourage any man struggling to find his heart to addend this week.

I came to this looking for a plan to renew my relationship with my wife… I am leaving with a plan to renew my relationship with Jesus.

About men sharing their beliefs, questions, trials and tribulations about God, their wounds and their relationships.

Relationship with Christ personally. Men communing – talk, genuinely, release. Fun/Laughter.

Intense fellowship with men sharing our lives and learning about God. Understanding how God works through us

This week was an amazing journey of becoming vulnerable in front of men who were also willing to become vulnerable in order to gain our identity as men.

Week Nine

The combination of stunning scenery, energizing fishing and genuine friendship with other men is absolutely life changing.

The wild adventure is a truly unique experience. It is a chance to spend quality time with a group of great guys in the outdoors fishing, eating great food and learning what being a man really is all about.

A week to learn what has shaped you and how it affects you now and what to do about it.

Relationship with Christ personally. Men communing – talk, genuinely, release. Fun/Laughter.

The Wild Adventure week was one of the most fantastic experiences I’ve ever had with a group of guys. The times sitting around listening to guys getting real and sharing their stories. It is incredible what goes on in these sessions and the fly fishing is awesome.

This trip exemplified the power of good men who come together and share the dangerous stories of their lives.

Great food….. Great fun….. Great fishing…. Men being open and honest with one another! Real relationships and love.

Adventure, Excitement, gourmet food, spectacular setting, and outstanding fly fishing. It started with a bunch of strangers and through shared adventure, honest stories, and getting real with each other I have a bunch of new friends.

A time to get away with other men who seek to maximize their joy they have in their lives with God & family and a fresh new look at it out in the wilderness while fishing.

Week Five

I am sitting here on Saturday… these are not the same guys that arrived on Tuesday. I can’t explain adequately, but they are different, released men.

An insight into the thoughts of men, strangers at first and friends at last – “No man is alone – just reach out.

This week has been an awesome, scary, and uplifting week. To be out in God’s wonderful creation and exploring how we can develop a meaningful relationship with Him is powerful

This week has opened my eyes to how much I love my wife and kids. I’ve learned so much about myself and my journey through life.

A time to get away with other men who seek to maximize their joy they have in their lives with God & family and a fresh new look at it out in the wilderness while fishing.

Learned how to fly fish, met a bunch of incredible men from across the U.S. and most importantly, go acquainted with myself again at a deeper spiritual level. It’s been the most incredible week in the last 20 years.

The experience allows you to look into your heart and mind; to dig into the wounds and demons that keep us from being free to be ourselves, to be with God.

This week opened my eyes to what many men experience and feel, a lot of which are the same issues and it showed me that we are not alone.

Being part of something bigger than me. A fellowship of very different men seeking a common goal.

This week I have been able to see a bunch of guys my age get real with God and with each other about their struggles and fears. It gave me encouragement that I am not alone in this journey.

Validation may only come from God through his Son Jesus. However, the association with likeminded men seeking a common difficult goal is an inspirational journey.

Week Four

The Wild Adventure provides the time and space for God to draw out your deepest thoughts, desire and battles that you didn’t know existed.

A guy should come up here for the chance to disconnect from the noise that surrounds us all so that we can open our hearts and ears to God.

You will learn how to catch fish and get your life back in the process. You will also eat better than you ever have in your life.

What an amazing opportunity to share life with one another while experiencing God’s creation. Truly a special place and time to grow spiritually.

If you want to get beyond the superficial and deep dive fast in friendship with a few other men, get your names on the list for a week at Smiling Moose Lodge.

Get space necessary to process what is really important in your life, and time to prioritize accordingly.

God is powerful and He is good. He showed both his power and his goodness this week and that has been an awesome thing to behold.

Week Three

An amazing week with amazingly honest men in the amazing beauty of God’s creation! Truly something that every man should have the opportunity to experience!

Men will give up in their effort to find a place to share and to learn about the masculine journey from a truthful, honest, experiential and non-judging source. This is it! Add the rest and decompressing agenda to the week long experience and you have a dream of a week (vacation) for a man with or without friends, who will help him grow.

Don’t come to “The Wild Adventure” unless…. You love to be in spectacular settings… great food… and great connections of head and heart with great guys! If you long for these experiences this week could change your life!

I have never before had an opportunity to see God at work, not only in His creation, but through the loving hears of men I so totally respect.

Go where you have never been with ten guys you have never met. Go home with new and deep understanding of yourself; a clear direction of your life and great new friends for the rest of your life.

This has been a wonderful week where I could assemble a group of my friends in one full week. Rarely get this at home. Thank you!

Say “adventure” and the image is all action and competition. Say “retreat” and the image is a snorefest with a classroom of lecture and boredom. No single phrase can capture the experience of a dozen high-quality men marinating in the Montana mountain majesty and sharing life-to-now stories that allowed a level of connection seldom, if ever, found in the rat race.

Come experience the most important week of your life. Important because it will free you from the bondage of daily life to life as you were destined to live.

The setting... sublime. The food...rich, delicious & plentiful. The fishing… GREAT! The comraderie – you get as good (or better) as you give!

Combat Veteran's Week

Because America. Warriors need to know it was worth the fight. Freedom!

Time to be real, understood and learn.

A spiritual retreat where waters flow like the love of God. Join other combat wounded veterans on a mission to connect, regroup and continue the healing process.

An opportunity to learn a tool to provide peace.

The battle is not over, we still have to watch each other’s backs and God has called us here to do so.

If you get the chance you must take it. It will change your life to meet with other vets in a manly environment. Plus! You get to go to Montana!!

Daily life is unrelenting and the business takes control of your mind. To be with likeminded people doing or learning a new skill or hobby that allows you to focus on yourself and express issues relevant to soldiers and heal one another is priceless.

It only takes on person to make a difference in someone else’s life. Changing and helping a combat vet is a self-sustaining reaction. The “helped one” then helps another.