Cuentos y Cantos al Monte
A three-day backpacking field seminar in the Pecos Wilderness of New Mexico,
from September 19-21st. Applications open July 17.
Nambe Lake, Pecos Wilderness.
it is a poetry of remembrance
and of an honoring of land and people
Over the course of a three-day backpacking field seminar, a cohort of nine participants will join Song Dog Relations in the Pecos Wilderness where they will explore diverse ecosystems and cultural histories. This outing will be an opportunity to strengthen one's relationship to place and foster a sense of belonging through traditional cultural practices. Storytelling, poetry, movement and song will be offered to one another and the land as an act of reciprocity. Cuentos y Cantos al Monte will look towards the work of Levi Romero as a compass, orienting participants towards ways in which our mountains may ground, nourish and inspire us towards a life of remembrance and connection.
It is the desire of Song Dog Relations to develop a series of Cuentos y Cantos programming that are place based and available to the communities in which programming occurs; strengthening relations with land, people and culture along the way.
What to Expect
Song Dog will facilitate creative exercises for meaningful engagement in an ecological area within the Santa Fe region just days before the fall equinox. This program will provide community members of New Mexico and beyond with an opportunity to practice reciprocity. Whether born and raised in New Mexico or not, Cuentos y Cantos al Monte welcomes those that are committed to deeply listening to the stories of the land in an effort to understand their role and responsibility of care within the greater ecosystem.
Participants should expect to hike 8 miles total on a trail system that is described as ‘moderate to hard’ with an elevation gain of 1,050 feet. There will be breaks throughout each day, with no one left behind. Activities will be explored through a combination of group and solo exercises. For those that live in or near Albuquerque, there will be opportunities to hike with us in the Sandia Foothills in August in an effort to familiarize your body with elevation gain and a full pack on your back. Daily movement is a huge part of building endurance and stamina.
Some activities may include, but are not limited to: birdwatching, botany, meditation, journaling, storytelling, singing, and embodied voice practices. If you have a voice, you can sing!
Itinerary
Friday, September 19 - Meet at the Winsor Trailhead near the Santa Fe Ski Basin at 9am. Backpack 2.5 miles and setup basecamp in the afternoon. Review kitchen supplies, cooking & hygiene protocols prior to dinner. Close with an early evening dream circle.
Saturday, September 20 - Hike 1.5 miles to Nambe Lake with space for botany, free time and lunch. Sound healing & writing workshops will be facilitated throughout the afternoon. Return to basecamp for dinner.
Sunday, September 21 - Storytelling & cantos at basecamp near Nambe Creek. Break down camp in the early afternoon and backpack to the Winsor Trailhead to head home. Program ends between 4 and 5pm.
*Admitted participants will also receive a pre and post check in, to help with preparation, meal planning and an opportunity to offer feedback of their experience.
Program Details
When - Friday, September 19th through Sunday, September 21st, 2025
Where - Pecos Wilderness, Santa Fe Forest via the Winsor Trail (link to map)
Apply: Applications are required to be considered for this program, please be thorough with your responses. Applications will be reviewed on an ongoing basis and the form will close once all 8 spots are confirmed. A waitlist will be available. Applications will go live July 17, please stay tuned via our newsletter to receive updates!
Cost - Sliding scale of $450, $550 or $650. Payment plans are available and a deposit of $150 is required to secure one’s spot (this goes toward the full amount). Full payment will be due September 5th, 2025. This cost doesn’t include food, snacks or gear. Participants are responsible for those items, however we will provide camp stoves and fuel.
Scholarships - We have an ongoing scholarship fund for our programs in an effort to raise full and partial waivers for New Mexican residents/diaspora that are Queer/Trans People of the Global Majority. Please share widely!
Gear Library - We are in the process of building a gear library in order to lend items to participants! If you or someone you know has a tent, sleeping bag, sleeping pad or backpacking pack they’d like to donate to us please contact us via email. Our inventory list will be available as soon as applications open and we will update accordingly as gear makes its way to us. If you’d like to connect us to funding resources that would also be greatly appreciated!
B. Stacey Villalobos, Founder, Guide & Educator
Stacey (they/them) is a cultural steward and interdisciplinary artist from the San Gorgonio Pass of Southern California with native and ancestral roots in Jalisco, México. They moved from the Mojave Desert to New Mexico in June of 2024 and has spent their time getting to know the landscape through various activities, such as biking, hiking, backpacking and offering land-based programs to community through Song Dog Relations LLC.
Stacey began teaching in 2010, creating their own educational programs in 2017 and became a backcountry guide in 2018. They have since facilitated programs for non-profits, grassroots organizations, botanic gardens, hiking clubs and more. Song Dog Relations LLC was founded by them in winter of 2024 and is a queer and mestiza owned business based out of Albuquerque, NM. Stacey is certified in Mental Health Wilderness First Aid, Wilderness First Aid and is fluent in Spanish and English. Learn more about Stacey here.
Brenda Serrano, Assistant
Brenda Serrano (she/her) is a Guatemalan-Mexican American adventure photographer, outdoor guide, educator, and writer based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Born and raised in New Mexico under the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, Brenda’s creative and professional work emerges from a lifelong relationship with the outdoors, a place of safety, clarity, and reclamation. Whether leading wilderness trips, facilitating healing-centered spaces with youth and communities of color, or capturing the soft moments that live between action and rest, her practice honors connection. Brenda is certified as a Wilderness First Responder, bilingual in English and Spanish and will also be providing documentation in the form of photography. Learn more about Brenda through here.
Issac Logsdon, Assistant
With deep family ties to Northern New Mexico, Issac (he/him) enjoys being outdoors while reconnecting to land-based traditions that have skipped a generation in his family. Issac first met Stacey through Signal Fire, a non-profit that connected artists, activists, and other cultural workers with the outdoors through backpacking programs.
He is the Program Director for Cornerstones, a nonprofit that maintains traditional adobe and stone building practices in rural villages of Northern New Mexico and on public lands throughout the Southwest. He has worked in over a dozen National Parks and BLM sites, including several in designated Wilderness Areas. He also teaches in the Adobe Construction Program at the Santa Fe Community College. Issac is Wilderness Mental Health First Aid certified. Learn more about Issac and his work with Cornerstones here.
Pecos is a Keres word that means ‘place where there is water’. Here you see Stacey admiring a meadow full of pedicularis, at the edge of Nambe Lake in the Pecos Wilderness. Pedicularis is a hemiparasitic plant that creates relationships with other plants through their root systems. What relations may we encounter, create or embody?
Info Session Recording
Access the recording of our information session to hear Stacey answer questions, review program details and offer tips on preparation and more.
Please email us at sondogrelations@gmail.com if you have further questions or are in need of resources for backpacking gear such as tents, sleeping bags, sleeping pads and backpacking packs!