Summit Stalk Foundation
Guiding Veterans
Toward Healing
Through the Wild
Immersive 4-5 day guided hunting expeditions in the Colorado backcountry, built for veterans seeking restoration, brotherhood, and purpose.
Our Mission
The Wilderness
Calls Them Home
Every year, thousands of veterans return from service carrying invisible wounds. PTSD, depression, anxiety, and a profound sense of disconnection leave many feeling lost in the civilian world they fought to protect.
Summit Stalk Foundation was built by veterans, for veterans. We wear our service. We hunt these mountains. We know the fight from the inside — and we know what the backcountry can do that no clinical setting can.
Every expedition is led by veterans and guided by a licensed Master of Social Work with a specialized focus on veteran mental health — embedded in the field, not in an office. Clinical credibility without clinical distance.
This is not a program. It is a community of people who believe the Colorado backcountry is medicine — and who have the research, the credentials, and the personal experience to prove it.
22 veterans
are lost to suicide every single day in America
Who We Are
Veterans Who Hunt These Mountains
We are not a program built by clinicians who read about hunting. We are veterans who hunt, who have felt the backcountry do what nothing else could — and who built this foundation to give that to others.
[Founder Name]
Co-Founder & Executive Director
[Branch of Service] · [Years] of Service
[Founder bio — e.g., Two combat deployments to Afghanistan. After leaving the service, discovered the Colorado backcountry as the first place his mind went quiet. Founded Summit Stalk Foundation to give other veterans what the mountains gave him.]
[Co-Founder Name]
Co-Founder & Program Director
[Branch of Service] · [Years] of Service
[Co-founder bio — e.g., Served as an infantry officer before transitioning out and earning a Master of Social Work with a focus on veteran mental health. Brings both lived experience and clinical training to every expedition.]
“We are veterans who hunt, with a licensed clinician in the field, using a research-backed therapeutic model, in the Colorado backcountry — at no cost to veterans. No other organization in this space can say all of that.”
The Experience
The Summit Cycle
A research-backed therapeutic framework built around the complete arc of the hunt. Every phase is intentional. Every moment is designed. No other hunting program does this.
The Summit Cycle
Our therapeutic framework built on Dr. Keith Tidball's peer-reviewed research. Seven intentional phases — Search, Stalk, Kill, Butcher, Cook, Eat, Reflect — each designed to activate healing that no other outdoor program can replicate.
MSW in the Field
A licensed Master of Social Work with a specialized veteran focus is embedded in every expedition — not in an office, but beside you in the backcountry. Clinical backbone, zero clinical setting.
Squad-Sized Cohorts
4–6 veterans per expedition. That's it. The size of the unit you trusted with your life. Small enough to build real bonds, large enough to feel the weight of shared purpose.
Fully Funded
Every expedition is free for participating veterans. Transportation, gear, lodging, meals, licenses, and guide services — all covered. No veteran is turned away for financial reasons.
Colorado Backcountry
High alpine terrain, elk country, the physical demand of elevation and distance. The Colorado wilderness isn't just a backdrop — the altitude, the cold, the silence above treeline are part of the medicine.
90 Days of Follow-Through
The expedition ends. The support doesn't. Every veteran receives MSW-led check-ins at 30, 60, and 90 days — and connection to a cohort community that lasts indefinitely.
The Research
Why Hunting
Heals Warriors
Dr. Keith Tidball of Cornell University spent years studying why hunting specifically — not hiking, not fishing, not any other outdoor pursuit — produces measurable reductions in PTSD symptoms and suicidal ideation among combat veterans.
His answer is the Sacred Hunting Hoop: a complete cycle from pursuit through harvest that activates neurological, psychological, and social healing mechanisms simultaneously. Summit Stalk Foundation built The Summit Cycle around this research — and embedded a licensed MSW to facilitate every phase of it.
We are veterans who hunt, with a licensed clinician in the field, using a research-backed therapeutic model, in the Colorado backcountry. No other organization in this space can say all of that.
"This weekend was the reset I was craving. I needed to talk with other men that fight the same fight."
Army Purple Heart Recipient
Hypervigilance → Asset
The backcountry stalk — slow movement, breath control, acute sensory attention — channels PTSD hypervigilance into a purposive, biologically appropriate context. Veterans aren't fighting their symptoms. They're using them.
Flow State Induction
High-altitude terrain, physical demand, and total cognitive immersion in animal behavior produce flow states — periods of complete absorption neurologically incompatible with rumination and intrusive memories.
The Harvest
Tidball's research identifies the ethical harvest as the therapeutic fulcrum of the entire experience. For veterans carrying unresolved weight around mortality and agency, the intentional, face-to-face taking of life — followed by butchering and sharing — provides a controlled context no clinical setting can replicate.
Measured Outcomes
We administer validated clinical instruments (PCL-5 for PTSD, PHQ-9 for depression) before and after every expedition and at 30, 60, and 90 days. We measure what we do. We report what we find.
The Impact
What Veterans Find
In the Wild
Research with combat veterans reveals consistent themes about what makes hunting a uniquely powerful form of healing.
Solitude & Peace
The quiet of the backcountry provides a sanctuary from the noise and overstimulation that aggravates PTSD symptoms.
Mentorship
Veterans feel needed again. Mentoring others, sharing knowledge, becoming part of a group with shared purpose.
Heritage & Identity
Hunting reconnects warriors with the deep human tradition of the provider and protector. An identity that gives meaning.
Mastery & Growth
The challenge of the hunt demands fitness, patience, and skill. It provides measurable personal growth and accomplishment.
Because I feel alive again, like I accomplished something, like I am thriving... like I felt in the infantry.
Combat Veteran, on returning from a hunting expeditionTake Action
Join the
Mission
Whether you're a veteran seeking healing, a donor funding the mission, or a volunteer ready to serve, there's a place for you.
Veterans
Apply for an Expedition
Are you a veteran dealing with PTSD, anxiety, depression, or the invisible wounds of service? Our expeditions are fully funded and designed for you. All experience levels welcome.
Apply NowDonors
Fund a Hunt
Every dollar goes directly toward getting a veteran into the backcountry. From gear and tags to guides and meals, your generosity makes healing possible.
DonateVolunteers
Join the Mission
Whether you're an outfitter, guide, mental health professional, or simply someone who wants to serve those who served. We need you.
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