IN GOOD COMPANY

For Jen Murphy, a group hiking retreat in the California desert shows that community and connection are cornerstones of a healthy life

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Guests at Sensei Porcupine Creek, in Coachella Valley, can visit nearby Ladder Canyon Trail

THE PRICK TO MY FINGER was fast and sharp, but my blood wasn't being drawn by a nurse. Instead, the outstretched arm of a cholla cactus was the culprit. I had come to California's Coachella Valley for Sensei Porcupine Creek's inaugural longevity-focused hiking retreat, and I'd been stabbed by the plant's barbed spine while furiously pumping my arms to keep pace with my group's extremely fit guide, Anthony Purnel, a tribal council member of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians.

Purnel, 37, was leading our group on the trails of Indian Canyons, his ancestral land just outside Palm Springs. In a first for Agua Caliente, the tribe has partnered with Sensei to offer exclusive immersive cultural experiences. Our three-mile trek was strenuous, but this wasn't a tough-love boot camp in the vein of the cult hiking retreat Ranch Malibu. We had come because we wanted to feel good, not just look good. After the group stopped at a spot overlooking a rocky outcrop, a mindset coach from Sensei encouraged us to take out the journals we'd been given. We were instructed to scribble down our feelings and recast negative thoughts (I'm not fit enough to be here; I dislike journaling) into positive affirmations (I'm challenging myself in new ways; What an amazing experience to have with others).