Meet Cynthia.

Some journeys change the course of your life forever.

For Cynthia Cote, that journey began more than thirty years ago with a breast cancer diagnosis that arrived at a time when survivorship resources were scarce, support groups were uncommon, and the emotional impact of cancer was often overlooked.

As a nurse practitioner and healthcare professional, Cynthia understood the medical side of treatment. But nothing prepared her for the experience of living through it.

After months of aggressive therapy—including an experimental stem cell transplant, countless medical appointments, and a long road to recovery—she emerged cancer-free, but like so many survivors, she found herself asking a difficult question:

What happens now?

Treatment had ended, but the emotional journey was only beginning.

Then came an invitation that would change everything.

In 1995, Cynthia attended one of the very first Adventure Weekend retreats for breast cancer survivors. She arrived knowing no one. She was physically exhausted, emotionally uncertain, and still rebuilding her strength.

That weekend transformed her understanding of healing.

It wasn't simply the hiking, kayaking, ropes course, or time spent outdoors that made the difference. It was discovering the power of shared experience. It was learning that challenge could become confidence, that nature could become a place of restoration, and that strangers could become lifelong friends.

For the first time since her diagnosis, Cynthia felt that she wasn't simply surviving—she was beginning to reclaim her life.

That experience inspired a commitment that would shape the next three decades.

Over the years, Cynthia became a volunteer, facilitator, retreat leader, and ultimately co-founder of a nonprofit organization dedicated to carrying this work forward. Together with an extraordinary team, she helped lead hundreds of women through transformational outdoor retreats built on trust, adventure, reflection, and community.

She witnessed women arrive overwhelmed by fear, grief, and uncertainty—and leave with renewed confidence, lasting friendships, and hope for what lay ahead.

Again and again, participants shared the same message:

"This retreat changed my life."

Some even told her,

"It saved my life."

When that long-standing nonprofit concluded its work after more than thirty years, Cynthia knew the need had not disappeared.

If anything, it had grown.

Women were still searching for connection after treatment. They were still asking how to move beyond surviving and begin living fully again.

Second Summit Retreats was born from that conviction.

Today, Cynthia combines decades of clinical experience, leadership, and retreat facilitation to create intimate, nature-based experiences that help women reconnect with themselves, discover new strength, and build lasting community.

Every retreat is intentionally small. Every activity has purpose. Every challenge is an invitation—not to prove something to others, but to rediscover something within yourself.

Because while a cancer diagnosis may change the landscape of your life, it does not have to define the rest of your story.

Sometimes the first summit is survival.

The second summit is discovering everything that's still possible.