In 1970, Larry Wells approached his friend Darrol Gardner, the District Supervisor for the Idaho Department of Adult Corrections, District 7 Probation and Parole, with an idea to take adult and youth offenders into the wilderness, in a 40% adjudicated population blended with 60% non-adjudicated on a 30 day "berry picking trip" (as the clients were to call it).

Darrol agreed and was instrumental in gathering a Judge, Juvenile Corrections Department Probation Officers, Police Officers, a Defense Attorney and a Prosecuting Attorney to form the Board of Directors for Expedition Outreach Inc. After organizing the board he obtained a Law Enforcement Planning Commission Grant to fund the program. The first programs went out in the Idaho wilderness in 1971. The grant lasted three years, after which contracts were solicited throughout the western states. Expedition Outreach Inc. continued working with adjudicated clients, both adults and juveniles, until 1986.

In 1986, the program shifted to national marketing in order to increase the potential for private citizens to participate and to include the whole family in the process. That same year, insurance companies decided to drop all liability policies. Wilderness treatment programs were hit hard and Expedition Outreach was forced to temporarily close its doors.

Wilderness Conquest began in 1988, and in 1989 Wilderness Conquest stepped to the front line of wilderness based chemical dependency treatment and added a five day family enrichment program. In 1995, Wilderness Conquest was reincorporated as Blue Mountain Family Center, Inc. d.b.a. Wilderness Quest to more accurately represent our focus and direction. In 1999 Wilderness Quest again jumped on the cutting edge and created a separate wilderness based adult chemical dependency treatment program. Also in 1999 Wilderness Quest went to the very forefront of wilderness based chemical dependency treatment and achieved Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations.