A Washington, D.C.-area minister and private-practice counselor died on a spiritual retreat high in the Sierra Nevada, authorities said Tuesday.

The Rev. Karen Blomberg, associate pastor of Westminster Presbyterian Church in suburban Alexandria (web|news), Va., died Monday morning from asphyxiation due to a pulmonary embolism, or blood clot, said Leon Brune of the Inyo County coroner's office.

Blomberg, 54, was part of a 16-woman "Elderquest" excursion hosted by the nature-based, spiritual group Wilderness Rites and camped at Badger Flats at the 9,000-foot level in the mountains above Independence, Calif., about 170 miles north of Los Angeles, Brune said.

One of the group began waking up other members at 6 a.m. and heard Blomberg calling out to her, Brune said. Blomberg, who had been in good health, was found lying next to her tent, sweating profusely and having chest pains.

She was transported to Southern Inyo Hospital in Lone Pine, where she was pronounced dead at 8 a.m., Brune said.

Asked if the heightened elevation could have caused Blomberg's death, Brune said "that would be rare, but I have seen that before."

According to Westminster Presbyterian Church's Web site, Blomberg worked part-time for the church and had been a member of its staff since 1990.

She earned her master's degree in divinity from Princeton Seminary in 1981 and her master's degree in theology in 1986. She also had a private counseling practice in Washington, D.C., said the site.

"We are saddened to report the sudden death" of Blomberg, Rev. Dr. Larry R. Hayward wrote on the site.

Oregon-based Wilderness Rites, according to its Web site, holds vision quest outings as "an ancient rite of passage which ritualizes life's transitions in a meaningful way and in solitude on the earth."

The camping trips either take place in the desert or in the mountains, depending on the weather, and fasting is promoted but optional.

"Since its inception in 1990, Wilderness Rites has not had a single significant injury among the hundreds of participants," according to the Web site.

Brune said it wasn't known whether Blomberg had been fasting but that likely wouldn't have caused her death.

A message left for Wilderness Rites' Anne Stine was not immediately returned.

Blomberg is survived by her father, Kenneth Blomberg of Indianapolis, and two brothers, Bruce Blomberg of Indianapolis and Ronald Blomberg, a resident of Germany.

A memorial service was scheduled for Sunday at Westminster Presbyterian Church.