As we reach the end of the year, we want to thank all of our supporters for helping us to connect youth with nature. Our newsletters offer an ongoing voice from Ron and the young people he works with, sharing the lessons they learn through our trips and ongoing relationships. These voices offer a powerful testament for the value of their experiences in Yosemite.

Over the next couple of weeks, we also want to take the time to share reflections from some of our Board members about what Sacred Rok means to them. Please keep an eye out for these stories.

Here’s one from Kenji:

This fall, I was on my annual solo backpacking trip in the Sierras. Avoiding the smoke from the Rim Fire in Yosemite, I went to Kings Canyon National Park, exploring the Cloud Canyon area between Colby Pass and Avalanche Pass. There is a moraine that rises about 2,000 feet along the side of the river, which I am sure was created by the glacier that flowed down that canyon. I recognized that these mountains were created over 10 million years ago, and that at least four glacial advances have carved and left their stories on the rock. The moraine represented the cumulative stories of the rocks and boulders that rode down the glaciers following the law of gravity.

My trail cut a switchback up this moraine, and as I was relating to these thoughts and surroundings, I recognized that with each step I took, I was walking through time – the time it took for that glacial accumulation to be made. How many human generations are represented even in each small step that I took? Quite humbling, and as I got to the top, standing in the soft light filtered by the pine trees and looking around this documentation of time and forces of nature, I connected to a sense of my place in the universe.

In these newsletters, we have been sharing Sacred Rok’s philosophy of the lessons learned from participating in the ceremonies of nature. We want to encourage you to share any experiences you may have had personally.

This year for the first time we created a calendar using Ron’s photos. We will be sending the calendar to our supporters, and will have a limited number of calendars left. Please email us at SacredRok@SacredRok.org if you would like a calendar.

We have also posted our Annual Report on the website, and have a limited number of hard copy reports. Please let us know if you would like one. We look forward to your continued support. As you know, we depend on your donations. We set up a Year End Giving Campaign for those who would like to make a tax-deductible contribution before the end of the year.

Check it out on Facebook at

https://www.facebook.com/events/190382827820759/

or on Fundly at

https://fundly.com/sacred-rok-end-of-year-giving-campaign

Wishing a joyous holiday season to you and your family and friends, and a peaceful and healthy 2014.