The rains have come again, and the river is flowing! We kicked off 2023 with a combined kayak and beach cleanup, working together with our friends at Kayak La Misión and a crew of local surfers. It was so fun to see young people getting stoked about cleaning up their local coastline, engaging in a … More Rivers, Rocks and Resurrection

Muddy roads and chilly offshore mornings are a telltale sign that the 2022 candle is burning low. In the wake of a busy summer season, the late fall and winter months feel like a lull between the waves–a time to slow down and turn an eye toward the horizon. In these months we’ve deepened relationships … More Going Deeper

In rock climbing, the hardest move on a route is called the “crux.” Working through a difficult crux is generally some form of type 2 fun (i.e. not actually fun until it’s over.) It’s exhausting, humbling, and sometimes even discouraging. Pro climbers can spend years getting shut down by a specific crux before completing a … More An Invitation to Grow

We want to start this post by highlighting someone in our community that inspires us.Friends … meet Pablo Cruz. Watching Pablo surf gives fresh meaning to that line from Walt Whitman’s poem, “I too am not a bit tamed . . . I sound my barbaric yawp over the roofs of the world.” (I never … More Pura Tortillas

Several months ago, on a warm fall night, a fire broke out by the river near where we live. It’s not clear how the fire started, but I remember seeing smoke and flames and quickly packing the essentials in case we needed to evacuate. Fortunately the town’s volunteer firefighters managed to put the fire out … More Restoration

Living south of the border reminds me that eating mounds of turkey and mashed potatoes on the fourth Thursday of November is primarily a tradition of the United States (one that I still plan to keep this year). However la acción de gracias—the practice of giving thanks—is an ancient human activity that extends across borders, … More Gratitude

September marks 8 months of life in La Misión and the end of our first Aleph summer season. Reflecting on the past several weeks brings a flood of joy-filled memories shared with youth and new friends in our community. We are stoked and so incredibly grateful for the supporters and partners who have come alongside … More Coast to Crag

There are days we wake up with a feeling that the world is normal, only to discover how fragile normalcy really is. So it was on a Monday in March when we heard the news that Brendan was at a hospital in San Diego. The doctors had found tumors in his brain. Thirteen years ago … More Foundations