Trip: Baker Lake Trail – Baker River to Noisy Creek camp
Date: 7/11/2017-7/12/2017
Trip Report:
There is a moment that stands out in my mind as I begin to write this. I am sitting back against a long heavy piece of white and dried out driftwood. I can hear the small wind driven waves of Baker Lake lapping against the bank, and I hear Kate’s little voice talking softly to herself as she searches for twigs to add to our fire. She is pretending to be a pioneer and I am so incredibly content. This was her first backpacking trip. Continue reading “The Powers of Persistence and Pretend”→
I have been a father for seven years now, and my notions of adventure have changed and changed again. There truly is no telling what might happen on any given hike or outing with the kids in tow, and no two are alike. In this post I am going to be writing about a few ideas that have helped me make it out alive and with my sanity mostly intact. Continue reading “Hiking With Kids: Five Things To Know”→
I suffer from a condition. I do not now what the medical name for this condition is, but symptoms aggressively present themselves when I have been inside too long. I get a little itchy and maybe a little grumpy. OK, bit of an understatement. After a couple of days without my outside fix I am an ass. Just ask my wife. She has a plethora of feelings on the subject. All well deserved. I am lucky that she knows me so well, because when I get that look in my eye she will suggest very sweetly that I get the hell away from her. I don’t blame her. Continue reading “The Elusive Kidless Adventure”→
When I think of runners I see this deerlike creature lightly and gracefully travelling over the trails through forests and up mountains, feet barely touching the ground. This creature can cover tens of miles and post about it on instagram with a huge smile on his or her face talking about how nice it was to get a little fresh air. I am a little different. Continue reading “To Nap Time and Beyond”→
I was just witness to a Christmas commercial on the television. The catalogues are coming in force through the mail. The radio is abuzz with ways to survive holiday travel and my initial reaction is to take my sleigh down to Whoville and steamroll the brainwashed consumer machine that starts turning over earlier and earlier and earlier each year. Deep breath… Continue reading “#BLESSED”→
My daughter Kate and I have not been getting along. She actually tried to lock me out of the house not too long ago. I haven’t helped matters. She has a sensitive soul, and I have been less than patient with her creative endeavors…aka I got pissed when her art projects spawned a massive tornado of glitter and scraps of paper and glue and paint and the entire contents of our recycling bin. I may have lost my cool a bit when her previously clean room avalanched into our kitchen and living room. To say the least we have been butting heads. Continue reading “Kate and Dada Time”→
I’m just going to throw this out there. Apple cider is delicious. If I really want to break down the rhythms of my life, drinking apple cider is an essential fall experience. As explained in my previous post, fall means a lot to me. Fall holds one of my favorite days of the year… cider-pressing day. Cider-pressing day is an epic day each year where my family gets together with old friends and we turn 1000 pounds of apples into gallons and gallons of gorgeous cider. It is a day of community. Continue reading “The Community of Apple Cider”→
Fall in the Pacific Northwest is the best. I love how the air feels in my lungs and how mountains pop from a clear blue sky on a brisk day. Layers begin to build in the autumn weather cycles, and I sense a certainty in the landscape’s transformation to winter. Fall is fleeting, but glimpses of magic are everywhere. Continue reading “Coffee, Colors, and Flannel”→
I believe that it is important for families to spend time together outside. I believe that the mountains and rivers and forests and beaches of this world are the very best playgrounds our children could ever ask for. I believe that experiencing nature through your own eyes and with your own mind and body helps you grow as a person. I believe that nature is a critical component in the development of a child, and that it is the job of family to cultivate this growth. Being active outside from a young age will build confidence and strength and stamina. It will cultivate a feeling of reverence for this planet that is much needed in our future generations.
Origins
The Bark and Moss Project began almost seven years ago with the birth of my first daughter Kate. It began subconsciously. It began as a feeling. It began as a promise to myself. The two most important things in my life are my family and being outside exploring all that this earth has to offer. I did not want to stop adventuring because I had kids. I wanted to share my love of nature with them. Kate, and now my youngest daughter Lila, have been outside from the time they were a week old. We have logged countless miles in our trusty BOB stroller and various frontpacks and backpacks. The girls have always loved the fresh air, sunshine, rain, and the feel of a tree. With her little hand on a huge cedar tree covered in a carpet of green, bark and moss, right after Momma and Dada, were the first words Kate ever said. Obviously this was a proud parenting moment. The look of amazement a kid gets from exploring and touching and running and playing outside is humbling and inspiring. I want to see all my adventures through the eyes of a child.
The Basics
sleepy baby on a trip to the mountains
The Bark and Moss Project is my blog, but more than that it is an idea and a community. I will be sharing thoughts and stories and trip reports about the adventures that my family loves to take. I want to chronicle life’s small adventures, and give them the respect they deserve. A one mile hike at Artist Point with my wife and daughters can feel just as good as a Mt. Baker Summit push. I want to inspire and encourage families to spend time together experiencing our natural world. If kids are exposed to the beauty and wonder of green spaces and wild places from an early age, maybe, just maybe, they will respect and cherish this earth with more insight and determination than my generation and those before. Kids are our future and family is our now. I want to connect families and strengthen the bond of community and place.
The Bark and Moss Project 