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📖 Falling Forward: The Trip That Lit the Fire

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I’ve spent the last 20 years chasing someone else’s story. “Saving the princess,” so to speak. In that time, I hadn’t caught a single fish. Camped a handful of times — and by camp, I mean pull up, pay a fee, pitch a tent, and sit lakeside. I hadn’t set foot on a real hiking trail since before my son was born, unless you count the time I hoofed it around Disney World. So what made me think I could head off into the backcountry for a survival-style camping trip? I did. I had faith. Zero patience — but plenty of reckless optimism. After a little light research, the sticker shock set in. Quality gear isn’t cheap, so I pieced together what I could from Walmart, Sierra, and Scheels. I won’t deep-dive into the gear here (unless you guys want a future breakdown), but let’s just say 90% of it wasn’t made for backpacking. My pack weighed about 70 pounds… for one night. Yeah — you ultralight folks can laugh. It’s fine. I picked Lory State Park, just outside Fort Collins. Far enough to feel wild, ...
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Photo Credit: Jordan Cain 5/2025   Blue jay on bare branch, mountain hush, a thaw begins— spring waits in the pines.                     Eric and Cal
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Gear Review: Rumpl Wrap Sack — Is It Backpacker-Ready or Just Campground Cool?

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  🏕️ Gear Review: Rumpl Wrap Sack — Is It Backpacker-Ready or Just Campground Cool? Preface: I’m an avid backpacker who’s always hunting for gear that balances comfort, weight, and packability. I’ve had my eye on the Rumpl Wrap Sack for a while now because — let’s be honest — it just looks so damn cool. A cozy, hooded sleeping bag that isn’t a mummy? I was intrigued. I finally pulled the trigger and ordered one on REI . Mine was $200 flat, but its on sale now until May 26th for 187.39  It arrived yesterday. 📦 First Impressions: The design is awesome. The shape, the style — it stands out from your typical backcountry bag lineup. But this thing is chunky . It weighs in around 6 lbs and does not compress well . It took up a ton of space in my 50L pack, and I had to leave behind my thermals and extra blanket for my test run. ❄️ Field Test Conditions: Took it out last night in the Northern Colorado mountains with temps dropping to about 22°F . Perfect testing environmen...
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Location: Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, USA
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“What I Thought Would Fix It All (And What Actually Helped)”

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  “Loving Him Through It: Learning to Parent While Healing Myself”       Before I talk about our camping trip I want to talk a little about why this trip was so important to me and how I had gotten to the point that I had.      Since kindergarten, Grayson’s struggled. School never fit him. He had a hard time regulating his emotions, making lasting friendships, or feeling like he belonged — and it cut deep because I recognized every bit of it. I lived that. And just like me, he didn’t have the words for what was happening inside his head.      I tried everything. More one-on-one time. Elaborate trips. Soccer, baseball, boxing. I bought him things I couldn’t afford, hoping they’d fill a hole I didn’t know how to reach. I swung between coddling him and losing my temper. Lecturing when I should’ve listened. Inconsistent in my efforts to actually help. Truth is — I didn’t see that I was part of the problem      By the time...
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"Autopilot Fatherhood: Breaking the Cycle Before It Breaks Me"

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"35, Broken, and Trying Anyway"      I’m 35. A father of three. Not perfect. Complicated upbringing. Abandonment issues. PTSD, ADHD, Bipolar — unmedicated. I’ve barely managed to hold it together all these years, trying to be the man I thought I needed to be. Time’s creeping up behind me like the bald spots sneaking in on the back of my head, and every morning I wake up sore like I lost a fight in my sleep. Most days, it feels like I’ve given up. Life runs on autopilot: wake up, get the kids ready, scramble to remember whatever special event they’ve got going on, drop them off at different places, and head to work to manage a Non-Profit site that brings its own set of problems. I forget my lunch — again — stress over the endless to-do list, and sometimes cry on the drive home. But I shove it all down, pick the kids up, ask about their day while my brain’s drowning in the mental checklist of chores waiting for me. Evenings are a blur of dogs barking, dinner battles, sibli...
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