Father. Fighter. Wanderer. This is where unfiltered stories of fatherhood, mental health battles, trail miles, and healing collide. Gear tested in the dirt, poems written in the dark, and lessons pulled from both.
🏕️ 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...
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, ...
"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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