Rouse Family Adventures

Mount Ann is a simple scramble that has skunked us just shy of the top. Every attempt we've lost visibility, ran out of time, or just couldn't pull it off.  So when Brandon's Dad agreed to watch Annabelle for the weekend we made plans to finally summit Mount Ann. When we made our plan we were thinking of time, speed and duration in baby units. But we actually moved quickly. We schlepped our overnight gear to the summit and  took an adventure route through a boulder field back down. We had enough left over time to nap in a meadow, made it back to the trailhead, and were drinking beer at the van by 5 pm. Apparently, You can move fast without the shenanigans of a 1.5 year old.  After checking the weather we realized it was going to rain for a week straight. Putting a toddler in a boat while its raining outside is like putting a monster in a box, except this time the box was going to be a really wet and cold. So the decision was made to take the van to Glacier National Park h...

"How  long have you been living aboard?"  When I was pregnant with Annabelle, Brandon's hair was just starting to become something magnificent. We thought we'd cut it when I went into labor so I had something to do. Turns out when that happens you don't feel like doing anything. Fast forward two years - his hair is even better. Brandon has leveled up and successfully achieved Wild Dad Hair. Something all Dads desire, but many never accomplish.  We spent the majority of our summer sailing in the San Juan Islands. Despite it being our first season sailing here, his feral hair has given us some serious credibility. Frequently asked, "How long have you been living aboard?"  His reply, "About 6 hours".  I'm not sure what his motivation was. It could have been the complete strangers basically asking him if he was homeless, or simply sick of hair being in his face. But all good things come to an end. Last week Brandon ran his longest run- 16 miles...

We call her "Pig Pen"   Backpacking with a mobile small human requires massive wrangling skills. Annabelle is so little, maneuverable and fast- chasing her is like trying to catch a greased up pig. Combine that with uneven terrain and a little person who likes "bouldering" and the path less traveled - you are in for a treat. Often we simply wonder ,WTF are we doing here.  But Behold!!! We went backpacking again, and discovered another holy grail of baby herding. Find a campsite filled with huckleberries and send the young one out to pasture. The bushes are the perfect height, provide hours of entertainment- and so many berries sized distractions toddlers don't make it very far.  A beautiful weekend amongst a chain of alpine with friends Stephen and Erin didn't disappoint. Sign us up again.  Here I am after playing a few rounds of  "Applesauce or Poop"  Free range baby

Q: "What's your boats name?" A: "Sarin" Q: "Oh you mean like the nerve agent" A: "This boat needs a better name... " This conversation has been on repeat since February. Luckily for us Phil had a great proposal, one that is also thrifty as we would get to reuse many of the letters. Our Current Name                                                            A crude artistic  rendition with the computer program                                                                                                   "paint...

Brandon and Bell playing "Up Periscope "  After fixing a flat tire less than a mile from the house, and loading a weeks worth of food and supplies onto the boat - we were ready to start vacation.  Annabelle and I  consume 21 bananas a week and amazingly, the boat had a place for everything we needed.  I am a total goldilocks sailor-  it has to be just right. If it's too windy I'm not into it. If it's not windy enough I'm not into it. Princess Goldilocks.  The Rosario Straight was little choppy. Brandon was sailing in all it's glory - loving every minute of it- expertly navigating the waves and single handedly adjusting lines. I was shitting  my pants, debating whether I should break into Annabelle's diaper stash and wear one. Annabelle likes to sleep through choppy seas and was peacefully napping in the cabin. Crossing the straight took 20 minutes, soon after   we saw a pontoon boat come through. As far as I know, pontoon boats are not known ...

Strong center of Balance  Brandon and I have spent every Fourth of July making the most of our extended time off in the mountains. This year we decided to hike into Stehekin - a backpacking trip purely designed around visiting a bakery. July 2nd - 3.5 Miles, one bota box of wine and chocolate We got off work super late and ate a bunch of food at the trailhead. We hauled the mail, covering about three and a half miles in an hour to reach our campsite just before  dark. We learned that our tent is a $400 pack and play. Annabelle loved toddling all over it, crashing into sides, body slamming on the thermarests, and thrashing our belongings all around. I had no idea you could anything in a 36 square foot area- but Annabelle pulled it off.   July 3rd -10 miles, some Jameson and more chocolate Despite an early wake up call from Annabelle at 5 am. we weren't moving until 7 am. The trail was covered in downed logs and had a lot of stream crossings. Luckily, Brandon has a goo...

Day one 56 miles We left our house excited and nervous about our dam bike ride.  Dragging our feet - almost trying to stall our departure, not sure why. It was only three miles from our house and we met a group of bike packers who were starting a cross country trip from Anacortes WA to Maine.  A Dad with his 9 year old daughter on a tandem bike, and their Uncle loaded down with saddle bags. We enjoyed riding with them for the day and they insisted to buy us lunch Sedro Wooley. You can read about their journey here if you are interested. https://www.wealthwithapurpose.com/the-ride-2021    We had a flat tire in Sedro and briefly considered riding back to the bike shop to get another patch kit or tube- but figured we'd probably be fine.  After setting up camp in the small town of Rockport, the highlight was taking turns eating 32 ounces of sherbet ice cream and biking circles around the campground with Annabelle in the trailer to get her to go to sleep for the nigh...