Stories from the ridgeline
Reflections on fatherhood, faith, healing, leadership, adventure, and the spaces between expectation and reality.
August 5, 2025
The Approach: A Trail of Firsts Some trails leave more than footprints. They leave quiet evidence on the heart; signs that we’re braver and stronger than we ever believed. On July 16th, my son Ben and I stood at the trailhead of Mount Bierstadt, one of Colorado’s revered 14ers, rising 14,060 feet into the thin, […]
August 2, 2025
Let Curiosity Lead the Way Some birthdays are like ridgeline pauses: quiet, reflective, a moment to take in the view. Others feel like full-on jungle treks: chaotic, electric, and alive with riddles you never saw coming. This year? It was the jungle. After a slow morning with Gracie wandering the Denver Art Museum, where brushstrokes […]
July 31, 2025
Some birthdays pass like cairns on the trail, small markers on the long road of life. Not ignored, but not celebrated either. For years, mine have felt that way. Just another step forward, another page turned. But this year was different. This year, I exhaled. We were in Colorado, the place where my soul stretches […]
July 27, 2025
Some hikes test your legs. Others test your lungs. But the rare ones, like the climb of Torreys Peak with my daughter, test your heart. We started late and unhurried. Trusting the forecast that promised clear skies through midday, we planned to summit and descend both Grays and Torreys before the storm rolled in. We […]
July 22, 2025
In 2023 while hiking Mt. Elbert with my daughter, I learned about the cruel nature of false summits. From the trail head, we could see what looked like the peak glinting in the sun. Every muscle in our legs burned to reach it. Each switchback felt like progress toward that shining goal. We finally crested […]
July 10, 2025
Some Storms You Don’t See Coming We had barely made it through the gates of Busch Gardens when the skies turned. The kids and I had planned for a day packed with thrill rides, laughter, and all the sugary snacks. But within 45 minutes, thunder rolled in and the rides shut down. Still hopeful, we […]
July 7, 2025
Somewhere Between the Plans When navigating presence, promises, and parenting, there’s a quiet moment that comes after disappointment. It hangs in the air like fog on a ridge line; thin, but heavy enough to obscure the way forward. That’s where we found ourselves the other night. My daughter had made plans to go to the […]
July 4, 2025
“It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves.” — Sir Edmund Hillary Somewhere above the tree line, where the air thins and the weather turns with little warning, I learned that the most important gear you carry isn’t on your back, it’s within you. Resilience isn’t a trait you’re born with. It’s something that […]
April 13, 2025
The Paradox of Intimacy Intimacy is a strange thing. It asks us to be both strong and exposed. Real and meaningful connection doesn’t come from pretending we’ve got it all together — it’s about letting someone see the parts of you that are fragile, uncertain, or even messy. But here’s the kicker: it takes real […]
