Wambolt

4:25 am. Tired Eyes, Full Hearts.

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP… 4:25 already? I just fell asleep. I swear we spent all night packing after putting the kids to bed. Trips to the grocery store and REI, and finally we were all set. I think. I never really know. At any rate, I was too tired to do any more list checking, tote-cramming or box stacking in the garage. I had silenced the voice over my shoulder telling me it wasn’t worth it. And I'm certain I had just fallen asleep when that alarm clanged. Here we go again.The usual pattern. Kids to bed, my wife and I packing like we’re getting ready to move. Their bags, our bags, food, hiking gear, camp gear, bug spray, and on and on. The cooler sits next to the fridge. Boxes and bags piled on the garage floor. I’m up early because I can only do so much the night before. The cooler has to go in first, then I play tetris in the back of the car. Invariably, something gets crammed, a bag of chips turned into crumbs. Nobody better ask for anything cold before we get there.Finally, I shove the final bag in and slam the door. Hands on hips, I run through a mental list. I remember getting to the lake last summer with no life jackets. I think about getting to the river one set of waders short. A camping trip with no diaper bag. What will it be this time? The nagging voice telling me that it isn’t worth it is quieting down now. The job is almost done. One more run through my checklist, then head back inside.My wife has started waking the kids. Sleep a distant memory, they run down the stairs and the house is alive. There is no room in my head now for details as I answer questions from four little humans – all excited, all struggling to listen. In their eyes I see the reason we are going. I see the glimmer, the anticipation. They want to sit on a riverbank together, they want to roast s’mores and laugh til they cry. They want Dad and Mom with no phones, no schedule, no other commitments. And they’ll get it. They’ll get us. And we’ll get them, uninterrupted.It’s now 6:33. We’re loading up. As we pull out, I let my mind wander. The chattering voices behind me, requesting songs and audiobooks, somehow hungry for snacks before we’re out of the driveway, and I think about that voice telling me not to go. Why are you planning weeks in advance for 3 days in a tent? They won’t even remember it. You can’t afford to take the week off, especially not this week. The weather doesn’t even look good.Looking at my wife, I take her hand in mine and squeeze it. We know why we ignore those voices. If you’re like us, you do it because there is no way to replace that time with your kids. Away from home, from routine, from tasks and schedules and (most) technology. You know that families are built, strengthened and permanently bonded by memories made together in the outdoors. You also know that memories made when things go wrong turn into belly laughs decades later. My cousins, friends and I all laugh at the same old stories every time we get together. We are knitted together by shared memories.My brother and I are starting Wambolt for this reason. We know the value of time together outdoors and we want to help you get as much of it as possible. If we can make the logistics simple and smooth, then those trips will happen more often. You will take the last minute trip because it takes you 2 minutes to load up and not 45. You will stop at the beach, the swimming hole, the trailhead because your gear is readily accessible. You will have chances to make memories to laugh at years later.Parents, we know what it takes to make adventures happen with little ones. Thank you for doing it anyway. You have earned every memory you have.Our goal is to be a reason you are able to get your family to more places more often (and not have to wake up at 4:25 to do it).Scott Wambolt