Jeff Darren Muse

To the Sea with Ned

Featured in Dear Park Ranger: Essays on Manhood, Restlessness, and the Geography of Hope

Born in my field journal, “The Moon, the River, a Best Friend” celebrates male bonding, spontaneity, and outdoor adventure. An excerpt:

“Ned and I started paddling at four o’clock this afternoon. An upriver wind chafed our faces as the milky green melt of four hundred glaciers carried us downstream. We meandered twenty-five miles from Rockport, under Concrete’s steel Tinkertoy, the Dalles Bridge, then beyond the bluffs of Cape Horn, where the Skagit doubles back for a horizon-wide view of craggy Sauk Mountain, named for the Sah-ku-méhu tribe. Late summer withers the peak’s avalanche chutes—tawny meadows, a hint of gold. Several miles later, at the old ferry crossing in Birdsview, we pulled ashore on this gravel bar, its beach woven with polished rocks and piles of bark-stripped logs. We ate cold pizza and watched the sun set. No tent. No hassle.

“The dew is falling thick and fast, smearing these few words. Rising through the cottonwoods, a full moon casts the sand and driftwood around this camp in a shadow-carving glow. We settle into our sleeping bags on plastic tarps, curling the edges to protect our gear. It’s no use. We know we’ll wake up soaked.”

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