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Brandon Wickes

@brandobardo

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SURFER ⚡️ FARMER
Raising a family 🌱
San Clemente, CA

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7 days aboard the Milo
for 7 days, Capt. Mike, Wendy and crew transported us to an alternate universe, a universe ruled by seals, bears, and eagles, a universe drenched in mist that moves so quickly and heavily through the trees it is almost audible, a universe in which your biggest concerns are the ocean depth, where to drop anchor for the night, and which direction the wind is blowing.
Upon arriving back to the Port of Seward on our final day, just a few hours after this session, I remarked to Capt. Mike, something along the lines of: “Back to Reality.” Upon which he replied: “That out there… that’s reality. This in here… this is an alternate reality.”
Thank you Capt. Mike, Wendy and the @alaskasurfguides crew for an unforgettable trip, a trip I won’t soon forget.
📸: @todprod
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#milosurfboat #surfalaska by @brandobardo

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4 years ago

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Day 2 on the Milo
an hour out of Seward we hit rough seas. I knew I’d get sea sick at least once on this trip, but I didn’t think it’d happen so soon. With 15 ft. seas near the mouth of the Bay, the boat was rocking violently rail to rail. I’d always associated the word Bay with a large body of tranquil water, but linguistics would not come to my rescue this time — the boat was rocking violently and I was just along for the ride. I found my place in the galley and began meditating. Focusing on the horizon, as my dad had suggested, was a nonstarter. Rather, I imagined myself as Hayden rocking back and forth in Carra’s womb. This visualization — a child rocking back and forth in the womb, a child who has yet to know the concept of a horizon — was quite effective. I embraced this meditation for nearly an hour. I honestly thought I’d make it through this episode without spewing. At one point, I was so comfortable I decided to try laying down in the galley. This was the turning point — within one minute of laying down, the nausea spilled over me like a wave. I ran to the doorway of the galley and purged all over the deck.
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I was one of the last to purge, but in total 5/6 of our crew all spewed on the deck. The Capt, Wendy, and the deck hand were all fine. When we asked later, Wendy told us it was the most vomit she had ever seen on the deck of the boat. But with waves still crashing over both sides of the boat, the salt water made quick work of our mess. Between the vomit on the deck, and a few paint cans that had spilled below deck, we all felt a bit rattled, but the boat cruised on.
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We reached this spot about an hour after crossing the mouth of the bay. The waves looked fun, and the nausea quickly wore off. We prepped our boards, suited up, and paddled out. All in all, I felt wrecked. After 4 hrs. of sleep the previous night, a vicious boat ride, and vomiting twice, I was feeling disheveled, to say the least, but happy to be in the water. I caught just a few waves — I decided that was enough for one day — and paddled back to the boat for a proper night of rest. 📸: @todprod
(caption finished in comments) by @brandobardo

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4 years ago

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Day 6 on the Milo
we awoke to a day full of good omen on our fifth day aboard the Milo. We were anchored in a small cove, tucked up into a bay, just a few hours east of Seward. A tranquil night of rest. And at the mouth of this bay were two point breaks — a right and a left, almost mirror images of each other. And the swell was filling in.
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We checked the Left first. It was an almost perfect setup. A rocky left hand point with a ridge of spruce trees descending dramatically to the waterline, triangulating almost perfectly, directly towards the lineup. But there wasn’t enough swell. So we motored across the Bay over to the right. The right was showing a bit more swell, iffy, but doable. We decided to suit up and give it a try. Once I got to the lineup, I realized it was much more sketchy than doable. There were large boulders protruding directly from the lineup, and some of the better waves were breaking directly onto dry rocks. I decided to paddle down the beach, and found a small rock outcropping with a deep spot right behind it. If I chose my wave and line correctly, I could ride the wave for approximately 6 seconds before it imploded on dry rock directly inside of me. The psychology of the rocks definitely got the better of me on this session. With the rocks psyching me out more often than not, I decided to paddle into the boat, after catching just a few waves.
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We had a difficult decision to make. The swell clearly wasn’t filling in as planned. Neither point break was working. Whether it was swell, direction, or tide, we’re not clear, but it clearly wasn’t our day to score a perfect Alaskan point break. There weren’t a lot of options further West, so Capt. Mike recommended we travel further East. There was an outer island with a bay with a beach break that faced almost due West, and the wind was coming straight from the East. Our odds seemed pretty good—a protected bay with good swell exposure and offshore wind at a semi-decent beach break.
📸: @todprod
(caption finished below in comments) by @brandobardo

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4 years ago

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“I’ll do whatever you do”
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After a lifetime of snowboarding, in 2022, I decided to switch to skiing (more on that later). The first few years were brutal. I had to fight the urge to switch back almost every session. But then last year, things started to click. And this year, my confidence as a skier has been soaring. So much so, Hayden and I decided to head to the terrain park together. I’m very familiar with this type of terrain on a snowboard, but this is all new territory on skis. I wasn’t quite sure what to do, so I asked him what we should do. He simply responded with, “I’ll do whatever you do”. I found the easiest box I could find, and was fortunate to land it first try. Hayden watched me do it a few times, then he was ready. He didn’t quite stick the landing the first try, but second try, he landed it clean. When I started skiing the same year Hayden did, I knew he’d probably keep up with me, but I didn’t think he’d go step for step with me. Well, here is he, going step for step with Dad.
What should we do next? taken in Snow Summit Mountain Resort by @brandobardo

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7 months ago

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Hayden’s third backpacking trip!
Summit Lake via Virginia Lakes // 10,202 ft.
Three days // Twenty miles total
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I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the “value” of these trips. I’m not sure if that’s important or necessary but that’s where my mind has been going. I’ve been thinking about how these trips shape and craft his will. I’ve been thinking about this quote from Rudolf Steiner, “It is not possible to educate the will and the healthy soul that underlies it unless we develop insights that awaken energetic impulses in the soul and will.” And I’ve been thinking a lot about Hayden’s Waldorf education, the school I work at, and how these things interplay with these trips.
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Most notable was something new Hayden started saying on this trip. Instead of saying, “I’m tired” or “I can’t do this” he started simply saying, “I’m wobbly” when he was ready for a break. In hindsight, I’m struck by how open ended and affirmative this was, rather than being negative or absolute. It speaks a lot to me about his willpower and his ability to continue to hone his will. And yes, there were hundreds upon hundreds of breaks, many difficult moments, and yes, we used candy for motivation occasionally, but heck, we got over that mountain. And yes Hayden, sometimes I get wobbly too.
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#backpackingwithkids
#sixyearsold taken in U.S. Highway 395 by @brandobardo

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a year ago

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For weeks I had been trying to manifest our first ever “easy” backpacking trip with our son. In hindsight, I’m not really sure what that means, but I wanted the prep, the planning, and the packing to feel easier this year. And sure, those aspects get easier over time, but as soon as we started hiking, I realized… this wasn’t going to be “easy”.
We hiked over a pass of 11,127’ and made camp at 10,202’. We swam in one of the most pristine alpine lakes I’ve seen. We enjoyed excellent company, and thoroughly tired out our aging dog. We pushed our adventurous son to his limits, hiking 20 miles in 3 days. Backpacking with kids… it ain’t easy, but it is certainly worth it!
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#backpackingwithkids
#sixyearsold
#ushighway395 taken in U.S. Highway 395 by @brandobardo

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a year ago

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True story. I bought this skateboard for Hayden about four years ago, and it kinda just… sat there. The first year he kinda just… stared at it. The second year he pushed himself around a bit on his knees, but no standing on it. By year three, I had more or less given up. Like any doting young SoCal father, I desperately wanted Hayden to follow in my footsteps and become the surfer / skater kid of my dreams, but I was slowly letting go of that dream. He simply wasn’t into it. And then suddenly… he was.
About a year ago he dropped into his first ramp. Then about mid way through soccer season, he told me he wanted to start skateboarding more as soon as soccer ended. So as soon as soccer ended, we started skating more, and now we’re here.
Lots of skating, lots of new lines, lots of new ramps, and lots of progression.
Thanks in particular to one very special mentor @lukass_marquez who helped ignite the skate bug, and got Hayden hyped on skating during after school care at his school. Very excited to see where this goes next!
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#skateboardingwithkids
#sixyearsold taken in Laguna Niguel, California by @brandobardo

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a year ago

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Well folks, in just three short days @brianheadresort Hayden transitioned from the ski harness, to the Edgie Wedgie, to skiing down blue groomers, to skiing down from the top of the mountain, to hitting terrain park features. We knew the progression would be quick (this was the most consecutive days we’ve skied with Hayden) but never in my wildest imagination did I think the progression would be this quick. Very excited to see where this goes next, now that we’ve got a very enthusiastic skier and certified ski bum on our hands 😄
Go Hayden go!!!
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#skiingwithkids
#sixyearsold taken in Brian Head Resort by @brandobardo

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2 years ago

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Nothing to see here just a coupla V1 climbers trying to have a good time… 😄
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#climbingwithkids taken in Mesa Rim North City by @brandobardo

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2 years ago

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Quick trip to Mammoth area to welcome the arrival of the New Year. Someone I admire deeply (@selema) once said, “Stock up on Joy”. And in that moment, those words just hit me. They seemed like the most perfect words spoken at the most perfect moment.
And they’ve stuck with me. As we enter into 2025, and especially on this trip, those words became a mantra. Yes, we will witness dark and horrific things in 2025.
But now is also a perfectly excellent time to Stock up on Joy.
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#stockuponjoy taken in Mammoth Lakes, California by @brandobardo

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2 years ago

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Missed our annual Christmas post, so decided to make it a New Year’s post instead.
Happy New Year!!!
2024 was… a year!
May 2025 bring you light, grace, and whatever else you desire in the New Year.
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#happynewyear taken in Mammoth Lakes, California by @brandobardo

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2 years ago

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Nothing to see here… just our five and a half year old dropping into his first ramp on a skateboard by himself.
What will Hayden do next!? ☝🏽
#fiveandahalfyearsold
#skateboarding
#gohaydengo taken in San Clemente, California by @brandobardo

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2 years ago