Welcome to The Waterproof Notebook
A newsletter for lovers of outdoor adventure, immersion reporting, and narrative craft
Welcome to The Waterproof Notebook, a monthly dispatch of accessible adventures, writing tips, and immersion reporting tools from an narrative storyteller frequently working off the grid. I’m often reporting on rivers, in the rain, or on a bike with a sweat-soaked notebook in my pocket, so many stories begin in a waterproof notebook.
Who I am: Hi! I’m Kim Cross, an author, narrative journalist, and full-time freelance writer. I write nonfiction books, longform magazine stories, and articles about storytelling craft. To offset the hours I spend riding an office chair, I also have fun side hustles: I’m a mountain-bike skills coach, I teach Feature Writing for Harvard Extension School’s master’s program in journalism, and I lead writing workshops and retreats in Idaho, Texas, and beyond. I also do some editorial coaching and editing.
My goal for this newsletter: Provide a peek under the hood of the writing life. Demystify the process, reveal the struggle, and share honest insights and revelations about the work. Whether you’re a fellow writer or a curious reader, I hope it will make you feel less alone and more empowered in your own quest to make sense of—and find meaning in—this complicated world.
What to expect: Curated round-ups of outdoor narrative stories, Q&As with my favorite writers, and recommendations of outdoor gear and immersive reporting tools. Occasionally I’ll reveal “the story behind the story” or geek out about the behind-the-scenes process and systems that make the hard stuff look easy.
Why your presence here matters: Editors and publishers want authors with “a platform”—a track record of engaging and connecting with readers. I love hearing from readers, I love coaching and teaching, and hopefully we can build a little community here. (Read on for ways to connect IRL!)
How you can support me: Open the newsletter, click on some links, and share. Review my books on Amazon or GoodReads, or recommend one to a book club. Publishers and editors look at all that, so it’s like voting for my next book. (Thanks!)
How can I support YOU? Please tell me! I don’t want this newsletter to be all “Look at me and my cool writing life.” I want to provide something that helps, inspires, or entertains you. Have a question? I’ll answer it in a future newsletter. Want me to amplify one of your stories? Send me a link. If there’s something you’d like to see here, I’m open to your ideas.
How to Pack for Alaska
Last summer, I flew to Alaska on a reporting trip to follow a wild salmon from net to plate for Out of the Wild, a story in the July issue of Food & Wine. It was the most logistically complicated trip I’ve ever taken, requiring bush planes, sea planes, helicopters, ATVs, and a multitude of boats. The immersive reporting required a lot of weather-proof gear: fishing waders, blood-proof bibs, dry bags, and gear for reporting and filming. It had to fit in one large rolling duffel and a waterproof backpack.
Here are three products that stood out in the field test. (Subscribers get the whole list!)
Osprey Ultralight 20L Dry Pack. A minimalist design with just enough pockets—two exterior mesh side pockets that are easy to reach while wearing the pack, and a waterproof exterior pocket that doubles as a stuff sack—it weighs almost nothing and is astonishingly waterproof.
Mystery Ranch Wingman Multi-Pocket. Provided quick access to my notebook, pen, phone, and audio recorder while keeping my hands free for holding a rod or picking fish out of a net. It attaches to backpack straps and functions as a chest pack for gear and a water bottle. Doubles as a hip pack. (It’s currently 25% off.)
Rite in the Rain waterproof notebooks: I once fell out of a boat and swam a whitewater rapid with one of these notebooks tucked in my PFD. The notes didn’t bleed. (My pride did). Of many sizes and versions, I prefer the No. 146 Top Spiral Notebook and cover. The size (4 x 6 inches) fits in the Wingman pocket and feels like a reporter’s notebook. SALE (ends Sept 1): 20% off site-wide, plus free shipping: Use promo code BTS25.
What I’m reading
I Am A Part of Infinity: The Spiritual Journey of Albert Einstein, by Kieran Fox
Mother, Nature: A 5,000-Mile Journey to Discover if a Mother and Son Can Survive Their Differences, by Jedidiah Jenkins
Stronghold: One Man’s Quest to Save the World’s Wild Salmon, by Tucker Malarkey
What's New
Out of the Wild: I followed a salmon from net to plate (Food & Wine)
What I learned inspired me to change my shopping (and cooking) habits.
How Bo Jackson reunited Alabama after a record storm (ESPN)
My son and I rode with the G.O.A.T. of all G.O.A.T.s and learned why ESPN’s Greatest Athlete of All Time is an even better person.Death Row Inspired this Art Exhibit (High Country News)
”The Last Supper” compelled me to think about the death penalty, something I’d only considered abstractly, through the distance of moral reasoning.The Sunday Long Read True Crime Spotlight (SLR)
Each month, I curate the month’s best true crime stories. (Free to subscribe.) Please send me your recommendations!
What's Next
Sept. 18-21: Sawtooth Writing Retreat. This four-day gathering takes place in the mountains that inspired Ernest Hemingway. Held at a rustic camp outside Ketchum, in our country’s first gold-tier International Dark Skies Reserve, it’s drawing writers nationwide. Apply soon!
Nov. 6-8: The Society for Features Journalism is hosting their first in-person conference since the pandemic. Speakers include Eli Saslow, Lane DeGregory, Mike Wilson (deputy editor of The Great Read at the NYT, and a longtime mentor of mine). For the Saturday morning keynote, I’m moderating a conversation with Mark Warren, author of this year’s Pulitzer Prize-winning feature story.
Sept. 1 is the cutoff for the Earlybird rate.Spring 2026: Feature Writing @ Harvard. I’m heading into my fourth year of teaching this graduate course for Harvard Extension School. One of my students this year sold two stories she developed in this class—one of them to Esquire! Designed for writers with solid fundamental reporting and writing skills who want to learn longform narrative, the 16-week course runs Jan. 26 - May 16, 2026. Limited to 16 students, the class fills up in a day, so mark your calendar: Registration opens for degree candidates on Nov. 3 and for non-degree students on November 6.
Kim’s Whims
This is where I’ll recommend something (not necessarily related to writing) that brings me joy. This month, it’s the hauntingly beautiful music of Hermanos Gutierrez, a Latin instrumental band of two Ecuadorian-Swiss brothers. Watch this video of “Elegantly Wasted” (a collab with Leon Bridges!) or check out my Spotify playlist, which has been my writing soundtrack this month.
Thanks for reading! Hope to see you here next month.
So excited for The Waterproof Notebook--and what a novel title. Looking forward to learning and following!