On to New Adventures: Bruce & Kimberle Baker Bid the Mountains Adieu
By Julie Horner
“We are pulling up our roots and moving to the Pacific Northwest,” said San Lorenzo Valley tree professional Bruce Baker. The decision was based partially on the realization that in order to afford home insurance in the Santa Cruz Mountains, Bruce would have to work well into his retirement years and beyond physical limits. Acting on an opportunity of a lifetime, our beloved ‘eyes and ears’ of the forest has stepped down from arduous arbor work and has moved with his wife Kimberle to family property on the Chetco River in coastal southwestern Oregon.
Kimberle and Bruce Baker
A lifelong Santa Cruz County resident, Bruce is senior executive among local mountain men, the go-to independent timber expert who holds the keys to the inner workings of the Santa Cruz Mountains, ready in an instant to clear the way with a few deft strokes of the chainsaw. Bruce was there during the CZU Fire, working in tandem with crews identifying and removing danger trees impacting crucial infrastructure in order to begin the rebuild. Long engaged as a caretaker for Red Tree Properties, which manages private wildlands adjacent to Big Basin Redwoods State Park, Bruce has stumbled upon history shrouded by time in places few will ever tread. Responsible for leading the effort to retrieve a steam donkey and track-laid log arch, artifacts from the early 20th century logging industry, Bruce has reclaimed significant pieces of this community’s past that are now on display at the San Lorenzo Valley Museum Grace Gallery. A teller of tales of great adventures and part of the doin’s with E. Clampus Vitus Branciforte Chapter 1797, Bruce will be missed here.
Kimberle said, “Bruce and I have lived in Santa Cruz, Felton, Ben Lomond, Boulder Creek, and immersed ourselves in the beautiful land of Brookdale for the past 20+ years.” A retired Class-A truck driver and massage therapist, Kim has spent her time caring for elder and neglected equines with Pregnant Mare Rescue, Equine Craniosacral Therapy, and other groups. She has already connected with the local horse scene near their new home.
“This is one of the most beautiful communities, I think, in the whole United States,” Bruce said. “We’re all different, but we all come together for this town. I’m sad to leave here, but I’m going to a great place. You guys are always going to be in my heart.”
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Julie Horner is Co-Founder and Editor for the San Lorenzo Valley Post. Julie lives and works in Boulder Creek and is an active participant in the county's vibrant music scene. She loves the outdoors and is the go-to expert on Santa Cruz Mountains hiking trails.
