Ken Campbell, Author at The Last Wilderness

A room with a view

Posted by Ken Campbell January 5, 2009 0 Comment 1459 views

Long ago, or not so very long ago, hikers in Enchanted Valley could stay at the Enchanted Valley Chalet. It was built in 1930 from logs of native silver fir. It’s a big structure, 28′ x 41′, and two-and-a-half stories high. The corners are fitted in precise dovetailed joints. Situated as it is, in a […]

Snow at the Rialto

Posted by Ken Campbell January 4, 2009 0 Comment 1103 views

I think the snow has stopped, at least for now. The snow that fell yesterday is gone now and the temperatures have inched their way out of the freezer. The wind is still cold and there is no way you’d confuse the situation with summer, but it’s a little warmer anyway. There was a solid […]

La Push, Friday night

Posted by Ken Campbell January 3, 2009 0 Comment 774 views

I have the door wide open, even though it was snowing just ten minutes ago. The wood stove here is very, shall we say, efficient. We rented a house for the weekend out here in La Push. I’ve actually stayed in this cabin before, a couple years ago, and it makes a decadently comfortable base […]

Going coastal

Posted by Ken Campbell January 2, 2009 0 Comment 815 views

I am leaving for La Push later this morning. The whole family’s going, along with a few friends and an old black dog. It’s 5:00 am now and it’s snowing, although I don’t think it’s going to stick. The original plan was to go to the Surf Frolic (or Surf Pummel), but I got this […]

Año Nuevo

Posted by Ken Campbell January 1, 2009 0 Comment 831 views

A New Year. Tabula rasa. A clean slate, with days and weeks not yet spoken for. 2009 is there for the taking and I can’t help but wonder where it will take me. I have some plans already, other ideas too disorganized to be plans, at least not yet. I have always taken the idea […]

First ski day

Posted by Ken Campbell December 30, 2008 0 Comment 815 views

We took the boy skiing yesterday for the first time. We weren’t out that long but, then again, he’s not quite two years old. We went to the ski area at Snoqualmie Pass and the snow was falling hard the entire time we were there. We stayed on the bunny hill, sliding down slowly and […]

Beyond the ranges

Posted by Ken Campbell December 29, 2008 0 Comment 1127 views

The first time that I ever heard about James Hooper and Rob Gauntlett was yesterday. I doubt it’s going to be the last. This pair of British lads climbed Everest when they were each 19 years old, then began what was to be an epic global traverse, from the northern to the southern geomagnetic poles, […]

Mount Anderson

Posted by Ken Campbell December 28, 2008 0 Comment 792 views

Mt. Anderson is named after General T. M. Anderson who oversaw the beginning of the U.S. occupation of the Philippines in 1898. It is 7321 feet high and was first climbed in 1920.

Merry Christmas!

Posted by Ken Campbell December 25, 2008 0 Comment 680 views

I’m not sure if it has anything to do with the fact that it’s Christmas, but I’ve gotten more emails than normal in the past few days from some of the folks out there who read this blog on a regular basis. It has been interesting to read what they’ve written and to get involved […]

You can’t get there from here

Posted by Ken Campbell December 24, 2008 0 Comment 798 views

I wonder if they’ve got the road open yet. Late Monday evening, around 9:00, a slide of rocks and mud blocked Highway 112 about 5 miles east of Neah Bay. State DOT spokeswoman, Kelly Stowe, said in a news conference yesterday that they expected the road to be opened again at 6 p.m. last night. […]