Ken Campbell, Author at The Last Wilderness

Gone, again

Posted by Ken Campbell August 10, 2008 0 Comment 828 views

How do you describe the indescribable? How do you explain something that has never really been named? Mere words are ridiculously inadequate for any exchange of the ideas that count the most. It’s an unwieldy concept, doomed to fail, like trying to describe the color red to a a blind man. I have stories to […]

Sleepy trees

Posted by Ken Campbell August 9, 2008 0 Comment 745 views

I wonder what he thinks sometimes, this boy of mine. I wonder what he thinks of this life. He’s 18 months old, and headed on a canoe trip, to spend his first night in a tent. He’s actually been camping quite a bit, especially considering his tender years, but he’s always slept in the van, […]

A Day on the island, part 2

Posted by Ken Campbell August 7, 2008 0 Comment 877 views

There is only one way into the interior of Destruction Island, and it lies across the Bridge of Death. The last time I was here, our group climbed up the dirt cliffs and tried to find a way through the impenetrable underbrush, wich turned out to be impossible. This time, John and I approached the […]

A Day on the island, Part 1

Posted by Ken Campbell August 7, 2008 0 Comment 815 views

It is foggy this morning. A low-lying diaphanous mist that shimmers in the dim light, just out of reach. We can see a few of the rocks off the shore here at Ruby Beach, but South Rock, which is the largest one that lies near our path, must be just out of sight. There is […]

Out of touch

Posted by Ken Campbell August 1, 2008 0 Comment 647 views

Satellite phone?Check.Spot Locator Beacon, with “I’m OK” messaging features?Check.Laptop, with satellite modem?Check. Actually, I have none of these things. I will be unavailable for the next six days. Off-line. Outside the operating area for cell phones, carrier pigeons and the internet. Well, perhaps a carrier pigeon could make it. Our first destination is Lake Ozette, […]

Down the road

Posted by Ken Campbell August 1, 2008 0 Comment 805 views

That last day of routine before a break, that’s an interesting day. When you have the chance to see the work-a-day as an observer almost, a traveling spirit that will soon be out of range. The mundane real world that consumes so much of our time: it will soon be gone. I’ll be gone, rather. […]

Fastpacking

Posted by Ken Campbell July 30, 2008 1 Comment 1612 views

With all the kayaking I’ve done over the past 15 years, my backpacking experience has been pretty spotty. I’ve gotten older, slower and creakier than I used to be, but I like to think I’ve learned a thing or two about a thing or two as well. I’ve got a couple trips coming up, and […]

A Follow-up

Posted by Ken Campbell July 29, 2008 0 Comment 741 views

I know I should feel apologetic in some way, to some one… that last entry is bound to be seen as over-the-top by some. Still, it’s not about me. There’s a story here. It’s about the places you can go, the story you are working on all the time. Everything counts. The story doesn’t care […]

Clutter

Posted by Ken Campbell July 26, 2008 1 Comment 1106 views

I was thinking the other day about sports on television. More specifically, I was thinking about how Saturday afternoons used to belong to ABC’s Wide World of Sports. Each and every Saturday, a cornucopia of sport was laid out for eager young eyes. There were the usuals, the basketball, the futbol, track and swimming, but […]

A circumnavigation

Posted by Ken Campbell July 25, 2008 0 Comment 780 views

Back in 2006, a foursome of rowers from the University of Puget Sound became the first Americans to row across the Atlantic. Two of them, Jordan Hannsen and Greg Spooner, are currently preparing for a circumnavigation of the Olympic Peninsula. They row a large boat, if it’s anything like the one they took across the […]