Ken Campbell, Author at The Last Wilderness

Obit

Posted by Ken Campbell December 15, 2011 3 Comments 1120 views

Gerald “Doc” Rink passed away today. (That’s him on the left). He was my father-in-law, dead at 80 years of age, after a year of battling pancreatic cancer. I don’t know exactly what he would want said on his behalf; he wasn’t a man given to much conversation, certainly not about himself. He volunteered, a […]

Curse the darkness

Posted by Ken Campbell December 14, 2011 0 Comment 1051 views

I just sold one of these today and while I was putting the invoice together, it occurred to me that, here’s a piece of gear I use almost every day, but hardly ever think about. Whether it’s on the paddleboard or in the kayak, when it’s dark and I’m traveling on busy water, this light […]

Simple pleasures

Posted by Ken Campbell December 12, 2011 0 Comment 1137 views

There are few things more enjoyable, more fulfilling, than peeing off the deck in the light of the setting winter sun. I am sure there are those who will argue with me, but they are wrong.

Red moon morning

Posted by Ken Campbell December 11, 2011 0 Comment 1097 views

Totality (according to my watch), was just a minute or two after six in the morning. I’d been watching for a while up till then, looking skyward as I paddled the Foss in the wee hours of the cold pre-dawn, as the moon grew steadily darker. The light in the moon was being shut off. […]

Shameless commerce

Posted by Ken Campbell December 10, 2011 0 Comment 1064 views

I have a few websites that I follow on a semi-regular basis, oases in the internet desert that offer a cool drink of nectar from time to time. KayakQuixotica is one of them. There’s no quid pro quo here… I don’t have a link-swap or any other kind of back scratching deal on the go… […]

For medicinal purposes

Posted by Ken Campbell December 8, 2011 0 Comment 1195 views

I think there is not enough made of the value of wilderness. Specifically, the value of the healing power of wild spaces amid the chaos of modern life and death. We seem to have no trouble with other means of coping, with drinking or drugs (given that they are legal and expensive, of course), with […]

Only 18 shopping days left…

Posted by Ken Campbell December 7, 2011 0 Comment 1235 views

Mmmm… that Kokatat gear sure makes a great gift for the paddler in your life. Call 253.691.7941 while you still have time.

Morning musings

Posted by Ken Campbell December 5, 2011 0 Comment 1067 views

I wonder what they’re doing in Costa Rica this morning. I wonder, as I pull on my long johns (top and bottom), what they wear when they go out for their morning paddle. And then, as I get into my second layer of insulation (again, top and bottom), I think about it some more. Palm […]

Lake Union afternoon

Posted by Ken Campbell December 3, 2011 1 Comment 1639 views

I went to Seattle yesterday to do a presentation for the Washington Kayak Club. (I’ll get to that later.) I got into town early and took a couple hours to paddle around the docks and houseboat communities of Lake Union. Wilderness it isn’t, but it is a captivating way to while away a winter afternoon. […]

Dancing through the loopholes

Posted by Ken Campbell December 2, 2011 0 Comment 1260 views

The trial of Amber Steim was set to begin in August, wasn’t it? That date didn’t hold up and soon slipped to October, then to December. I think the current idea is that it will start in February, but who the hell really knows. Whatever her lawyer is being paid, he’s earning it. His pompous […]