Ken Campbell, Author at The Last Wilderness

Off to the races

Posted by Ken Campbell July 5, 2009 0 Comment 906 views

Well, the first annual Freedom Fair Battle of the Paddle is in the books, or it would be if there were any books. On details, I feel I am woefully short, but then I wasn’t really watching the race, I was too busy being in it. There were 10 participants (9 men, 1 woman), the […]

Independence Day

Posted by Ken Campbell July 4, 2009 1 Comment 1042 views

First of all, a raising of the glass to our veterans and currently serving military members. For your continued service, in austere and often hostile environments, for standing in our place in some of the most difficult places on Earth, we thank you. Be safe and come home soon. For as long as it’s mattered, […]

Mr. Wood

Posted by Ken Campbell July 3, 2009 0 Comment 976 views

Many of Robert Wood’s best books are out-of-print now, which is a shame. I understand why the guide books might be discontinued, since they need to be revised and rewritten every now and then to keep them current. (Bob Wood doesn’t update his work much anymore on account of he died some years ago.) So, […]

A Progress report

Posted by Ken Campbell July 1, 2009 0 Comment 950 views

And, just like that… like snow melting, like the greening of the trees, like the breathy cheeps of the young birds in their nests. It’s over, just like that. Bears awaken from dark dens to the light of another season; birds manuever back north once again. The moments blur together into one long chunk of […]

And another thing…

Posted by Ken Campbell June 30, 2009 0 Comment 1009 views

If you look up the History of the Olympic Mountains on Wikipedia, you’ll be hit with a long – albeit deceptively shallow – writeup of all things historical and Olympic. From the days of the Spanish explorers to the time of Lt. O’Neil and the mountain men… and then talk turns to the Press Expedition. […]

Another safety rant

Posted by Ken Campbell June 28, 2009 3 Comments 1112 views

I spent most of the day yesterday on the paddleboard. Up one side of Commencement Bay and down the other, a beautiful summer Saturday, with hundreds of people walking the waterfront. At Owen Beach, two little girls were swimming in the water – really swimming and not just splashing about – their delight completely canceling […]

A Media moment

Posted by Ken Campbell June 25, 2009 0 Comment 1032 views

Big paddleboard story in the Tacoma News Tribune today, with the boy on the cover of the Adventure section. Not a bad video on the Trib web site either. Just go to http://www.thenewstribune.com/ and click on the SUP video in the video section. Then get out on the water.

The Press Party revisited

Posted by Ken Campbell June 25, 2009 1 Comment 976 views

I have a book about the Olympics that talks about the Press Party in the most disparaging of terms. “Drunkards and imbiciles,” it calls them. No mercy. And perhaps there is some truth to the slam. After all, it did take them 6 months to go 40-odd miles. You don’t get numbers like that being […]

Going faster

Posted by Ken Campbell June 21, 2009 0 Comment 943 views

I’m not a racer. By nature, I travel fairly slowly. I make steady progress, whether it’s in a kayak or on foot, and over the course of a long day, I may go farther than others, but I am not, in any sense of the term, built for speed. Which makes it hard to explain […]

Scotch Broom

Posted by Ken Campbell June 20, 2009 1 Comment 1266 views

Scotch Broom is native to southern Europe and northern Africa (which is more than can be said for the country of Scotland itself, but that’s the way it goes.) It seems just as likely to me, being a casual observer, that it is native to the Olympic Peninsula. It is one of those classic stories […]