Ken Campbell, Author at The Last Wilderness

The Bar (Part 3)

Posted by Ken Campbell June 19, 2009 0 Comment 1086 views

It takes about a half-hour or so to make the switch between the SUP and the kayak. In that time, the wind dies down a bit and the effects of the current, while still strong, are less of a factor on the displacement hull of the boat than they had been on the flat bottom […]

The Bar (Part 2)

Posted by Ken Campbell June 18, 2009 1 Comment 1097 views

Between Westport and Ocean Shores lies two miles of open water. Not just any open water either; we’re talking the Gray’s Harbor bar, a treacherous mix of wind, waves and currents that are capable of shaking the nerve of any waterman on any given day. The Chehalis River – along with the Humptulips, the Wishkah, […]

The Bar (Part 1)

Posted by Ken Campbell June 17, 2009 0 Comment 1006 views

I was standing on the beach at Ocean Shores, looking across the water to the jetties of Westport, when the man emerged from the overgrown area to the west and began walking toward me. He was probably in his thirties somewhere, but he looked older. I had just put the paddleboard down on the sand […]

Interlude

Posted by Ken Campbell June 15, 2009 0 Comment 944 views

It’s summer, the time of year when the clumsy cubs are gamboling in the high country, the alders along the rivers are shimmering an electric green, and I am, as they say, “away from the office.” Between late May and late September, I am much more likely to be in a kayak somewhere than I […]

Hidden waters

Posted by Ken Campbell June 10, 2009 0 Comment 1066 views

Along the Oregon coast, the big rivers form extensive sloughs before they reach the sea. The Nehalem and the Tillamook are both good examples of rivers that are held separate by sand spit formations, allowing the last mile or so of river course to wander as it reaches the end. Salt water and fresh intermingle, […]

Lake riding

Posted by Ken Campbell June 9, 2009 0 Comment 932 views

I have always been partial to salt water. Perhaps, if I’d grown up on the Great Lakes, I would find fresh water more intriguing – those bodies of water have much in common with the sea, after all – but I didn’t, and I don’t. Lakes are defined by their borders, and the smaller the […]

A Trip report

Posted by Ken Campbell June 8, 2009 0 Comment 995 views

I took the southern route to the peninsula this time. Just a little over an hour to Aberdeen, then west to State Road 109, the slow road up the coast, to check out the ocean beaches. Along the way, I visited some of the shoreline access points for a new guide book, stopping here and […]

Load-out

Posted by Ken Campbell June 4, 2009 0 Comment 1092 views

There is a party scheduled this coming Saturday in Port Townsend. The Hood Canal Bridge is finished and is opening a week early… as good a reason as any to celebrate in that grand village by the bay. I wouldn’t mind going up there for that. It’s hard not to have a good time in […]

Changes

Posted by Ken Campbell June 2, 2009 0 Comment 1036 views

Plans change. I will not be kayaking the Roadless Coast again this year, at least not the entire distance in one week-long paddle. The way it looks right now, that coastal section, between Neah Bay and Ruby Beach, will be part of a larger expedition that will circle the Olympic Peninsula. It’s purely in the […]

Early?

Posted by Ken Campbell May 29, 2009 0 Comment 1016 views

All joyful and happy noises this week from the Hood Canal Bridge project. With the favorable weather we’ve been enjoying lately, work on the span has gone more quickly than expected, and the opening date is now expected the first week in June. The conditions weren’t as good when the project began, but have impoved […]