Ken Campbell, Author at The Last Wilderness

Staircase memories

Posted by Ken Campbell May 11, 2009 1 Comment 973 views

Before there was an Olympic National Park, there were a number of private lodges and resorts that operated in various spots around the peninsula. Enchanted Valley and Olympic Hot Springs come to mind. Also Staircase. I don’t think about Staircase as wilderness exactly, there is too much activity for that. Still, not nearly as much […]

Road work

Posted by Ken Campbell May 9, 2009 1 Comment 1145 views

At the moment, there are several significant ghost roads that lead into Olympic National Park. When I say “ghost roads,” what I’m talking about are the many miles of roadway that were once open to vehicles, that have since been closed as a result of slides, washouts and other rain-related injuries. Two of the most […]

A Warming trend

Posted by Ken Campbell May 7, 2009 0 Comment 970 views

The road to Staircase, Forest Service Road 24, was reopened last week after its winter closure. It’s been shut down just past the Mount Rose subdivision since last October, but according to the Park Service, there is now full access to the Staircase area. The road closes in the winter now because of what is […]

How young is too old?

Posted by Ken Campbell May 6, 2009 0 Comment 1060 views

I have been thinking a lot lately about trees. More specifically, I’ve been thinking of climbing them. Not all of them, just one big one, on the right day, climb it to the top, or as close as I can get. Is it juvenile of me to be running this daydream? Is climbing trees an […]

Wind

Posted by Ken Campbell May 5, 2009 1 Comment 954 views

Here in the Pacific Northwest we call them “wind storms,” which seems a little redundant to me. And completely inadequate. I mean, all storms come with a little wind. Up here, the wind is what our storms are made of, what they are. Our wind, when it really gets to flying around, has substance, heft, […]

Slouching toward summer

Posted by Ken Campbell May 4, 2009 0 Comment 943 views

I remember one summer, the summer of 1993, that was cancelled completely. At least here in western Washington. I remember it so well because it was the summer when I was supposed to be renting kayaks on Ruston Way. Down by the water all day, peddling kayak rides in the sun to throngs of happy […]

Aftermath

Posted by Ken Campbell May 2, 2009 1 Comment 1062 views

It’s hard to put a trip into a nutshell, to compress all the exertion, the stress, the joy and the freedom of an expedition into words and paragraphs. Even the most evocative turns of phrase can’t blow salt spray in your eyes, or put the chill your toes like the real thing. When the trip […]

Puget Sound Challenge – Day 12

Posted by Ken Campbell May 1, 2009 0 Comment 864 views

The rain kept up all night. Heavy at times, loud on the roof of the picnic shelter. When the morning arrived, the rain had lessened to a drizzle but the air seemed cold. Packing was easy, being out of the elements, and I enjoyed the morning cup of coffee even more than usual as I […]

Puget Sound Challenge – Day 11

Posted by Ken Campbell April 30, 2009 0 Comment 922 views

I didn’t have to go until the afternoon. Currents were running strong in the wrong direction all morning, so I went to the Y with the boy. A little swimming practice… neither of us seem to be able to get enough of the water. When I did start out from Titlow Beach, it was almost […]

Details to follow

Posted by Ken Campbell April 30, 2009 0 Comment 1015 views

I finished the Puget Sound Challenge yesterday, pushed in to Allyn by a favorable wind, riding the clean swells under dreamy, azure skies. The rain was mostly confined to the hours of darkness, miles came fairly easy and the whole thing was over almost before I knew it. I’ll post a complete account of the […]