Ken Campbell, Author at The Last Wilderness

Off line

Posted by Ken Campbell March 18, 2009 0 Comment 1012 views

I believe I have it together now. All the pieces of gear, compressed and compact, or as compact as I can get them. Total weight is just under 30 pounds, but that’s without water. I’ll be curious to see how much less I’ll have to carry when the weather gets better… with the cold, I […]

Insensitive

Posted by Ken Campbell March 17, 2009 0 Comment 935 views

I have been told that my post of a few days back, in which I spoke of the kayak industry in a less than favorable manner… well, I’ve been advised that it may have been a bit offside. If I remember correctly, I said something about a couple of specific kayak manufacturers who were no […]

What the… Snow?

Posted by Ken Campbell March 15, 2009 0 Comment 959 views

I got the weather on my mind, it’s true. This is the time of year when I think about it more than any other. In the dead of winter, you know it’s not going to be easy. There may not be snow, but it will be cold. And wet. And dark. It’s expected, so you […]

Prognosticatin’

Posted by Ken Campbell March 14, 2009 0 Comment 980 views

The second leg of my SUP attempt of the Puget Sound Challenge is set to begin next Wednesday. (Been thinking about starting with a night paddle on Tuesday actually… we’ll have to see what becomes of that.) I’m encouraged by the weather forecast. Higher temps predicted, and getting progressively warmer each day. If it goes […]

The mountains are out

Posted by Ken Campbell March 12, 2009 0 Comment 980 views

It’s a clear day again today, clear and cold. The wind isn’t packing the power that it had yesterday, but it’s just as icy. It was blowing more yesterday morning, and the juxtaposition of the freezing temps on one side and the azure skies and eye-numbing sunlight on the other was unsettling. It looks like […]

Back to the Lion

Posted by Ken Campbell March 11, 2009 0 Comment 970 views

I just confirmed the times and dates for my classes and presentations at the Port Angeles Sea Kayak Symposium, April 17 -19. It’s a kayaking rendezvous that I try to get to every year, even though it’s not the biggest or the most convenient one on the calendar. The reason that I enjoy it as […]

Lurching forward

Posted by Ken Campbell March 8, 2009 0 Comment 981 views

I remember one time, when I was eight or nine, it snowed at a church picnic I went to. In July. But that was Newfoundland, where the only two seasons are Winter and July, and some years you may not actually get the second season. Here in western Washington, the forecast calls for snow in […]

What else can’t I take?

Posted by Ken Campbell March 7, 2009 0 Comment 956 views

I first started exploring the idea of ultralight backcountry travel last summer, with a hiking/climbing trip to the high point of the Dosewallips watershed. It was a new experience for me, and the lighter load allowed me a great deal more freedom. There were sacrifices in comfort – the ultralight sleeping pad, ¾ length, presented […]

The Ides of March

Posted by Ken Campbell March 5, 2009 0 Comment 945 views

What was, overall, a rather benign February has been changed into the typical boisterous March. Or so it seems to me. If there are blue streaks in the sky, it is because of the icy winds blowing gashes through the clouds. This month often seems to be nature’s way of reminding man and beast that […]

Recess

Posted by Ken Campbell March 4, 2009 0 Comment 981 views

I was listening to the radio last week and I heard an interview with Philippe Petit, the Frenchman who first hit the public consciousness with his 1974 high-wire traverse from one of the World Trade Center towers to the other. The interview was wide-ranging, with comments on Petit’s other exploits as well as his assertion […]