Blog Archives

Gig Harbor interlude

Posted by Ken Campbell January 29, 2010 1 Comment 1108 views

I went for a paddle yesterday, during daylight hours, from Gig Harbor out into the Narrows and on up into Colvos Passage. There was nary a breath of wind and the water was like glass, not a disturbance on the surface and no other craft out there with me. I put in at the boat […]

The Curious case of Harry Fisher, Part II

Posted by Ken Campbell January 28, 2010 0 Comment 1155 views

As the O’Neil party spent more time in the Olympics, working their way through the tangled underbrush and steep terrain, each of the men seemed to thrive on the experience, none more so than Private Harry Fisher. His days were meticulously recorded in dipped ink on ruled notepaper, detailed, thoughtful accounts of the expedition’s progress […]

The Curious case of Harry Fisher, Part I

Posted by Ken Campbell January 27, 2010 0 Comment 1293 views

“The enlisted man, although stupid and oftentimes lazy, can be incredibly sly and cunning and bears considerable watching.”US Army’s Officer Handbook, ed. 1898. As stories go, this is a good one. It starts out with this one man, whose name was Harry Fisher. As far as you know. No, that’s not true… the man’s name […]

Gravity issues

Posted by Ken Campbell January 26, 2010 0 Comment 1074 views

It’s going to be a lot harder to get to Hurricane Ridge for a while. Four weeks, six weeks, maybe more. Just below the Heart O’ the Hills park entrance station, a hundred-foot section of roadway headed south this week as a result of the heavy rains. The road is closed indefinitely to all uses, […]

Playing in eternity

Posted by Ken Campbell January 24, 2010 0 Comment 1101 views

“To stand at the edge of the sea, to sense the ebb and flow of the tides… is to have knowledge of things that are as nearly eternal as any earthly life can be.” Rachel Carson I’m going paddling now.

PSC 2010

Posted by Ken Campbell January 23, 2010 0 Comment 1077 views

The Olympic Kayak Club is putting together another Puget Sound Challenge this year, with a slightly different route. From Port Townsend to Allyn, (it’s billed as being 150 miles, but it doesn’t seem like it’s quite that far – I’d have to check), the route covers much of the same area as last year, but […]

Canoes, rivers and time

Posted by Ken Campbell January 22, 2010 0 Comment 1484 views

In the tiny Indian village of Taholah there is a large, wooden garage filled with native canoes. Dugouts, each carved from a single massive log, along with a few plank-sided craft, sit quietly in the shadows, in various stages of construction and repair. Up on brackets along the north wall of the building is a […]

Odds and ends

Posted by Ken Campbell January 21, 2010 0 Comment 1101 views

All over the Northwest, the snow pack in the higher elevations is accumulating more slowly than normal. Except in the Olympics. The snow that is already on the ground is deeper than usual at this time of year and it continues to fall… something of an anomaly, really. Between 1 and 2 feet fell over […]

Funny, it doesn’t feel like January

Posted by Ken Campbell January 19, 2010 0 Comment 968 views

Got away for the day to Crescent Beach. Blue skies and sun, little waves but… better than no waves at all. And it was crowded, more people than I’ve seen there before. Board surfers, sit-on-top kayakers and surf shoes, whitewater boats and a couple little Mariner Coasters. It has been a while since I’ve been […]

The Neighborhood

Posted by Ken Campbell January 17, 2010 0 Comment 1087 views

In 2000, I was in Newfoundland, on a 91-day kayak trip around the ancient rocky shores of Canada’s easternmost Province. In 13 weeks, I paddled almost 1800 miles; Mary joined me for the 300-mile section along the south coast and the rest of it was done solo. In fact, it was on that trip, on […]