Talking Story Archives - Page 111 of 114

The mountains are out

Posted by Ken Campbell June 17, 2008 0 Comment 794 views

It was a sunny day today, blue sky, fresh breeze. It felt like spring might really be here this time. (Never mind that the “first day of summer” is less than a week away.) That’s how it’s done here in the Northwest. Sometimes we don’t really get a spring, which is difficult for even the […]

C-141 Peak

Posted by Ken Campbell June 15, 2008 0 Comment 1709 views

“MAC 40641 cleared to 5,000 feet.”“Roger. This is MAC Four Zero Six Four One, leaving ten for five.” I flew in the Air Force for almost eighteen years. I wasn’t a pilot; I was a loadmaster. I flew in the back of the plane with the cargo and passengers. Flying out of McChord Air Force […]

Mixed metaphors

Posted by Ken Campbell June 15, 2008 0 Comment 738 views

To my way of thinking, the mountains and valleys of the Olympic Peninsula are a monument to freedom, a glimpse of the world at its best and wildest. Each wave that crashes on the Pacific shore, every ancient cedar that stands on some misty, green slope, is a primal force, a link back to when […]

Changing plans

Posted by Ken Campbell June 14, 2008 0 Comment 671 views

“Man, I don’t know. It doesn’t look good.” That was Troy on the phone, my climbing partner for a trip next week to Mount Constance. Usually by this time of the year, it’s a largely snow-free route, or at least a route where the element of snow isn’t a big cause for concern. This year, […]

Destruction Island

Posted by Ken Campbell June 12, 2008 1 Comment 7013 views

Destruction Island is about a half-mile long but very narrow, seldom wider than a hundred yards. It lies about three miles off the Olympic coast, not far from Ruby Beach. The island is the place where two ships under the command of Spanish explorer Capt. Bodega y Quadra anchored on July 14, 1775. Seven men […]

Juneuary

Posted by Ken Campbell June 12, 2008 0 Comment 777 views

It’s cold up here in the Great Northwest. Doesn’t feel like it’s supposed to, for this time of year. Plants in the garden are stunted from the cold. So are the firs and the hemlocks of western Washington. The new growth on their boughs is there, but it is bright green as if it were […]

Mount Constance

Posted by Ken Campbell June 11, 2008 0 Comment 692 views

At 7,756 feet, Mount Constance is the third highest Olympic peak. Because there is less precipitation on the east side of the Olympic range, the terrain on Constance is markedly different than what you would encounter on Olympus, just a few short miles away. The warmer average temperatures factor in as well, and the result […]

First

Posted by Ken Campbell June 10, 2008 0 Comment 945 views

I have been rereading the account of the Press Party Expedition once again. Written by historian Robert Wood, it remains the most complete account of what some have snidely called the “ultimate boys campout.” Wood doesn’t paint the expedition with quite the same sarcastic brush, but it is hard to argue the point. For all […]

Whither Marrowstone?

Posted by Ken Campbell June 7, 2008 0 Comment 902 views

Marrowstone Island got its name from the intrepid sourpuss George Vancouver, who named the northeastern tip of the island Marrowstone Point, because of the mineral deposits he saw in the sandy bluffs that tower out above the water. The island has a population today of around 850 and a single place of business, the Nordland […]

Funny, it doesn’t feel like June…

Posted by Ken Campbell June 4, 2008 0 Comment 602 views

I camped at a DNR campground on the banks of the Hoh River. Slept in the Hotel Westfalia once again, luxury compared to the past few nights. Dinner was grilled steak and beans heated up in the can. Over the coals. Just like all those old hobos used to do. I got up this morning […]