Talking Story Archives - Page 43 of 114

Back to the mountain

Posted by Ken Campbell August 23, 2011 0 Comment 1120 views

I’m not sure if this summer weather will hold… never can tell, can you? Regardless, the boy and I are heading up to Mount Rainier for a couple days, maybe three. Going to do a little car camping and day hiking, nothing too extreme, but every bit the adventure. Especially when you’re four years old. […]

This shouldn’t even be political

Posted by Ken Campbell August 21, 2011 0 Comment 953 views

“Sooner or later in every talk, Brower describes the creation of the world. He invites his listeners to consider the six days of Genesis as a figure of speech for what has in fact been four billion years. On this scale, a day equals something like six hundred and sixty-six million years, and thus ‘all […]

Justice delayed

Posted by Ken Campbell August 20, 2011 1 Comment 2371 views

I went to the peninsula the other day, a little surf safari before the summer ends. On the way, I stopped by the courthouse in Port Angeles for the latest hearing for Amber Steim, the woman who plowed into Ellen DeBondt’s truck back in March. (See above photo). It was a quick affair, this hearing. […]

Low visibility

Posted by Ken Campbell August 17, 2011 0 Comment 1129 views

The idea was to climb Mount Si by the light of a full moon and have breakfast at the top at sunrise. This being western Washington, however, we hiked up the steep trail in the tepid glow of our headlamps and the black of night progressed incrementally into the gray of day, rather than exploding […]

An inside job

Posted by Ken Campbell August 16, 2011 0 Comment 1184 views

The ironic thing about keeping a blog on outdoor adventure is that so little of the writing actually happens outdoors. Or I guess it’s not that ironic really, for a Luddite like me. I don’t tweet, my phone is not “smart,” and I have neither the capability nor the inclination to post from the wilderness. […]

It’s called "wildlife"

Posted by Ken Campbell August 12, 2011 0 Comment 1151 views

First of all, I need to say that the killing of Robert Boardman was an absolute and undeserved tragedy. He was the hiker that was gored to death by an aggressive and hostile goat on Klahane Ridge last October. I feel for his family in their loss and I can only imagine their grief. But […]

A Guide’s life, redux

Posted by Ken Campbell August 11, 2011 0 Comment 1071 views

I was reading a piece by David Quammen the other day, in which he described his brief career as a guide as demanding “the humility of a chauffeur and the complaisance of a pimp.” Hardly a glowing review of the profession and, to be fair, Mr. Quammen was speaking of his time as a fishing […]

Another plug

Posted by Ken Campbell August 7, 2011 0 Comment 1020 views

I haven’t mentioned these guys enough. One of the good shops – and there aren’t nearly enough of them left. If you are looking for quality gear, or top-of-the-line instruction, or just a place to go and breathe in the finer fumes of kayaking, look no further. Portland Kayak Company has been very good to […]

First weekend in October

Posted by Ken Campbell August 5, 2011 0 Comment 943 views

I heard from Ned the other day and he is committed to doing the Rainier climb (that I have been talking about all year), on October 6-9. He tore his achilles tendon last winter and I thought he might not be able to do it at all in 2011, but he is coming along well […]

How long Kopachuck?

Posted by Ken Campbell August 4, 2011 2 Comments 1131 views

I saw in the news the other day that the campground at Kopachuck State Park is still closed. Laminated root rot is the culprit, a disease that causes trees to just up and fall over, according to the folks at the State Park brain trust, and the campground is going to remain closed until they […]