Talking Story Archives - Page 63 of 114

Up the mountain with Edward Abbey – Intro

Posted by Ken Campbell October 9, 2010 0 Comment 1040 views

I’ve been spending a fair bit of time this week working on some mountain writing, specifically looking at Mount Rainier. I’m supposed to be writing some route descriptions and narratives about various hiking and mountain biking opportunities (and I am, I swear I am), as well as a few other projects. Next year, for example, […]

Things that go vroom in the night

Posted by Ken Campbell October 8, 2010 0 Comment 993 views

Since the second Narrows Bridge was built about 3 years ago, the traffic flow on Hwy 16 has gotten better. There used to be backups that went for miles at rush hour and just driving the ten or fifteen miles to and from Gig Harbor could take an hour. A few hundred million dollars later […]

The little girl

Posted by Ken Campbell October 7, 2010 1 Comment 1126 views

Growing up in California, I was always told that it was El Niño that brought the wet weather. The periodic oscillation in ocean temperatures moves weather patterns around and brings a higher total rainfall to Santa Barbara and the rest of SoCal, sodden winters that seem to last forever. Of course, it’s still Santa Barbara, […]

Straits sampler

Posted by Ken Campbell October 6, 2010 0 Comment 993 views

After getting our things packed up at Hobuck Beach, Marc, Tiffany and I set up the shuttle. We drove first to the boat launch at Pillar Point and ate some lunch, then drove the other van back to Clallam Bay. We put in at the little park in town, me on the SUP, them in […]

The Delta

Posted by Ken Campbell October 5, 2010 0 Comment 1246 views

The Nisqually River begins on the flanks of Mount Rainier and flows more than 50 miles to its confluence with Puget Sound. The Nisqually Delta is a wonderland of riparian life, biologically fecund and inherently beautiful. It also happens to be a perfect place for kayaks, canoes and stand up paddleboards. The intricate waterways that […]

Hoedown

Posted by Ken Campbell October 4, 2010 0 Comment 1219 views

I rolled out of town around 9:30. “Early mid-mid morning,” as Steve Martin might say. It still takes a long time to get to Neah Bay. There’s just no way around that. I’ve learned to love the drive though; you sort of have to. Up through the Kitsap is nothing special, most of it anyway, […]

Gone surfing

Posted by Ken Campbell October 1, 2010 0 Comment 1248 views

What is this? The 4th Annual Hobuck Hoedown? Why, I believe it is, starting tomorrow out in the Makah Nation, at the edge of the world. I’m there.

Looking for an envelope

Posted by Ken Campbell September 30, 2010 0 Comment 1275 views

H. W. Tilman, adventurer and author of fifteen mountaineering and sailing books, had a saying: “Any worthwhile expedition can be planned on the back of an envelope.”

Blind

Posted by Ken Campbell September 29, 2010 0 Comment 1190 views

Paddling in fog. What gut feelings does that phrase raise up for you? If you are a kayaker or a paddleboarder, perhaps a canoeist or a rower… think of it as being blind. Paddling blind. If you have a compass, you’re ok. If you know how to use it. Even then, you’ll notice that queasy […]

Never believe it’s not so

Posted by Ken Campbell September 28, 2010 0 Comment 1024 views

Long ago, a place such as this would have been thought to contain great magic. There was a time when powerful spirits lived in the forest and streams, and whispered to one another among the weeping boughs of the cedar. The water falling over rocks and flowing through the pools on the river was part […]