Walden Pond
Anything becomes possible when you claim your life as your own. The author of his life not only wields a pen, he wields a power—a power...
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Author | Journalist | Speaker
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Ken Ilgunas
- Dec 14, 2009
Article Aftermath
You know you’ve become popular when CBS News photoshops your van flying over Duke Chapel. It’s been an interesting week. “I live in a Van...
Ken Ilgunas
- Dec 7, 2009
No he din’t!
I got printed in Salon today. What this means: 1. My identity is revealed. 2. Duke knows about the van. 3. I… am… fucked.
Ken Ilgunas
- Dec 5, 2009
Guess my college, win a prize
My secret is out. Well, it will be out soon. I’m revealing the name of my college in an essay I’ve sent to Salon.com which will publish...
Ken Ilgunas
- Dec 2, 2009
Unidentifiable smell: identified. Or is it?
I’ve had the van for nearly a year. Last week, I gave it my first deep-cleaning. I have several justifiable reasons for putting off the...
Ken Ilgunas
- Nov 25, 2009
The Best Travel/ Adventure/ Nature Books of All Time
[While it might seem like I’ve crammed three genres into this list, I believe that each transcends the others, (or at least they’re too...
Ken Ilgunas
- Nov 17, 2009
Held captive in the van
I was held captive in the van yesterday afternoon. It was a nice day so I was in no hurry to walk to campus. I spent the afternoon—all...
Ken Ilgunas
- Nov 9, 2009
My First Peeping Tom
I was sitting cross-legged on my van floor reading a book in a pair of sky blue boxer briefs that had rolled up to my upper thighs. I had...
Ken Ilgunas
- Nov 4, 2009
Halloween
I thought about writing “Kids, I have candy” on the side of my van, but I figured that would get me in a lot more trouble than just...
Ken Ilgunas
- Oct 30, 2009
Chris McCandless from Another Alaska Park Ranger’s Perspective
[Years after this was entry was published, I adapted and developed it into a tiny book, The McCandless Mecca, which is available on...
Ken Ilgunas
- Oct 26, 2009
An evening meal with the spartan student
Now that autumn has finally arrived in North Carolina it's become cool enough for me to begin cooking meals in my van again. I don’t know...
Ken Ilgunas
- Oct 22, 2009
Observations from the Appalachian Trail
Two things I love more than I used to: 1. My van 2. The Appalachian Trail. My van performed like a champ. I drove it 3.5 hours from...
Ken Ilgunas
- Oct 19, 2009
Eating trash for the first time
George: It wasn't down in, it was sort of on top. Jerry: But it was in the cylinder. George: Above the rim. Jerry: Adjacent to refuse, is...
Ken Ilgunas
- Oct 16, 2009
Walden on Wheels
In my travel writing class, I read (and secretly recorded) an essay about my van. It seemed to go over pretty well. After the reading I...
Ken Ilgunas
- Oct 9, 2009
So my mom knows about the blog…
Apart from campus security, there wasn’t anyone I wanted to hide this blog from more than my mother. I had a creeping suspicion that she...
Ken Ilgunas
- Oct 3, 2009
Travels to on-campus almost-orgies
I go to one of the wealthiest colleges in the country. Each year, legions of degree-toting graduates obliviously sign away the next forty...
Ken Ilgunas
- Oct 1, 2009
Liddy Library
Oh Liddy. My lonesome library. I spend more time with Liddy than I do with all the people I know. That’s because I know almost nobody...
Ken Ilgunas
- Sep 7, 2009
Rule of Thumb #6: Shatter your fears. Know the unknown.
Day 6: May 20, 2007. Northern British Columbia to Prince George, BC (776 miles) Four summers ago, I drove up to Alaska with my friend...
Ken Ilgunas
- Sep 3, 2009
ANTS!
I have ants in my van. Of all the potential disasters that could have befallen me vandwelling, having ants was one thing I never...
Ken Ilgunas
- Aug 31, 2009
Rule of Thumb #5: Bring lots of stuff
Day 5: May 19, 2007. Teslin, Yukon Territories to northern border of British Columbia (158 miles). The two most useful items you can...