Richland student who died in Big Sur remembered as outdoor enthusiast, ‘magnetic personality’

Chloe Jones, Annette Cary
·4 min read

Friends of Cal Poly student Kenneth Taylor remembered him as someone who not only loved the outdoors, but helped others experience and enjoy nature, too.

Students gathered Friday for a memorial service at California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo, many dressed in flannel at his parents’ request to honor his passion for the outdoors.

Taylor, 21, of Richland, died April 6 during a climbing trip at Salmon Creek Falls along the Big Sur coast. His body was found at the base of the falls, a poplar hiking spot along Highway 1.

Taylor was a third-year mechanical engineering student who was set to graduate in 2025. He came to San Luis Obispo after attending Hanford High School in Richland, Wash.

Beyond his studies, Taylor was an avid outdoors enthusiast at Cal Poly.

He was a trip leader for Poly Escapes, a student organization that guides outdoor excursions, and he was a founding member of the Alpine Club, a student club for outdoor alpine skiing.

Hadas Tankel, a fourth-year student at the university, met Taylor through Cal Poly Van Life — another of Taylor’s outdoor communities.

Kenneth Taylor climbs with friend Hadas Tankel at Morro Bay State Park. Taylor, a third-year Cal Poly student, died while on a climbing trip at Salmon Creek waterfall in Big Sur on April 6, 2024. Courtesy of Hadas Tankel
Kenneth Taylor climbs with friend Hadas Tankel at Morro Bay State Park. Taylor, a third-year Cal Poly student, died while on a climbing trip at Salmon Creek waterfall in Big Sur on April 6, 2024. Courtesy of Hadas Tankel

Taylor invited her to an excursion at Montaña de Oro State Park, where they “instantly hit it off.”

“He just was a really magnetic personality,” Tankel said.

Tankel said she’s been reading her and Taylor’s old text conversations, and in one Taylor told her he saw one of the best sunsets he’d seen in his life while on a Poly Escapes trip in Los Padres National Forest but forgot his camera so he couldn’t send her a photo.

She told Taylor that made her “crave a nature moment,” and he immediately made plans with her to go on a sunset hike.

“It it just kind of showed like how ready and willing he was to just be there for his friends and support his friends and engaging with the natural world,” Tankel said.

Hadas Tankel takes a selfie with Kenneth Taylor while on climbing excursion. Taylor, a third-year Cal Poly student, died while on a climbing trip at Salmon Creek waterfall in Big Sur on April 6, 2024. Courtesy of Hadas Tankel
Hadas Tankel takes a selfie with Kenneth Taylor while on climbing excursion. Taylor, a third-year Cal Poly student, died while on a climbing trip at Salmon Creek waterfall in Big Sur on April 6, 2024. Courtesy of Hadas Tankel

Taylor and Tankel were climbing partners and would often climb together either outdoors or at the Pad, a climbing gym in San Luis Obispo.

Taylor taught Tankel how to belay, or secure a rope, and was the first person she texted when she earned her belay certification.

“He pushed me out of my comfort zone in the most comfortable way,” Tankel said.

Kenneth Bevens first met Taylor when the two took the outdoor wilderness leader training at Cal Poly. Bevens said the two instantly connected over their love of outdoors and photography and became known as “Kenneth squared.”

“I always thought it was really special, and I value just calling myself Kenneth,” Bevens said. “We were so similar, kind of twins by context.”

Bevens was known as “portrait Kenneth” because of his love of taking portraits, while Taylor was “landscape Kenneth” for his landscape photography.

Kenneth Taylor rappels down a rock face. Taylor, a third-year Cal Poly student, died while on a climbing trip at Salmon Creek waterfall in Big Sur on April 6, 2024. Courtesy of Hadas Tankel
Kenneth Taylor rappels down a rock face. Taylor, a third-year Cal Poly student, died while on a climbing trip at Salmon Creek waterfall in Big Sur on April 6, 2024. Courtesy of Hadas Tankel

Taylor’s landscape photography account is taylored.media_, where he shared landscapes, surfing photos and memories with friends.

One of Bevens favorite memories with Taylor was during the fall quarter when Taylor and other Poly Escapes leaders guided a trip at Montaña de Oro. They hiked Valencia Peak and then paddleboarded and kayaked to Morro Bay.

“He gave 110% of himself to everything he did and everyone he met. He would love talking with people on trail,” Bevens said. “He tried his best to make the people that paid for the day experience to go out there and hike Valencia Peak and kayak ... feel like they were joining the community.”

Bevens had planned to teach Taylor how to print his photos the day after his death. The two had made plans to sell prints at Make Waves, a Cal Poly Surfrider film festival, on April 19.

“It was kind of like the next chapter of how we were going to deeply connect was supposed to start right after he passed,” Bevens said.

Bevens told The Tribune the festival, which is this Friday, will have a tributes for Taylor at the event.

Kenneth Taylor enjoys a campfire with friends. Taylor, a third-year Cal Poly student, died while on a climbing trip at Salmon Creek waterfall in Big Sur on April 6, 2024. Courtesy of Hadas Tankel
Kenneth Taylor enjoys a campfire with friends. Taylor, a third-year Cal Poly student, died while on a climbing trip at Salmon Creek waterfall in Big Sur on April 6, 2024. Courtesy of Hadas Tankel

Taylor worked as an intern for Bechtel in Richland in the summer of 2022, developing a template for pressure safety valve fluid calculations, according to his LinkedIn profile. Bechtel National holds the contract to build and commission the Hanford nuclear site’s massive vitrification plant.

At Cal Poly he had worked as a part-time research assistant since January 2022 on a project to develop and test a water harvester.