While I’m flying to Portland later today, author/photographer/backpacker Peter Marbach and editor Janet Cook will be
at the Powell’s on Hawthorne, talking about their new book: Mount
Hood, The Heart of Oregon. The book contains stunning views of the majestic mountain and includes details about Mt.
Hood and lesser known areas of the surrounding forest and its plethora of hiking trails. If you are at all interested
in visiting this beautiful area, be sure to get a copy of the book. Also check out
Travel Oregon, which has links to suggested trip ideas for the
Mt. Hood/Columbia River Gorge area, including
Walking in a Winter Wonderland, yet
another reason to consider visiting Portland this
month!
Destination December: Chichicastenango
How about adding a little authentic culture to your December escape? The Festival of St. Thomas
takes place in…are you ready for
this?…Chichicastenango, Guatemala on December 21.
Chi…um, chichaa…well, that
little town is quite famous
for its four-centuries-old market where you can buy all manner of
absurdly colorful blankets and gew-gaws.
There is also dancing, music, and the famous flying pole ceremony. What’s that, you say? The flying pole ceremony
involves people who hang onto ropes wrapped around the top of a pole and then they fly around it. That a country has
made this common childhood activity a formal ceremonial event is, well, pretty cool. Which begs the question: does
anyone have a national holiday dedicated to tetherball?
Greenland: Extreme Tourism
I’ll never forget the day my called ID displayed: GREENLAND. I was dating an engineer who, despite being sequestered
on an icy fjord drilling for oil somewhere, had made time to give me a ring. So I got a call from
Greenland, but that’s about the extent of my interaction with the massive
glacier island to the north. This recent
Baltimore Sun piece
explains that over 30,000 tourists (80% from Denmark) visit the world’s largest island every year. This is a great spot
for engaged adventure travel: hiking, trekking, angling,
kayaking, skiing, ice fishing or how about some
ice golf? We’ve actually
mentioned Greenland quite a few
times here at Gadling, I guess we’re just fascinated with this unique iceberg nation — maybe we should consider a group
field trip?! I think the Arctic
Palerfik in April would be cool. I’m all about getting a suntan on a dog sled.
Climbing Pakistan
Stellar features a fantastic article (which originally appeared in She Sends Magazine) for all the
climbers with hopes and dreams of
trekking through
Pakistan. Following Post 9/11 trends of American climbers with new fears of terrorism and safety in the country,
the piece answers some very good questions for those still weary. Women with interest in Pakistan and those
with little knowledge on other cultural bits on how this kind of tourism effects the villages will definitely
find the article of use. Greg Mortenson, co-founder and director of the Central Asia Institute (CAI)
provides the insightful answers.
Top tips I managed to pull from it were actually very basic and include making sure you find a reliable guide and
porter to help trekkers through remote areas, knowing how and when to use the word “Kitab” when someone inquires
about your religion, and the appropriate and respectful way to dress while in the country.
Paradise Inn Closes…For a Bit
Just a bit of news for my Seattle homies…you should know that if you’re planning a Mount Rainier trip this year
that the lovely old Paradise Inn
inside Mt. Rainier National Park is
closing for a
multimillion-dollar earthquake retrofit and makeover. The historic and oh so comfy inn won’t reopen until 2008. They’re
not changing things around too much, thank goodness, because the place is just so classic, so cool. But they’re adding
a new foundation, apparently, should there be earthquakes…of which there are some in the region. Of course,
if Mt. Rainier blow its top, all bets are off.