We at Embark always love to see and cheer on other Portlanders working on projects in the outdoors. The latest to come across our radar is a great little outfit run by three women out of NE Portland called Hungry Hikers. Their tagline says it all: “We fuel your adventure.” From classics like Beef Stroganoff (pictured) and Sheppard’s Pie to the more unique Forest Park Pilaf and Cascade Corn Chowder, this lineup is looking stellar. Check out their full line of yumminess via their online store, where one meal costs $8.99 and a 12-pack $97.10.
Todd Merkel and Stephen Ashbrook embark on 14-mile hiking adventure in the Columbia River Gorge. Don’t worry, Stephen’s hair usually looks much longer, like a rock star, and Todd wants you to check out Portland Charcuterie Project for some information about charcuteries, whatever that is.
Anyone who lives in or has traveled throughout Oregon knows that Mt. Hood and the Oregon coastline are two of the most dramatic destinations in a dramatically beautiful state. Which makes the famous, 197-mile Hood to Coast relay–the “mother of all relays” that hits 29 years this August–all the more suitable as the subject of a quirky and exhilarating documentary on what it means to push your body and mind, invigorate your lifestyle, and party with your friends for 36 straight hours in the process. The trailer was just released before the film will be aired at SXSW 2010 next week; watch it above.
Good friend and intrepid adventurer Louis-Martin Guénette is demonstrating the new art of taking the “Embark” sign as far as you can on a recent trek to Mt. Hood.
Bring one yourself to wherever your travels take you, snap a photo for colorful evidence, and send it to us to enter into a yearly drawing for a variety of gifts we give away every year. Winners will also get 10 percent off their next Embark adventure. Dood. That’s some good savings.
Do you think this looks bad ass? Wait until you are holding it on the Western Breach of Kilimanjaro, on the remote river trip in Bhutan, or while on a wildlife safari in Botswana.
Also, if you send us a picture with your Embark banner, not only will you receive 10 percent off on your next trip, but you will also be entered into our annual giveaway.
The search for two missing climbers is now in its third full day after the body of Luke T. Gullberg, who at 26 had climbed the 11,240-foot Mt. Hood six times, was recovered at 9,000 feet on Saturday. Due to what has been called extreme avalanche danger, the search has been limited to helicopter surveillance since Sunday morning, and the only climbers who set out early Sunday morning returned by 6:15 a.m. due to the poor conditions.
Gullberg, of Des Moines, Wash., was found on Reid Glacier after what looks like an apparently big fall. Gullberg was thought to be leading his friends Katie Nolan, 29, of Southeast Portland and Anthony Vietti, 24, of Longview, Wash. On Sunday, searchers took out a Black Hawk helicopter, a Civil Air Patrol fixed-wing aircraft, and a Coast Guard C-130 plane, but didn’t find a single sign of Nolan or Vietti. Prayer vigils have cropped up in Portland and other cities, as well as online.
Mt. Hood has claimed the lives of at least 18 people, a number that includes Gullberg, in the past decade. This time of year tends to present not only risk of avalanche, but falling into crevasses as well. The search-and-rescue mission is complicated by the fact that there are conflicting reports of the route the climbers planned to take, so the search net has had to be cast wider than usual.
Kayaker Dave Hoffman has just posted raw footage of his weekend kayak trip to Metlako Falls near Eagle Creek outside of Portland, Ore. There are plenty of videos floating around out there of kayakers taking this fall, but this is a unique view from Hoffman’s own perspective. If you’re wondering what’s going on at the bottom, the visor on his helmet broke and slammed into his face, and his spray skirt imploded. Hoffman writes, “I cannot wait to do it again.” Warning: This video is not for the faint-of-heart, or for kids who should not hear cursing.
