The Appalachian Trail is carpeted in snow as it passes through New Jersey's Worthington State Forest. (Compass Points Media / flickr) http://www.flickr.com/photos/compasspointsmedia/ / CC BY-ND 2.0
My poor wife.
Every Christmas, she tries and tries to find me something I don’t already have stuffed in my gear closet. It’s a nearly impossible endeavor. After all, I have 11 pairs of boots, about half a dozen sleeping bags, four backpacks and so on.
So I sympathize with those out there who are desperately searching for a top-notch gift to give a beloved adventurer, the one who seems to have everything.
I’ll try to help you here.
Below are a few Christmas gift ideas from the publishing world that might cause your beloved adventurer to exclaim like Sir Edmund Hillary standing on top of Everest for the first time:
COMPLETE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC – $69.99
Are you kidding me? NatGeo put forth onto this great nation a collection of six DVD-ROMs which host every … single … NatGeo … issue … from 1888 to 2008. The classics like Hillary’s ascent of Mount Everest, the new reports, the photography … OMG!
THE WILDERNESS WARRIOR: THEODORE ROOSEVELT AND THE CRUSADE FOR AMERICA by DOUGLAS BRINKLEY – $34.99
There’s something about Teddy, the 26th president and all-around bust-the-door down kinda guy, that inspires thick biographies, and this one goes for 960 pages. Yet, while you might not jam this into your backpack for a weekend jaunt, this could make for a fine read and provide insight to the ongoing struggle over preserving, conserving or utilizing public lands. Roosevelt’s a man’s man, an egotist who inspired both deification and loathing, but he was brilliant, and his love for the American landscape drove him to achieve great things against tough opponents.
THE NEW AGE OF ADVENTURE: TEN YEARS OF GREAT WRITING – $16.95
Sure, National Geographic Adventure shut down earlier this month because advertising revenue dried up, but it left a decade’s worth of outstanding stories. The editors of the magazine compiled the best of the ‘zine by the skilled writers of our industry (Sebastian Junger and Kira Salak, among them) for this 432-page collection.
BEST AMERICAN TRAVEL WRITING 2009 – $14.00
Seems like this annual collection never misses. Anytime you need a quick escapism, reach for this or any of the Best American Travel Writing series and you’re going to get what the title promises. Simon Winchester, volcano chaser and downright top notch writer, compiled this year’s book.
Well, what a week we’ve had, huh? Not bad for the debut of the new Compass Points blog. There’s much more to come, too.
Join the Compass Points community. Help us build the fan base at Facebook, and the Pidgeon tweets continue at Twitter.
If you’re looking for a Christmas gift for yourself – one that’s free - try a subscription to Compass Points. Delivered at no cost! Hit the link above, then click on “Subscribe In Mail” on the right column. Simple.
Now, as one voice we lift our chorus to the sky. You know the words:
Hike On, Pointers!
See you next week.
