This Day in History November 15, 1806

http://www.flickr.com/photos/84096928@N00/252385152/

I was honestly not aware of this fact--Pike's Place was named after Zebulon Pike.  It was on this date in 1806, that he first spotted this beautiful portion of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado.  It was not until July 15 of that year that he tried to climb this peak.  He was unsuccessful, but in 1820, another group successfully climbed it.  Poor Zebulun Pike already had died.

For more information, please check out:

http://www.pikespeak.us.com

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pikes_Peak

http://famousdaily.com/history/zebulon-pike-spots-pikes-peak.html

This Day in History May 29, 1941

Today we celebrate the birthday of Doug Scott (1941), one of the first Britons to climb Mt. Everett.  He was born in Nottingham, England, and he began climbing mountains at the age of 12.  He not only is known for climbing this mountain, but he is a fantastic photographer.

Here's a bit of trivia about him.  In 1976, he broke both of his legs while climbing a mountain, and he took and 8-day crawl back to camp.  No thank you!  Not for me.  It is good to point out that most of his time now is taken up with Community Action Nepal, a charity that works to provide health, education, and clean water to this area.  Nepal is where you find Mt. Everett, for those who may not know.

Although I would never be a mountaineer, I have to tip my hat to him for his charity work and for his dedication to climbing.  More power to him!

For more information, please check out:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/witness/september/24/newsid_4185000/4185568.stm
http://www.dougscottmountaineering.co.uk/lectures/biographical.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Scott

This Day in History October 29, 1792

 

Well, what I have to share ties in really well with Pacific Northwest culture and scenery.  Those of you who live in the Pacific Northwest may recognize this mountain very quickly (sorry, I wouldn't have known for sure--I only recognize Mt. Rainier readily).  This is Mount Hood, and it can be found in Northern Oregon--50 miles east-southeast of Portland.

The height of Mt. Hood has varied, and it is the highest point in the Oregon Cascade range--fourth highest overall.  It is considered the Oregon volcano most likely to erupt, but the odds of an eruption in the next 30 years are 3-7 percent.  The Native American name for Mt. Hood was Wy'east, taken from the name of the Multnomah chief.

Now, why on earth would I be talking about Mt. Hood today?  It received its present name on this date in 1792.  Lt. William Broughton, a member of Captain George Vancouver's discovery expedition, named it after a British admiral, Samuel Hood.  Lewis and Clark were the first Americans to see the mountain in 1805, and the story continues from there.

I would invite any of you who would like to check out the wonderful information and pictures on these sites about Mt. Hood.
http://www.localcolorarts.com/mount_hood/encyclopedia.htm#Name
http://www.spiritus-temporis.com/mount-hood/origin-of-its-name.html

It is nice to get to cover something that comes from my area of the world for a change!