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Greenland is a beautiful nightmare

(matduggan.com)
625 points zdw | 17 comments | 27 Sep 25 15:46 UTC | HN request time: 1.028s | source | bottom
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iagooar ◴[27 Sep 25 18:28 UTC] No.45398267[source]▶
I have been to northern Norway and Iceland a few times.

It all started when I was running my previous SaaS at the peak of its growth. I needed a break, and wanted to go far away, while still being close enough if sh*t hit the fan. My co-founder had recently talked to some friends who had been to Tromsø, Norway. The place looked perfect, so I booked a 5-day solo trip there.

Places that are so distant, with such harsh conditions and few people living there always give me a feeling I do not experience anywhere else in the world. I feel small, irrelevant, in the face of brutal, powerful nature.

And believe me, it is a feeling that is overwhelming. But never have I perceived it as something negative. The opposite was true. Feeling small made me feel calm, embracing that that was the right spot for me as part of God's creation. Suddenly, all those dark clouds that followed me everywhere I went back home were... Gone.

If you ever have the opportunity to go to one of these places - go. It might change you in profound ways.

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1. sandworm101 ◴[27 Sep 25 19:18 UTC] No.45398608[source]▶
And when you want to experiance true issolation in the face of nature, Alaska and Westerm Canada are waiting. Try a drive north through BC in winter. Fish on an Alaskan river only accessible by floatplane. Wake up to watch the northern lights only to realize you are looking south. Or pan for gold only to look up and see a grizzly cub walking cassually past.

Norway: 15 people per sq km.

Alberta: 6.7

British columbia: 5.5

Alaska: 0.5

Yukon territory: 0.1

Northwest Territories: 0.03

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2. iagooar ◴[27 Sep 25 19:44 UTC] No.45398783[source]▶
Finnmark in Northern Norway is more like 1.5-2, Troms is 3-6. But I agree, Alaska and Western Canada are places to go some day.

Funnily, as a student I had this offer to go to work as a waiter on Alaska. For different reasons that didn't materialize, but definitely this makes me want to go see it even more.

Not so much for the possible bear encounters. I do not think I am ready yet for that.

3. ◴[27 Sep 25 20:27 UTC] No.45399074[source]▶
4. dbetteridge ◴[27 Sep 25 20:28 UTC] No.45399080[source]▶
Another option is

Western Australia: 0.2 if you get outside the capital city.

You'll see stars you didn't know existed and the distances are something else.

Northwest territories is beautiful though.

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5. VagabundoP ◴[27 Sep 25 21:17 UTC] No.45399377[source]▶
I stayed out past Margaret River in Western Oz and "OMG its full of stars" when I went to the outside toilet during the middle of the night and looked up.

I felt like I could get sucked up and lost in galaxies. You could see so many.

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6. bookofjoe ◴[27 Sep 25 22:20 UTC] No.45399832[source]▶
Altitude is also an excellent force multiplier for visualizing stars. I can still see in my mind's eye the sky at night at 17,000 feet while trekking in Nepal in 1982: it looked like glitter-studded fabric, the stars almost contiguous.
7. liquid_thyme ◴[27 Sep 25 22:55 UTC] No.45400036[source]▶
Driving through is fine, but realistically, if you need basic amenities (healthcare, groceries, etc), you will be living in or around a population center, so those numbers won't hold up.
8. jacquesm ◴[27 Sep 25 23:11 UTC] No.45400138[source]▶
Seconded. I've been 'up North' in Canada and it is something that I won't even bother to try to put into words. All I know is that it left me changed, in a very good way.
9. tomcam ◴[28 Sep 25 00:59 UTC] No.45400826[source]▶
The people of Alberta remind me of what I imagine the American pioneers to have been: distinctly down to earth, extremely resourceful, generous, and not to be fucked with.
10. llamasushi ◴[28 Sep 25 04:31 UTC] No.45401780[source]▶
Went hitchhiking in Alaska while running my startup to "get a break". Absolute disaster. Couldn't properly connect to internet, dropped a bunch of meetings, etc.

Still worth it. My fault for not planning in advance.

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11. petre ◴[28 Sep 25 04:38 UTC] No.45401815[source]▶
> Couldn't properly connect to internet, dropped a bunch of meetings, etc.

Isn't that the whole point of going to Alaska?

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12. tlavoie ◴[28 Sep 25 06:06 UTC] No.45402119[source]▶
It's not the cub I'd be worried about, but where's it's mom?

I have yet to go north much, though our son and his girlfriend worked in Eagle Plains for a bit. One fun snippet from their trip back, having a raven as an escort for the highway drive: https://youtu.be/9KdMJhSaeJc

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13. dbetteridge ◴[28 Sep 25 09:05 UTC] No.45402878{3}[source]▶
I live down in the south West and you really don't have to go far for some fantastic star photography.

Blackwood River forest is just one example.

14. sandworm101 ◴[28 Sep 25 10:02 UTC] No.45403143[source]▶
That is the scary bit. Maybe mom is right behind you.
15. sandworm101 ◴[28 Sep 25 10:04 UTC] No.45403157[source]▶
Autralia is empty too, but lacks the vertical dimension. Seeing big mountains far away gives one the sense of being in a bigger "room".
16. wnscooke ◴[28 Sep 25 13:01 UTC] No.45404028[source]▶
In my younger days I hitch-hiked from Fort St John to Inuvik, via Whitehorse. It got into my blood and bones. I'd love to return... maybe one day.
17. llamasushi ◴[08 Oct 25 21:17 UTC] No.45520746{3}[source]▶
Yeah, this was my first startup and I thought I could multi-task lol. Probably did it for the wrong reason (eg: "checking a box - went hitchhiking in Alaska") than anything else. Spent most of the trip worrying about other) startup shit, didn't enjoy the scenery nearly as much as I should have. Still regret it haha!