Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve is home to the Wrangell Mountains. Mt Jarvis, 13 421′ high, stands east of Mt Wrangell, and catches the first light of the day. Early morning (pre-dawn) alpenglow reflection in a high alpine tarn, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska.
Hey Folks
Mt. Jarvis, in the Wrangell Mountains, and reflection in the early pre-dawn glow. This kind of light is sooooo subtle; it’s really a reflection of the light on the clouds to the east, still quite a while before the first real alpenglow lights up the east. This is from our Wrangell Ramble backpacking trip.
By that time, of course, a slight breeze had stirred up the lake’s surface and the reflection was gone. Once the alpenglow faded, the breeze ebbed, and the surface stilled. Nice, but the moment was gone.
Sometimes when I photograph a scene like this I’ll zoom in to have no foreground elements other than the reflection, such as just above the moss and grass above. Usually, however, I prefer to anchor the scene with something, and I like the way the foreground here kind of complements the lines of the reflection. It is also balanced by the negative space in the lower right hand corner.
A split density filter (or several) is a must have for this kind of shot (unless you choose to do multiple exposures and blend them afterward. And, of course, a tripod. Always bring a tripod.
Updated: As of 2026, I still bring a tripod any longer. Modern mirrorless and high end cameras are so good with ISO that I can compensate for small apertures with higher ISO and still produce quality images. But I still use a tripod, even backpacking, because it helps with composition and taking our time. Get a lightweight, small tripod, strap it to your backpack, and you’ll appreciate it when you set up for that sweet landscape shot.
Brad and Tracey take in the views from 8200′. Near Mt Jarvis, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska.
Hey Folks,
Here’s a quick one from the backpacking trip around Mt Jarvis. Brad and Tracey, soaking up some sunshine on Day #1. We hiked from the airstrip up to a killer campsite, then clambered up on to this ridge, summiting at around 8200′. We’re just yards from the east flanks of 13 000′ Mt Jarvis here, and the views are superb.
We spent a while here, then descended back to camp for some hot food and a fun evening, enjoying the grand scenery. Nothing quite like being high in the Wrangell Mountains on a sunny afternoon!
Kudos to Brad and Tracey for slogging through way too much slushy, wet snow. We were all saying we should’ve brought skis with us; I’d have blasted some huge telemark turns on the way back down. 🙂 Well .. I’d have tried, anyway.
UPDATED, 2025: This is now part of our Wrangell Ramble backpacking trip in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. We’ve explored this northern section of the park a lot, and it holds some exceptional backpacking. Not without its challenges, but it’s great place to explore. We’ve hiked most of the landscape from Mesa Lake in the eastern edge of the range to Dadina River and Wrangell Plateau; so we know what we’re talking about in this area.
That’s all for now. I’ll be back from my current trip to Katmai, photographing Grizzly Bears, and will try to post some images from that trip later. I’m sure it’ll be a blast, and I hope to have a bunch of cool new bear photos. We’ll see how that goes. Until then, be safe.
The aurora borealis (northern lights) light up the night sky above a tent. Campsite in the Mentasta Mountains, boreal forest, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska.
Hey Folks,
From my last summer/fall camping trip in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, for this year – well, so far, anyway. If you think sleeping in the big city is hard, with all those big city lights, try sleeping in a tent under this kind of light. 🙂
What a treat it is to see the aurora borealis (or ‘northern lights’). Nothing quite touches that experience for a little slice of magic. It’s mystical, each and every time.
Fall is a great time to photograph the aurora – the skies are dark, often clear, and it’s not yet 40 below zero, like it can be in the dead of winter.
The Photo Tip
For shooting the northern lights,
I crank up the ISO of the camera,
open the lens to its widest aperture, and
shoot with as high a shutter speed as I can.
Fast lenses, like a 1.8 or even a 2.8 make a big difference.
They’re also heavier than smaller aperture lenses, which makes it a trade-off for a backpacking trip. Sometimes though, such as when the aurora borealis is out, that trade-off becomes moot. The extra weight is well worth the effort. A small headlamp to light up the tent, set up the tripod, and click the shutter. Good night folks.
Wanna learn even more about photographing the northern lights? Study this guide.
Backpacking up the valley of Hidden Creek, in the Wrangell Mountains. Fall colors glow on the tundra. Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska.
Hey Folks,
Here’s a photo from our trip last week up Hidden Creek and over to the Lakina River. What a great trip this was. The weather was amazing; huge sunny skies, bluebird days, warm afternoons, crisp cool nights and that great fall air.
The landscape – well, incredible doesn’t touch it. Jaw-dropping scenery at virtually every turn marks this route, and we lapped it up. The views of Mt Blackburn the first day were simply unsurpassed. The view from my tent the final morning in a high alpine pass, with fresh snow (“termination dust”) on the soaring jagged peaks of the Wrangell mountains, reflecting in the glassy water of the tarn (lake) was more than anyone could ask for.
A view from the Skookum Volcano Trail, a nice hike in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, near the old mining town of Nabesna. Please click on the thumbnail to view a larger version of the photo.
Hey Folks,
Here’s a quick shot from a recent hike up around Nabesna. I walked the Skookum Volcano trail – some great views out over this part of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. Fall colors are right around the corner, and up high like this, the blueberry is already turning red.
The mountains up around this pass are amazing – really some great shapes and patterns in those rocks. I need to get back up there asap and shoot it some more.
The northern side of the park receives far fewer visitors than the south side, on the McCarthy Road, though I think the dayhiking and the photography is probably better on the north side. If the weather is clear, some of the best views in the park can be found off the Nabesna Road. Fall colors, too, can be intense, almost overwhelming, in late August/early September. And, I generally see more wildlife in this section of the park than I do along the McCarthy Road, though wildlife viewing is almost always hit and miss anywhere.
Next summer I’m going to be doing a little more backpacking in the area, and will offer some newer trips in this region, particularly a few shorter, easier hikes. As well, some of those walks don’t involve bush flights in and out of the backcountry, so they’ll be quite a bit cheaper as well. Stay tuned to the website for more information on those in October.
Those are the Mentasta Mountains in the background.
Charlie Sprayregen takes in the view in the Chugach Mountains, Iceberg Lake to Bremner Mines or Seven Pass route, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska.
Hey Folks,
Here’s a photo from our trip last week to Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve. Charlie was gracious enough to pose for me here on this little ledge, one gorgeous morning on the Iceberg Lake to Bremner Mines trip.
We were so lucky on this trip to get some nice weather; it’s not been a fantastic summer, weather-wise, so far, yet we had more sunny days than not on our hike. Charlie and his family, from Chicago, had somewhat of a mad rush to get here, flying directly from Chicago to Anchorage to McCarthy to Iceberg Lake; including a short, mad dash thru the streets of Anchorage to replenish gear when, upon arrival in Anchorage, they learned Charlie’s backpack hadn’t made the flight, and was still in Chicago. The bedlam settled when we arrived, after many hours of travel (for Charlie and family) at Iceberg Lake, on a gorgeous sunny evening.
Sunset over the Chitistone Valley and the University Peaks, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Please click the thumbnail to view a larger version of the photo.
Hey Folks,
And the Image of the Month for August 2010 is a photo of sunset over the University Peaks, just south of the Chitistone River. We’d backpacked down the Chitistone Canyon all day, set up camp after crossing the Goat Trail, had a GREAT dinner with superb views of Mount Bona (16 421′ high) and the University Range, and the light kept getting better and better.
I’d long wanted to hike down this little creek to a plateau above the Chitistone River and shoot sunset there, and knew this would be a great opportunity to do so.
I couldn’t convince any of the hikers in our group to join for me the evening trek (2 miles one way), so I grabbed my camera gear after we’d finished dinner, and set out on my own. They weren’t photographers, so had no interest in the walk, and the arduous climb back to camp.
Though this scene wasn’t my intended final destination, I loved the combination of clouds, deep, steep canyon walls, and the warm light hitting the distant unnamed mountain. I stopped and took a few photos before continuing on my way down to the plateau.
When shooting a scene such as this, with high contrast between the shaded depths of the steep canyon and the bright clouds and distant peaks (Mount Bona) I use either a Split Density filter or take multiple images of differing exposures and blend them together in the computer later. This image I used 2 split density filters, a 2-stop and a 3-stop. Handholding 2 filters is hard; handholding them when you don’t want them to align symmetrically is really hard. Lesson #1 – carry a Cokin filter holder.
The Goat Trail is the first route I ever hiked in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, and is always a welcome treat for me to return to. This one was a night I’ll remember for along time. I returned to our high camp at around midnight. What a fantastic evening.
A waterfall in a small stream near the Upper Marsh Fork River, Brooks Range mountains, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), Alaska. Please click the thumbnail to view a larger version of the photo.
Hey folks,
Here’s another image from our recent trip to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. This Brooks Range trip was simply awesome. A great group of folks, from Florida, Colorado and Washington, who all carried the most ingredient for a great trip – great attitude. Everyone really clicked, and we had a ton of fun; lots of laughs and good times.
Backpacking the Brooks Range at Midnight
This photo was taken on our 1st night out; we camped on a big alluvial fan that comes out of the mountains, on the west side of the Marsh Fork River. After dinner we hiked up the stream and climbed a small ridgeline for some amazing views back south, to the heart of the mountain range and the continental divide. The light was really happening, and I was pretty happy with a few of the images I made.
Afterward, the light began to fade and we hiked back toward camp near the river. The sun began to poke through again, for one great show, and I saw this little miniature waterfall that I knew would make a great foreground. The light show only lasted a couple of minutes before high clouds to the north dulled the glow. By the time I’d rearranged this for a horizontal composition, the light was noticeably dimmer on the distant peak. Minutes later, the glow was gone.
We’ve backpacked and packrafted and rafted in virtually every major mountain range in Alaska. There’s nothing quite like exploring the Brooks Range. Whether it’s west of here, backpacking in Gates of the Arctic National Park or even further west to Kobuk Sands National Park & Preserve, or in the entire 19 millions acres of Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, everybody loves the Brooks Range. The vast open, endless mountains are a treat for all backcountry travelers.
Photography in the Land of the Midnight Sun
This image was taken around 2:00am. Photography in the arctic summer is a challenge, shifting ones mental and body clock to the wee hours of the “night“, to capture the nicest light. Oftentimes I’ll shoot til later and go to bed around 4:00am, or later. They don’t call this the land of the midnight sun for nothing.
Here’s a photo below of Steve, from Colorado, shooting the following morning, around 4:00am. We’d gone to bed, got some rest, and then the sun came around the corner of the range to the north, and lit up the valley. I was up immediately, woke Steve, and we shot for a couple of hours before going back to bed. It’s an absolutely incredible experience to watch the mountains here, in the quiet hours of the “dawn“, and feel the arctic air start to warm. Magical doesn’t describe the experience.
Steve shooting the Marsh Fork River, Brooks Range, ANWR.
What a blast we had! To view some of Steve’s fantastic work from this trip, visit his gallery here. He made some amazing images.
Shooting with Other Photographers
It’s really nice to have another serious photographer along on a trip like this, even the trip is not promoted as a ‘photography tour’ at all. Steve inspired and motivated me to work harder and longer, and to look more closely than I otherwise might. I learnt a lot from watching him shoot.
The final evening provided some great light, and some gorgeous Pacific loons (Gavia pacifica) to photograph. Loons are one of my favorite birds, really a beautiful bird, and it’s always a treat to photograph them.
This year we were fortunate to see Common loons, Red-throated loon and Pacific loons, but not the less common Yellow-billed loon. Maybe next summer we’ll be treated to the awesome foursome!
I’ll try to post something soon from our Skolai – Wolverine hike . Until then, I hope you enjoy this Pacific loon photo.
Aufeis is a German word to refer to overflow ice, that typically melts out during the summer, and re-accumulates in the winter. It’s pretty common along most waterways in the Arctic. Here it provided a platform for some tom-foolery.
Good fun all the way around.
Minutes earlier we’d been watching a mature bull caribou wander along the ridges of Aufeis; caribou often hang out on the ice to keep cool and stay away from the oft-present mosquitoes during summer’s brief madness.
Fortunately this year the bugs were largely gone by the time of our trip, and we all had a great time with no insanity from the mosquitoes.
