Backpacking; setting out on a trek toward Mt Jarvis, in fresh fall snow, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. To view a larger version of this image, please click on the photo above.
Hey Folks,
From our recent exploratory trip to the Mt Jarvis area, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. As you can see, September in Alaska, particularly around the 7000′ altitude, can be cool; fresh snow, and we had 2 more snowstorms during our trek.
What a great trip we had though; Brad and Tracey, from Chicago, were quite the troopers, and really made the trip easy. Being flexible is critical on a backcountry trip, as the weather and conditions can often dictate the best course of action. Their easy-going nature contributed to a great hike, and we enjoyed a lot of laughs, some superb views, and a mix of conditions and elements that made the trip a wonderful adventure. For great vistas, it doesn’t get much better than this one. We camped right on that little shoulder to the right-hand side of this frame, tents looking straight across at 13 421′ tall Mt. Jarvis. Awesome!
I’m off again tomorrow (Monday) to photograph for a couple of days before packing for the Katmai Grizzly Bear Photo Tour. Should be a blast and I can’t wait; but, in the meantime, the forecast is for sunny skies and great light, fall color, and big mountains. Should be some nice photo opportunities.
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. Please click on the image to view a larger version of the photo.
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. Continue reading…
Hiker viewing Mt. Sanford, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska. Please click on the thumbnail to view a larger version of the photo.
Hey Folks,
Mount Sanford in early morning light. What a gorgeous morning!
Fall is such a great time for photography. The light has a quality that is tangibly different to any other time of year, and a cool clear morning is a real treat for a photographer.
This view of Mt Sanford, 6th highest peak in the US and 2nd highest in the Wrangell Mountains, is a great place to spend a morning. Here’s hoping for many more like this.
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. Please click the thumbnail to view a larger version of the photo.
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. Continue reading…
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. 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 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.
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. 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.
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.
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.
Watch this clip, destined to become a classic, to see a brief, sudden and welcome appearance by the great Usain Bolt; Usain pops up in the video and shows his classic ‘bow and arrow’ pose, while simultaneously unveiling some gorgeous new footwear. I managed to grab a few seconds of him on video before he raced out of sight.
I was trying to grab some footage of the Chitistone Valley in heavy fog, from the “Wolverine” landing strip, when Usain appeared. I believe this is the first time he’s visited Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, indeed Alaska itself. I’m sure he’ll make another appearance or 2 before the end of this season.
A pacific loon swimming on a pond on the coastal plain, in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, ANWR, Alaska. Waterfowl migrate thousands of miles to nest and breed and feed on the rich coastal plain of the Refuge in summer. (Gavia pacifica) Please click on the thumbnail to view a larger version of the photo.
Hey Folks,
A Pacific Loon, photographed on a pond on the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Taken at the end of our recent trip to ANWR, floating down the Canning River to the Arctic Ocean.
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.
Hikers enjoying horseplay of aufeis, Canning River, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), Alaska. Please click on the thumbnail to view a larger version of the photo.
Hey Folks,
Here’s a shot from our recent trip down the Canning River in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. You can see we had a lot of fun, great spirits, great weather, spectacular scenery and a great, great group of folks. What more could we ask for?
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.
