Winter in Alaska

February 25th, 2008 by Carl D

Snowshoeing, winter, in the boreal spruce forest, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

Hey Folks,

Just a quick note to let you know I’m still around. As you can see, I’ve been getting out a bit, over in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, and there’s plenty of snow around to keep things interesting. It was nearly minus 50deg F a couple of weeks ago, and skiing and snow shoeing was a task. But I did manage to get out every day and enjoy the woods.

The winter is absolutely amazing in the Wrangells, and though the weather can at times be somewhat adversarial, it’s so worth the experience. Fortunately, the road in to McCarthy is reasonable this year, though it does have a few glaciers across it that require caution. If anyone’s headed in to the park, bring some chains, though so far they haven’t been requisite. Do bring snow shoes, skis a hat and gloves!

Anyway, I’ll try to get back to posting information as I have time. I hope you’re all have a good winter, and getting in shape for a big summer backpacking season. It’ll be here before you know it!

Cheers

Carl

Last post for a while.

January 4th, 2008 by Carl D

Hiking and backpacking on the Kennicott Glacier, near McCarthy, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

Hey Folks,

Just a quick post to say I won’t be around much for the next while. I’ll be in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park shooting for my book project, and so won’t have a lot of time or internet access to update the blog, but will do so as I’m able. Feel free to comment or post, or email me if you have any questions, and I’ll definitely reply as soon as I am able. I’ll try to check in at least every few days or so, depending on the availability of email access. Be patient. 🙂

So, for now, stay warm, and enjoy the rest of the winter.

Cheers

Carl

Happy New Year

December 31st, 2007 by Carl D

Mt. Bona and Mt Churchill dominate the University Range, and the Russell Glacier meanders in the foreground, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

Hey Folks,

Happy New Year, and all the best for the coming new year.

Cheers

Carl

Skolai to Wolverine.

December 28th, 2007 by Carl D

A female hiker rests on a boulder in the Chittistone Valley, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

Hey Folks,

Here’s a short trip review of a trip we did this previous summer. Skolai to Wolverine, also known as the Goat Trail, a favorite route for just about everyone who’s done it. We did this trip in 2007 in late July, early August, and had a blast. Allowing extra days to spend on route gave us the leeway to make some shorter days, with less time carrying heavy packs, and more time eating good food, enjoying the lingering sunsets, and dayhiking and exploring the region. We hiked up to Hole in the Wall on our first afternoon, where we saw and photographed a family of White-tailed ptarmigans, along with some Dall sheep. Hole in the Wall is one of the first places most visitors get to be up close with a glacier, so it’s always a treat. We had a late lunch up in the hanging valley, and moseyed back down to camp in the early evening. The following day we hiked over to Chitistone Pass, where we set up and camp and did a short walk around that area. Continue reading…

Happy Holidays

December 24th, 2007 by Carl D

Happyl Holidays and Happy New Year!

Hey Folks,

Just a quick note to anyone out there to say we wish you all the Happiest of Holidays, and all the best to you and yours for the coming year.

Warmest Regards

Carl and Expeditions Alaska

Happy Solstice

December 22nd, 2007 by Carl D

Ice pillars on Kennicott Glacier glow in the late afternoon sun, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

Hey Folks,

Happy Solstice!

The longest night of the year, and the shortest day of the year. Here in Anchorage, Alaska that means sunup around 10:30am and sunset around 3:30pm. And darkness. So for now, the days will start getting longer, though colder. Winter Solstice is December 21, and summer solstice, the longest day of the year, is June 21. Equinox is March 21 and Sept 21, both days when, technically, everywhere on the planet gets the same amount of day and night. I’m not sure it works out exactly to be that way, but that’s the theory behind it, anyway.

So, for the shortest day of the year, I’ll make it a short post.

Happy solstice, folks.

Cheers

Carl

PS – the photo is from Kennicott Glacier, near McCarthy, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

Website updates

December 21st, 2007 by Carl D

Kayaker surfing a wave on the Baker River, Patagonia, Chile.

Hey Folks,

I just thought I’d post a quick note here and let you know of the updates recently done to the website. We’ve made a few aesthetic additions to the site, hopefully making a little more enjoyable for you to browse around. The first thing you might like to see is the automated slide show I did from the Images of the Month for 2007. Also, the Eye of the Beholder gallery in finished.

I put a small slide show on the home page, and added a slide show of images from part of the Bremner to Tebay trip. Check that out for sure!

We also made a few minor changes here and there, and will be finishing up some of the other odds and ends while we’re at it. If you see any glaring errors, feel free to drop us a line and we’ll get on it.

Also, you might want to look over at Skolai Images and look at some of the updates there. In particular is a nice slide show of images from Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. And if you really want to look at a lot of photos from the park, check out the Wrangell-St. Elias Stock Photos page.

Well, that’s about it for now. I hope you enjoy the new stuff on the site. Oh, and the picture here is my friend Santiago Ibanez, from Peru, smokin’ on a surf wave on the Baker River, or Rio Baker, in Patagonia, Chile. The Baker River is an incredible river, and we had a fantastic trip there in April 2007. Thanks, and all the best.

Cheers

Carl

Kuskulana Bridge, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park.

December 21st, 2007 by Carl D

Fall colors on the Kuskulana Bridge, McCarthy Rd, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

Hey Folks

Here’s a photo from fall in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. This is a shot of sunrise over the infamous Kuskulana Bridge and Kuskulana Gorge. The gorge is 280 feet deep, and nearly 600 feet wide. The bridge was originally built in 1911 to allow the Kennecott Mining Corporation access to the lucrative Copper Mines by the Kennicott glacier. It’s been rebuilt and strengthened a lot, but it’s still pretty crazy to see it. This is on the McCarthy Road, at mile 17. We always stop on the way and walk out on the bridge, take some pictures, etc. It’s a cool welcome to the park, for sure. In fall, the river level drops down markedly from the summer high water, and it also becomes much cleaner, with less glacial silt in it. It’s amazing how quickly the Kuskulana River goes from being a raging dirty glacial river to a smaller clear stream in early september. Sometimes a few days makes a world of difference.

Cheers

Carl

Photography and backpacking

December 19th, 2007 by Carl D

Hiker on the broad open coastal plain of arctic Alaska; ANWR, Alaska.

Hey Folks,

As I’m updating the website, I’m redoing the Image of the Month pages, and won’t be writing content on the old (now deleted) pages – so I’m going to transfer some of the past notes I’ve written on the image of the month pages to the blog, that way it’s all in one place, searchable, and much better organized. Here’s another piece I wrote a while back about backpacking and photography. Some of the issues are how to pack camera gear, how to keep camera gear weight down, the hassles of digital cameras, and how to ‘get your shots’. Continue reading…

Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska – Overview.

December 5th, 2007 by Carl D

Hole in the Wall, Wrangell St.Elias National Park, Alaska.

Hey Folks,

I thought I might write a small post here about my favorite National Park, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. Though it’s the largest national park in North America, and possibly the most impressive as well, it’s relatively little visited; many people have never even heard the words Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. the park gets (as of 2007) less than 40 000 visitors a year. Denali National Park gets close to a million, and parks in the Lower 48 states such as the Smokies or Yellowstone get in the vicinity of 10 million.

Wrangell St. Elias National Park is nearly times larger than Yellowstone National park, at 14 million acres of wild, remote, gorgeous country. Established as a National Park in 1980, the area was proclaimed a World Heritage Site in 1979. Together with Glacier Bay National Park, Wrangell St. Elias adjoins Continue reading…

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