Book Lists

March 21st, 2008 by Carl D

Sunset over Skolai pass, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

Hey Folks,

Anyone out there looking for some good reading material? I thought I’d make a post that lists some books I’ve really enjoyed – I’ll add to it as I go, and would appreciate any visitors adding their favorites to the list. I’ll start with some great nature books:

Thoreau (of course): My favorite is “Walking”
Jack Turner: “The Abstract Wild”
Derrick Jensen: “Listening to the Land”
Paul Shepard: “Coming Home to the Pleistocene”
Jack London: “Call of the Wild” (I know, I know, it’s fiction, but wow, what great fiction!!!!)
Wendell Berry: “Another Turn of the Crank”
Doug Peacock: “The Grizzly Years”
Aldo Leopold: “A Sand County Almanac”
Bill McKibben: “The End of Nature”

That’s enough for starters – I’ll add more as they come to me!

Cheers

Carl


Canning River Rafting Trip, ANWR, Alaska.

March 10th, 2008 by Carl D

Rafting float trip, Canning River, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, ANWR, Alaska.

Hey Folks,

I’m super excited to announce the 2008 Canning River Rafting trip in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, or ANWR this coming July. We’ll be leaving Fairbanks on June 29, and don’t return until July 14 .. 4 solid weeks of exploring and traveling in the arctic is hard to beat. Room is a premium on this trip, so it’s wise to get in early. 2 people are already booked, and we won’t have more than 5 people on this trip, plus 2 guides (if the trip is full), so definitely start making preparations!

The trip will include flying into ANWR, to the headwaters of the Marsh Fork, in the heart of the Brooks Range, just on the north side of the Continental Divide. The Upper Marsh Fork is pristine mountain terrain, and we’ll spend some time exploring and hiking the peaks and valleys to see more of this region as we make our way north. After a couple of days we join up with the Canning River, continuing through the Brooks Mountains – spectacular country. We go through 2 very cool canyons; they’re short but really neat little canyons. Sometimes Dall sheep are in the area, and caribou, grizzly bear, wolves and wolverines too!

Gradually, as we wind our way north, we reach the coastal plain, which is seemingly endless. The Canning and the Staine river (pronounced Steen) lead us to the coast, where we’ll see the arctic ice pack, just off shore, the Beaufort Sea and Arctic Ocean. We’ll visit the renowned Bird Camp, and hopefully get some great opportunities at photographing migratory birds that visit the area, including tundra swan, shorebirds, sea ducks, loons, and maybe even snowy owls. Arctic foxes and red foxes are in the area, and we’ll also see arctic terns as well. The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is famous for 2 herds of caribou, the Porcupine Caribou Herd and the Central Arctic Herd, and we have a good chance of seeing either as they make their way along their migratory routes.

We’re allowing plenty of time for this trip .. so we won’t be pushed for time, we’ll have lots of free time for hiking and photographing and exploring along the way. We’ll try to get around in the best hours for wildlife viewing and landscape photography, as the midnight sun allows 24 hour travel. A trip to ANWR is always a treat, and I can’t way for summer to roll around and to get back up to this incredible place.

Rafting is the way to travel in ANWR, we’ll cover lots of ground with little effort, there are very few rapids at all, it’s a great float down the river. We will do some hiking on both the coastal plain and in the mountains, but with the raft we can get ourselves and all our gear over 100 miles northward with far less effort than a regular backpacking trip would require. Campsites abound along the way, and we’re sure to have a blast. The weather in the high arctic is typically dry during the summer, so it’s a trip that’s hard to beat. Contact me at Expeditions Alaska for more information.

We also have an exceptional ANWR Backpacking trip you should check out.

Cheers

Carl


Back on Track

March 2nd, 2008 by Carl D

Winter sunset, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

Hey Folks,

Welcome back. It’s been a stressful week, working to change server from one very poor webhost I’d had in the past to the new host. Hopefully all the glitches have been worked out and the site is back to normal. If you run across any anomalies, please use the contact link, or write a post here and let me know. I’d appreciate it, thank you. I think we’ve got it all working again though.

Thanks

Cheers

Carl


Please Excuse

February 29th, 2008 by Carl D

Hey Folks,

Please excuse us for the minute. This site is changing to a new webhost server, and it might be a few days before I get the blog running correctly again. Currently it seems as if all the old posts aren’t accessible. I’ll try to rectify this and get the blog back to normal ASAP.

Thanks.

Cheers

Carl


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.


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