Category Archives: Backpacking and Hiking

Trekking, hiking, backpacking, camping, and all things to do with walking in the backcountry.

Backpacking trip; Hidden Creek

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Backpacking up Hidden Creek, in the Wrangell Mountains, near Kennicott, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska.

Backpacking up Hidden Creek, in the Wrangell Mountains, near Kennicott, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. To view a larger version of this image, please click on the photo above.

Hey Folks,

Here’s a shot again from the Hidden Creek backpacking trip this past summer. Well, if one can really call the last week of August in Alaska “summer”. We had a great time on the trip, as I mentioned in a few earlier posts, in particular because we were fortunate enough to have some fine weather. Those big sunny skies make the world of difference when you’re sleeping, eating and doing everything else under them.

I miss the summer already! Right now we’re kind of in that dead era between fall and winter. I’ve been back from my last trip (photographing grizzly bears in Katmai National Park) over 2 weeks now .. the longest stint i’ve spent inside the house since May. I think next week I’ll try to head to somewhere and sleep in my tent again. I need some wilderness, especially after sitting in a court room all week (so far) doing my civic service of jury duty.

This particular hike was rewarding as well,, because last year I did this section as part of a longer route, from Nugget Creek to Kennicott – 65 miles through the Wrangell mountains. However, most of the trip was under socked in, gray, cloudy skies, cold damp air and gusts of winds. It was a treat to get to see at least some of what we hiked through in the fog.

I think I’ll probably add this hike to my regular set of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park backpacking trips. It’s a flexible route, with a lot of options for detours, sidetrips, basecamps, extended hikes or shorter trips, etc, etc. And the scenery is simply superb. Continue reading →

Big Agnes Seedhouse SL1 in Snow

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Big Agnes Seedhouse SL1 campsite on snow, near Mt Jarvis, alpine tundra, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska.

Big Agnes Seedhouse SL1 backpacking campsite on snow, near Mt Jarvis, alpine tundra, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Please click on the image to view a larger version of the photo.

Hey Folks

Just a quick snapshot. Here’s  a photo from the campsite a day previous to the recent posting of my backcountry campsite. Camped at about 7 200′ ASL in September, in Alaska, snow can be expected.

There was a pretty good cover of fresh snow when we arrived at this spot, but we got another good dumping in the few days we were there, So, plenty of snow to go around! For the record, the Big Agnes Seedhouse SL1 handled the snowfall just fine.

Here’s a funky story to go with this campsite. Somehow I contracted Strep throat on this trip. I’m not sure where I got it, and who’s to blame for passing on this nasty little bug to me, but on day 3 of our trip, I didn’t feel so good. Continue reading →

Camped on the tundra; Big Agnes Seedhouse SL1

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A backcountry campsite high on the tundra in the Wrangell Mountains. The high alpine ridges near Mt Jarvis, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve provide a great place for hiking and backpacking. Sunset, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska.

A backcountry campsite (Big Agnes Seedhouse SL1) high on the tundra in the Wrangell Mountains. The high alpine ridges near Mt Jarvis, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve provide a great place for hiking and backpacking. Sunset, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Please click on the image above to view a larger version of the photo.

Hey Folks,

Just to stave off the impending deluge of grizzly bear photos, I thought I’d drop this one in here. This is from the last backpacking trip of the season for me, the recent Mt Jarvis excursion. Here’s a campsite I picked out all by myself, high on the tundra.

With a  night so wonderfully clear, the temperatures dropped down a bit during the evening, and it was plenty cold in the am when I awoke before dawn, and sauntered across the tundra to ‘reflection pond’, where I shot some of the recent images posted of Mt. Jarvis.

For this trip, I carried the Big Agnes Seedhouse SL1 tent that you see here. It’s a nice little 1 person tent, pretty roomy actually, and relatively light. Weighing under 3lbs, Continue reading →

Mt. Jarvis, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

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Sunrise glows on the peak of Mount Jarvis, and a near perfect reflection lights up a small alpine tarn in the Wrangell Mountains, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska.

Sunrise glows on the peak of Mount Jarvis, and a near perfect reflection lights up a small alpine tarn in the Wrangell Mountains, 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 quick one I thought I’d post from the recent backpacking trip up around Mt Jarvis. This was from the 2nd morning spent at ‘Reflection Pond’.

A few mornings earlier I’d made a long dash thru the snow covered alpine country to try to catch this scene at first light. Alas, I was too late, and alpen glow, always all too brief, faded as I strolled over the tundra. So I got up a little earlier, and made sure I was in place in time this morning. The couple along on the trip, Tracey and Brad, from Chicago, were split on whether to come along. Brad stayed in camp, and Tracey joined me for the walk in near darkness over to this pond. It’s not easy to be woken at 5:00am from a sound sleep, and 5 minutes later clamber out of a tent in the dark, gather up all your camera gear, and hike a mile or so. Tracey managed it well though, and we go to this little tarn in good time. Great job Tracey.

The alpenglow and sunrise was really pretty, and I made a few images; this recent posting is from earlier the same morning. It was funny how quickly the color of the light changed. A warm, magenta/pink glow very rapidly became a nice warm yellow, then a cooler white as the sun rose. I’ve never seen it shift quite so quickly as it did this particular morning.

Another interesting note; it’s amazing to me how regularly a small breeze seems to kick up right at dawn, just as the alpenglow lights up a mountain peak, and ripples the surface of whatever pond I intend to photograph, obliterating a reflection. then, just as quickly, the breeze subsides and the reflection returns – always, just after the pink alpenglow ebbs away. I wonder if it’s some kind of temperature inversion or something that goes on, because it happens way too frequently. I’d be interested to see if others have seen this same thing happen a lot.

The Mt Jarvis trip was a great week. We got some nice photos, superb views, and I enjoyed the hang time with Brad and Tracey, 2 great folks, hardy souls, who braved the Wrangell mountains in September. Trust me, walking around at 7000-8000 feet in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park in September is not for the timid. I’ll definitely be back there again and again.

NB: I’m currently in Katmai for 2 weeks. I’ll try to have a few posts scheduled for while I’m gone. don’t go away now, y’all.

Cheers

Carl

Mt. Jarvis, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park

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Dawn rises over Mount Jarvis, alpenglow lighting the mountain and it's reflection. Fall, Mt. Jarvis, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska.

Dawn rises over Mount Jarvis, alpenglow lighting the mountain and it’s reflection. Fall, Mt. Jarvis, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. To view a larger version of the photo, please click on the thumbnail.

Hey Folks

Mt Jarvis, in all it’s 13 421′ glory.

A recent trek up around the Mt Jarvis area yielded some amazing scenery and fantastic views. I hadn’t been to the area before, and will definitely be heading back next year. To camp within a few hundred yards of this mountain face is a treat indeed. We were pretty lucky, for sure, considering we were camped at about 7200′ in the Wrangell Mountains in September!

We had a real mix of weather, from snow storms and rain to gorgeous sunny days; which I’ll take gladly. The trek was a lot of fun, with a great couple from Chicago, Brad and Tracey. I appreciated their flexibility and easy going nature, which allowed me to sneak out a morning or 2 and grab some photos. Tracey joined me once or twice, and both Brad and Tracey got up early on our final morning to make a a mad dash out the Nabesna Rd in the hopes of snaring some nice alpenglow on Mt Sanford. Much appreciated, Tracey and Brad. What a gorgeous morning that turned out to be.

This is a quick one folks – the weather forecast here this week is too promising to spend in town, so I’ll be heading back out on Monday for a couple of days to hopefully get some more fall color and nice light on the big mountains. Be back later for a day or 2, then heading to Katmai to photograph the great grizzly bears. Then it’s October.

Cheers

Carl

Wrangell Mountain Reflections

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Reflections in the morning, of fresh snow or termination dust on the Wrangell Mountains, near Mount Blackburn, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska.

Reflections in the morning, of fresh snow or termination dust on the Wrangell Mountains, near Mount Blackburn, 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 another image, taken earlier, of the scene outside my tent door a few mornings ago. After spending the previous day in the rain, cold, sleet and snow, I went to bed hoping for an improvement in the weather.

All during dinner, I had watched the snowline on the peaks above camp come ever slowly down the mountains – lower and lower. Now, listening to the rain fall on my tent, I didn’t imagine much change happening.

Turning off my headlamp, it was lights out, and I had barely a flicker of hope for the rest of the hike – the continuing patter of rain falling on my tent a sound I was about done with. Eventually that sound faded and then ceased altogether – at first I thought it had simply turned to snow, but a glance outside confirmed that nope, the rain had actually stopped. Woo hoo! Continue reading →

Hidden Creek

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Hidden Creek valley, in the Wrangell mountains. A popular backpacking route, Hidden Creek in the Wrangell Mountains is a wonderful hike. Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska.

Hidden Creek valley, in the Wrangell mountains. A popular backpacking route, Hidden Creek in the Wrangell Mountains over to the Lakina River is a wonderful hike. Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Please click on the image to view a larger version of the photo.

Hey Folks,

I’ve headed out again for the next trip, but will schedule this post in advance. This is from close to the pass above Hidden Creek, looking back down the valley we’d just hiked. We walked up the south side of the valley (right side in the frame), then crossed and climbed up to a bench on the north side of the pass. Camping up there was simply awesome. 2 bands of Dall sheep were wandering the mountains above us, and we saw mountain goats higher still.

Hidden Creek is simply stunning. This particular afternoon, we crested the pass and camped on the other side of the saddle, which is where the previous post’s photo (“Reflections”) was taken. Suffice it to say that the back half of the trek is just as rocking as the front half.

Suffice it to say, I’ll be on this route again next year. 🙂

Cheers

Carl

Waterfall – Wrangell St. Elias

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A waterfall in the high alpine mountain country of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska.

A waterfall in the high alpine mountain country of 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 waterfall from our trip up Hidden Creek, in Alaska’s Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve. This particular morning, I knew exactly what I wanted to shoot; I’d hiked up to the area here, above our camp, the evening and poked around a bit, looking for some scenes to shoot. As the following morning broke, I stole away from camp, camera in hand, and spent a few hours up here photographing.

For this image, I believe I used a crappy old scratched up 2-Stop Soft Edge neutral Density filter from Singh Ray – knowing I would get back home after the trip to open a box from B&H photo with 2 shiny new scratch-free filters awaiting me.

I still prefer to shoot with a filter, when possible, over taking multiple exposures and blending them together later. But damn if those filters don’t get all scratched up easily.

Not too long after shooting this frame, I was seated in my thermarest chair, enjoying a coffee and Mary Jane’s Farm organic oatmeal – mmhhhmmm!

Quite a nice morning. Sadly, it ended all too briefly, as we had to break camp and backpack up over the pass. Good thing we didn’t linger too long though, as we arrived just in time to get setup before the rains came. It’s nice to have the tents and cook tarp set up BEFORE the rains/sleet/hail/snow come down.

Cheers

Carl

Reflections

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The Wrangell Mountains, covered in fresh snow, or 'termination dust', in early fall, and reflection in a small unnamed alpine lake. Wrangell mountains, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska.

The Wrangell Mountains, covered in fresh snow, or ‘termination dust’, in early fall, and reflection in a small unnamed alpine lake. Wrangell mountains, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Please click on the image to view a larger version of the photo.

Hey Folks,

How’s this one for a turn around? I just got back from a great hike with the Ball family, a trio of Texans who came up to Alaska in 2006 and ventured out on a trip that still stands on record as the worst weather of any backpacking trip I’ve ever done. 10 days solid of near snow, ice sleet and rain the entire trip!

Hardy folks, these texans; amazingly, they came back this year for round 2. Somewhat trepidatiously, I cautiously planned the hike. We scheduled it for a route that I walked last year in nothing but horrible weather .. I figured this way, when the Texans brought their nasty weather up here, I’d be on a route I was comfortable hiking in bad weather. 🙂

Here’s the scene I awoke to Sunday morning – this is the view literally outside my tent door. What a fantastic morning, and trip overall, this was. Some great people, great scenery, and great weather. Welcome to Alaska, Texans!

We laughed a lot, hiked a lot, ate a lot, and enjoyed some of the best mountain scenery Alaska, or anywhere else, has to offer. Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve – best viewed from my tent door.

Cheers

Carl