Hey Folks,
I think Ron Niebrugge owes me dinner – don’t you? I’ve been stalking this here Wolverine for a couple of years now, and every time I’ve spotted him, I had left my camera behind this time I was ready, and after years of hard work, I finally photographed a wolverine.
National Park Visitor’s Center, Kennecott, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska.
Cheers
Carl
Hey Folks,
What would be the name of this Mountain? We’ve all heard how hard hiking in Alaska is, right? Here’s a tough morning.
Cheers
Carl
Hey Folks,
A short, easy quiz. Name these 2 peaks. I’ll give you a hint – this was taken on my recent hike over the Sanford Plateau. I’ll be back to check in on you when I return from my trip to Skolai Pass.
Cheers
Carl
Hey Folks,
I ran across what is easily the biggest moose rack I’ve ever come across in the woods a few days ago. I was on the last leg of a hike in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, from the Sanford River drainage over the Sanford Plateau, and down to the Dadina River. Natalie (pictured) and I were sauntering through the forest, along the Dadina River when I spotted this rack, not far from the game trail we were walking along. This was one BIG bull moose – I don’t know what happened to the grand old fella, but he’s bones now. He must’ve been a pretty awesome creature back in the day. There are a number of wolves in the area, and grizzly bears as well, and I’m sure he fed them well, along with the myriad other carnivores in the region – wolverine, fox, marten, gulls, ravens, eagles, etc. What a treat it must’ve been for them when he passed, and what a treat it would’ve been to see him walking through the forest beforehand. RIP, great bull.
Some of you might remember I did this hike last summer, and we found this awesome natural ice arch on the Sanford Glacier. Sad to say, the arch has had its day. We hiked up the moraine and crested the ridge right before the arch, only to see a huge gaping gap between the 2 side walls – no bridge at all. Ironically, a couple who were up there the week prior to our trip said the arch was still there, so we only missed it by a few days. It seems the arch collapsed under glacial movement, not melting, as the left side of the gap is noticeably higher than it used to be – in fact, the wall ascends away from the gap, where it used to descend. So I’m pretty sure pressure from the glacier caused the collapse of the arch, not melting – though melting may have been a contributing factor, as the summer has been hot, hot hot so far. Except, of course, for the day we hiked up to the now gone arch – it rained like a sonuvagun that day – so no pics of the fallen arch. I should’ve taken a picture, instead, of me, drenched to the bone, in my failed (and now history) Marmot Precip raingear. The jacket and pants had done their time and now are beyond redemption. Fortunately, it didn’t rain again for the rest of the trip until the final night, when I was tucked away in my very dry tent. I should’ve known better than to carry my old gear, but I thought it might still work reasonably well. Alas, it didn’t and I got a soaking. Toughened me up though.
Heading out tomorrow for a week at Skolai Pass. Woo hoo. I’ll try to schedule another post while I’m away, from this last trip, but it’s hard – summer’s the time for hiking, not blogging.
Cheers
Carl
Hey Folks,
Here’s a quick one while I’m hiking. I saw this bull moose a few times this spring, feeding on the aquatic plants that grow on the lake bed this time of year. Quite a rack for early June. He’ll be quite a sought after moose come this fall when the subsistence hunters look around Wrangell-St. Elias National Park for their winter meat. As much as I like for my friends to eat well, I hope nobody gets this guy.
Cheers
Carl
Hey Folks,
Summer solstice just passed us by, so I thought I’d post the only solar image I have – a Waxing gibbous moon, just after the half moon, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska, from this past spring. I was really hoping to spend summer solstice up on the same ridge that I spent winter solstice, but wasn’t able to swing it, as I had to scurry back in to Anchorage to prepare for a trip, which I’m currently on. I’ll post one more photo from the spring while I’m gone, and then try to get some images up from my present trip. I’ll try (I mean that, REALLY try) to keep some regular posts going, but this time of year is it hard to do so.
Cheers
Carl
Hey Folks,
Here’s a look at a Snowshoe hare (lepus americanus) just as it starts to pelage and change to its summer coat, and below, a look at another hare further along in the process. I like to try to photograph animals in the various stages of their phenology, and also to try some different kinds of compositions – the one below showing a little more of the forest this snowshoe hare lives in, and what they might do this time of year; sit in the morning sun and catch some rays after a long, cold winter. Continue reading
Hey Folks,
Cross Country skiing this spring along the Kennecott River. This is why they call this time of year (April) “breakup”. This spring was probably some of the funnest times I’ve had in a long time. What a great time and place!
You might notice my hip new Karhu 10th Mountain XCD backcountry skis. All I can say about ’em is these skis ROCK!!! Continue reading
Hey Folks,
Here’s another shot of the Wrangell Mountains from my recent trip to the north side of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. The 2 main peaks are Mt. Drum towards the right, and the broad based mound of Mt Wrangell on the left. The small cone shaped dome on the left, touching Mt Wrangell, is Mt. Zanetti. This is a panoramic composition, produced by stitching several tighter frames together using Photoshop – a pretty neat little tool that allows a variety of compositional options not as readily available to a standard 35mm SLR. Cool stuff.
On a clear day, there are few grander sites in North America than the Wrangell Mountains. This was taken right at sunset.
Cheers
Carl
A winter sunset over the Mentasta Mountains, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska.
Hey Folks,
“The effort to clarify our sight cannot begin in the society, but only in the eye and in the mind. It is a spiritual quest, not a political function. We each must confront the world alone and learn to see it for ourselves”. So says Wendell Berry, one of my favorite writers, in his book “The Unforeseen Wilderness”. The book, a dearly needed plea to save Kentucky’s Red River Gorge from a nefarious plan to dam it, was written nearly 40 years ago. I haven’t read the book completely yet, as I just bought it this afternoon. But I glanced at it, and this passage caught my attention. Berry continues on:
“the figure of the photographic artist – not the tourist-photographer who goes to a place, bound by his intentions and preconceptions, to record what has already been recorded and what he therefore expects to find, but the photographer who goes into a place in search of the real news of it”.* Continue reading
