Hey Folks,
Sunset on our 2nd last night of the Iceberg Lake to Bremner trip. We’d just wrapped up a tasty dinner, and I saw the clouds start to break a little. The valley we were camped in began to glow and I headed back to the tent to grab my camera. I shot this looking down towards the Bremner River, as I liked the deep rich color of the sky. I was hoping the cloud would get a little more color as the sun sank lower, but alas, it wasn’t to be so.
Cheers
Carl
Hey Folks,
Here’s an image from the recent Bremner Mines to Tebay Lakes trip we did. This one is of a small waterfall we passed by as we paralleled the East Fork of the Little Bremner River, heading west down out of the pass at Harry’s Gulch. This was definitely one of the coolest sections of the hike.
The night before we camped on a grassy bench just below the pass, had a visit at dinner time from a grizzly bear, and then enjoyed a really delightful walk down the valley. The stream grew larger and larger as other tributaries ran into it – up at the head of the pass it was a fraction of the size it was here.
Shortly after we stopped for this scene, we had a creek crossing of our own. The first of 2 that required some caution.
Fortunately everyone did great, and nobody took a dunking – just as well, because there were some nasty falls downstream that could’ve been problematic – like, really problematic.
Anyway, we had a great day hiking down the valley.
This scene really caught my eye, and the creek washed into a tight deep ravine just below here as well, which was pretty cool. At the end of the day we camped high on a ridge with views back up this valley – pretty sweet (not as sweet as my usual campsites, but someone else chose this one – I’m sure they’ll let it be known who).
I’m heading back to the park for another week, so I’ll schedule some posts for the interim and then reply when I return – stay tuned.
Cheers
Carl
hey Folks,
Well, this one is not from our last trip. This photo is of the Hubbard Glacier, from my trip in June down to SouthEast Alaska. The Hubbard is a well-known glacier, because it’s one of the most calvingest glaciers in the world. The Hubbard Glacier is over 70 miles long, reaching from it’s beginnings along the face of Mt. Logan, all the way to the Pacific Ocean, at Disenchantment Bay and the Russell Fjord. Lots of cruise ships pull in for a view, but because of the abundant icebergs in the bay, they keep their distance. Icebergs the size of a 10-story building frequently fall from the face of the Hubbard Glacier, not something one wants to be to close to. Continue reading
hey Folks,
Here’s one of the few images I took on this recent trip – the weather wasn’t too great for photography, much as it hasn’t been all summer long. We started our hike with drizzly, cloudy socked in skies and and cold damp air. The weather improved a little over the 8 days, but never for long. The rain and cold threatened pretty much constantly. This particular morning the skies were partially clear, but by lunch time the clouds ad rolled in and the blue skies gone. I was hoping to get at least something from this area, because it’s such a great scene. The broad alpine valleys really appeal to me, the expansive Alaskan landscape feels so welcoming to walk through. This was taken right from our little kitchen area, and the fall colors were great. The evening before was dreary, though the damp air really made the colors pop a little more.
This was taken just east of Bremner Mines, in the Monahan Creek drainage, on our trek from Iceberg Lake to Bremner Mines.
Cheers
Carl
hey Folks,
One evening on this recent trip was gorgeous – so right after dinner I was scampering around trying to find images to make. The peak behind camp was glowing in the setting sun, and I set up along a small stream by our ‘kitchen’. This is the view east from dinner. Unfortunately, we didn’t get too many evenings like this, and this was the only we did where our camp was in a spot I could shoot something from. One evening later in the trek was simply amazing, but we’d had to camp in the middle of some brush up a small tributary stream, and compositions weren’t working for me.
Cheers
Carl
hey Folks,
Another image from my evening with some sun.
Cheers
Carl
Hey Folks,
Well, this image isn’t from the Bremner to Tebay trek. Just a little break. This was from my trip down to Yakutat and the Tongass National Forest in June. Hiking in the forest is such a treat, especially in an ancient one like the Tongass. The mood of the place is simply awesome. I was a hundred yards from the Pacific Ocean here, yet the forest completely enveloped me, and it didn’t feel at all like a hike near the ocean to me.
The Tongass National Forest is a beautiful forest, and a national treasure. I hate to see the damage being done to it by industrial logging, and hope protections are put in place ASAP to help preserve what remains of this beautiful place.
Cheers
Carl
Hey Folks,
Here’s our Russian Dynamo, Sveta, sliding down a snowy slope on Day 2 of our trek from Bremner Mines to Tebay Lakes, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. The first slide she took wasn’t quite as intentional as this one, which made it a little more stressful, but later in the day she was all over this one. I think 4 out of the 6 people on the trip slid down this slope – a pleasant change from walking with a heavy backpack. The slope wasn’t quite steep enough to really get going fast, but it was fun nonetheless.
Just to give you an idea how dynamic the Alaskan weather is, the next morning we were swimming in a pond just down the valley from here – it changes fast. Continue reading
Hey Folks,
Here’s Sergei, also known as ‘Borat’. We ascended this pass on day 2 of our trip, in good weather, fortunately, and I scarpered ahead of some members of the group to grab a few photos. One of the few times I was close to the front of the group – it was a great group of hikers. Sergei acquired 2 nicknames this year – ‘Borat’, initially, because his Russian accent is almost a perfect rendition of the film character – his second nickname came a little later in the trip – Day 3, I believe. We’ll talk about that one on another post.
We had some great weather on this particular day, it cleared up nicely, and the hiking was superb – not too hot, but not raining. On this hike we went through 4 high alpine mountain passes, each of which was quite a slog. The first 2 were snow-covered, but the last 2 were snow free. This one had a nice glacier on both sides of the pass, which made good walking. The terminal moraine at the end of each glacier was a little more treacherous.
Cheers
Carl
Hey Folks,
Just back in from a GREAT hike – Bremner Mines, in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, to Tebay Lakes. We had an amazing time, and loved nearly every second of the trip. We started a little hesitantly – our flight in to the backcountry was a day late, due to inclement weather, and when we arrived, things hadn’t seemed to be on the improve. We hit a good hail storm within 10 minutes of landing and heading off – so rather than ‘tent it’, we stayed the first night in a little bunkhouse cabin near the old mines, currently occupied by the Park Service archaeologist, Barbara, a delightful and knowledgeable lady who made our night a treat. The next morning the weather was marginally better, and by the time we hit the first pass, close to lunch, we’d already hiked through a small snow storm. Here’s the view of the group at the pass, Jodee, Geoff, Svetlana, Mike and Sergei, from left to right. I think they’re wondering ‘what the hell are we doing up here’, before we set off down the steep snowy slope – an adventure, for sure.
All up, the trip was fantastic, the scenery incredible, the hiking a good challenge, and the group wonderful – everyone really chipped in and made this a memorable hike.
I’ll post some more over the next week or so.
Cheers
Carl