Alpenglow on Stairway Icefall, Wrangell St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

Alpenglow on Stairway Icefall, Wrangell St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

Hey Folks

Well, this one will be the last of my current winter series. This is another photo of the Wrangell Mountains, Donoho Peak, and the moraine at the toe of Kennicott Glacier and Root Glacier. You can clearly see from the snow tha this is wintertime. No disputing that!

What I really like about winter here is that I can shoot the sunset, alpenglow and be back for dinner. A few months ago Continue reading

Glacial hiking, Wrangell St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

Glacial hiking, Wrangell St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

Hey Folks

Another image from my little venture into the winter wonderland of Wrangell St. Elias National Park out on the Kennicott Glacier. This is another of those spots that would’ve been ridiculously difficult to get to in the summer. The river and a large lake block the route, which would mean a long and arduous clamber over the moraine approaching from the east .. I’m not even sure it’d be possible. I walked right up to this wall and took a few photos. This one I need to reprocess, I did it on my laptop. I’m not sure the calibration is right, and will look at it on my iMac, but for now, this shall do. Continue reading

Winter hiking, Wrangell St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

Winter hiking, Wrangell St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

Hey Folks

That peak there in the middle of the frame is called “Donoho Peak”. I kid you not! And folks ask why I love ths place? I even have my own mountain (misspelled though it is)!

This is me (of course) looking up towards the Wrangell Mountains. Mt. Blackburn is just out of the frame, a 16 500′ mountain that rocks my world. The Kennicott Glacier roars down from the mountain on the west (our left) of Donoho Peak, and joins up with the Root Glacier which comes in from the right hand side of Donoho. Continue reading

Kennicott Glacier, Wrangell St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

Kennicott Glacier, Wrangell St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

Hey Folks,

Here’s another photo from my recent trip to the Wrangells. This is a photo of a couple of chunks of ice. I spent quite a bit of time right around this little area, watching the light – it’s amazing how much it changes in a very short time in the winter here. I found some great pieces of ice and chunks and walls and all kinds of cool stuff. If it had been summer, I wouldn’t have been able to cross the river and lake to get to this part of the glacier. Continue reading

Ice forming, Wrangell St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

Multi-colored rocks under ice, Wrangell St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

Hey Folks

I made it back to Anchorage, at long last. What a debacle that was! After countless hours, and even more countless dollars, my van is up and running, just like it was when it left here. And we’re not really any the wiser as to what the problem may have been. It could’ve been the PCM board (kind of like the mother board computer for the vehicle), but it just as easily could’ve been a $15.00 relay (like a fuse). Or, it could’ve been something completely different, sitting in wait to strike again at some untimely moment. It (the van) suddenly started running fine, and nobody knows why. The joys of electrical components and cars and computers, all together!!! I’ll be pretty stressed out driving around for a while. Ugghh!!

This is another photo from the trip – the first one I took, actually. I saw the ice had started to form on this little creek, and wandered over to see what I could see. Continue reading

Snowshoe hare tracks Wrangell St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

snowshoe hare tracks Wrangell St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

Hey Folks

I’m still in Glennallen. Bummer!

The library has reasonable access to the internet, meaning, at least it works. So I figured I may as well post a note here.

This image is from my recent trip. I was walking along the edge of the lake here, on the ice, and following this set of snowshoe hare tracks. Out of nowhere they venture out on to the ice and do this really cool little loop, then back on course. I thought it was awesome. I know the photo’s hardly wall-hanger, but the scene caught my eye – it just seemed to interesting to wonder why the little rabbit walked a perfect circle like this .. maybe he was just exuberant about it being winter, and such a lovely day. Maybe he had just had his van fixed and was in a good mood. Maybe he just felt like walking in a circle. Whatever the reason, I thought it was pretty cool, so I took this photo.

I’m not sure when I’ll get internet access again, hopefully it won’t be too long, and I’ll post another from the winter here in Alaska (don’t go giving me this ‘it’s still fall nonsense, neither!!!) 🙂

Cheers

Carl

Things I’ve learned about winter in Alaska.

Glacier wall, Kennecott Glacier, Wrangell St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

Hey Folks,

Well, I’m in still on my trip here to Wrangell St. Elias National Park. This is really my first time taking a solo venture into the park in the winter time, and I’ve learned a lot. So far, the things I’ve learned include:

* If your van breaks down on the McCarthy Rd, it helps a lot to have a satellite phone with you.
* If your van breaks down on the middle of an ice-covered bridge, and you have to push it across the bridge, it really helps to have a set of crampons with you.
* It costs an awful lot of money to have your van towed to Glennallen.
* A fuel pump going bad is very expensive. Continue reading

Amazing Concert – Bill Frisell

Alaska Cotton Grass and Chugach Mountains, Wrangell St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

Hey Folks,

I just got home a little while ago from an incredible concert here in Anchorage. I saw Bill Frisell, an AMAZING musician, with Greg Leisz on pedal steel guitar (among other instruments) and Jenny Scheinman on violin. Absolutely amazing. They performed a number of pieces composed and/or arranged to accompany a slide show of photos by Mike Disfarmer. The images themselves are compelling. The music, in Bill’s typical style, is quirky, yet flowing. Together, the performance is beautiful. Continue reading

Notes from a Caribou Whisperer

The Caribou Whisperer

WARNING: – The following journal was sent to me (Carl) from my dad. Read on at your own risk – he does tend to ‘go on’ a little.

JOTTINGS ON OUR TRIP TO ALASKA AND THE NORTH AMERICAN ROCKIES

Dear Blog,

I’m not sure whether that’s the correct way to address a blog, but it’ll have to do for now.

Sorry for the delay in penning these brief notes on our trip to Alaska and the North American Rockies. I had to wait till the ice melted in my veins and the blood started flowing again.

After a very pleasant stay of two days in the lovely city of Vancouver, made all the more pleasant by catching up with an old Aussie mate and his partner, we embarked on our Cruise up the Inside Passage to Alaska. Continue reading

A Crazy Kayaker on the Baker River, Patagonia, Chile.

A whitewater kayaker on a play wave, Baker River, Chile.

Hey Folks

Why 2 posts so close to one another? I just got an email from this fella, whom I met and hung with in Chile this last winter (their summer). We went down to the Baker River together, along with a bunch of crazy folks, and all had a good time. We were there for 4 days, but the trip took another 2 days traveltime. It was quite a mission. Continue reading