Tag Archives: scenics

Chitistone River

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Chitistone River and University Range, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska.

Chitistone River and University Range, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Please click on the image above to view a larger version of this photo.

Hey Folks,

Another frame from the evening after crossing the Goat Trail, this one looking west down the Chitistone River, as it pours toward the Nizina River a few miles down from here.

This hike is the first trip I ever made in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, and one of the first I ever did in Alaska. It’s always a real treat to return to the area and walk this valley again. The Chitistone Canyon is absolutely spectacular, and a fantastic backpacking trip.

Views like this don’t happen everyday, which made this particular trip even more fun. We had pretty good weather most of the trip, no bugs, and lots of laughs. Just what a trip to the mountains should be.

Cheers

Carl

Sunset over the University Range

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University Range, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska.

Sunset over the University Range and Chitistone River, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Please click on the image above to view a larger version of this photo.

Hey Folks,

A shot from a recent hike down the Chitistone Canyon; this frame looks south toward the University Mountain Range and the Chitistone Glacier. We’d hiked across the Goat Trail, a series of steep scree slopes that require a little attention, and made camp on a nice little plateau high above the Chitistone River. Dinner on the hillside and an evening with a spectacular view made a great end to a great day’s hiking.

The trip was a blast. We had good weather for the bulk of it, which cleared the way for great big views. We saw all the major mountains in the area, including the massive Mt. Bona and Mt Churchill, the Grand Parapet and the Twaharpies. We also saw a gaggle of grizzly bears (7 total, including a sow with 3 spring cubs), a fox, ground squirrels, golden eagles, ravens, ptarmigans, Dall sheep, mountain goats, and myriad ground nesting migratory birds.

Flowers were in full bloom and we had a good time with the guide book reviewing images and identifying as many as we could. Verna Pratts’s great guidebook on Alaska wildflowers is a great reference. For the most part we figured all of them, but a couple of mystery flowers had us all scratching our heads.

Mostly though, we hiked, napped, looked around, joked and chattered our way through a truly wonderful landscape; mountains and glaciers piled on top of mountains and glaciers. Good times indeed. And I’m heading back to the area this week for more of the same.

Cheers

Carl

Mount Saint Elias Photo

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Mount Saint Elias, 18 008' high,catches the last of the sun's rays for the day, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska | aerial photo.

Mount Saint Elias, 18 008′ high, catches the last of the sun’s rays for the day, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska – aerial photo. The rocky islands, or outcroppings, in the foreground are called Nunataks. Please click on the image above to view a larger version of this photo.

Hey Folks

Mount Saint Elias is possibly one of the great unsung heroes of American mountains, possibly all the world. Towering 18 008′ tall, the mountain rises right from sea level to its lofty summit. The Saint Elias coastal range are the world’s tallest coastal mountains, and Mount Saint Elias is their crown jewel. It’s also the crown jewel of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, the nation’s largest national park, and finest preserve of wildness and wilderness.

From the north, Mount Saint Elias is bordered by the Bagley Icefield, largest non polar icefield in North America at nearly 130 miles long. There is simply no end to the superlatives for this massif.

This photo is from the end of an amazing flight-seeing trip to the Saint Elias range. Absolutely jaw-dropping stuff. We didn’t arrive back to the landing strip until dark; super was late this night. But the chance to be in the presence of such magnificence is a treat to be savored as long as possible. I was pretty glad to have had the opportunity.

Mount Saint Elias is the 2nd tallest mountain in the nation, the 2nd tallest mountain in Canada (it sits right on the border). I’d be surprised if more than the smallest fraction of visitors to the region ever even see the mountain, however, simply because so few people make the trip. It’s not a roadside venture at all. But oh wow, oh so worth it.

More photos of Mount Saint Elias and the Saint Elias coastal Range region of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve.

Cheers

Carl

Mount Sanford Photo

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Mount Sanford, black and white photo, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska.

Black and white photo of Mount Sanford, one of the highest peaks in the Wrangell Mountains, at dawn, from a small frozen kettle pond. Winter snow creates patterns on the frozen lake. Mt. Sanford, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Please click on the thumbnail above to view a larger version of this photo.

Hey Folks,

Here’s an image of Mount Sanford, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, I took a while ago, that I converted to black and white in photoshop. I shot this after the alpenglow had faded, and the sun rose high enough in the sky to light up not just Mount Sanford’s massive peak, but the entire floor of the Copper River Basin.

It’s very easy to be tempted to pack up and head off after the alpenglow on a mountain wanes; I often find the light immediately following the alpenglow to be  unappealing to me. The sky has a weird yellowish tint to it, and the contrast between the dark, shaded foreground and the brightly lit peak is too great to really photograph well; for me, anyway.  Continue reading →

Aurora borealis last night

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Aurora borealis and waxing crescent moon, Alaska.

Aurora borealis and setting moon, in the Waxing Crescent phase, light up the winter night sky, Alaska. To view a larger version of this photo, please click on the image above.

Hey Folks,

Just a quick shot from last night’s Aurora. It wasn’t the greatest Aurora, but any aurora is a treat to witness. Here I managed to capture the slowly sinking moon, in the Waxing Crescent phase, before it disappeared beneath the horizon.

One piece of advice I’ll offer folks visiting Alaska to see/photograph the aurora – don’t drive around Alaska at night with under a half a tank of gas. And remember to bring a warm sleeping bag and sleeping pad in your vehicle.

Cheers

Carl

The Wrangell Mountains

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Wrangell Mountains, Willow Lake, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska.

Willow Lake and the Wrangell Mountains, wintertime, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska. From left to right, Mt Drum, Mt Sanford, Mt Zanetti, Mt Wrangell.  Please click on the image above to view a larger version of this photo.

Hey Folks

Well, maybe not all of them, but some of the stars, for sure.

Mt Drum, Mt Sanford, Mt Zanetti and Mt Wrangell, viewed from Willow Lake, along the Richardson Highway. It’s not always this clear, however, and so many of the people who drive by this scene have no idea what they’re missing. Perhaps more amazingly, when it IS clear, some people drive right by without so much as a glance.

Cheers

Carl

Mount Wrangell

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Willow Lake, frozen and snow covered, view across the Copper River basin to Mount Wrangell and Mt Zanetti, winter, alpenglow on the mountains, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska.

Willow Lake, frozen and snow covered, view across the Copper River basin to Mount Wrangell and Mt Zanetti, winter, alpenglow on the mountains, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska.

Hey Folks,

“only for a moment, and the moment’s gone” – Kerry Livgren.

Mount Wrangell, and Mount Zanetti glow at sunset. Viewed from Willow Lake, near the Richardson Highway.

Soon after, the light faded, and I headed home.

Cheers

Carl

 

Mount Blackburn Photo

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Hey Folks,

Winter in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Kuskulana River, Alaska.

Mount Blackburn – Winter in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Wrangell Mountains, Mount Blackburn, Kuskulana River, Winter, Alaska. Please click on the image above to view a larger version of this photo.

Mount Blackburn, the 5th highest peak in the US; a grand mountain!

Sometimes those moments in the mountains are just too grand to describe; This is one of those views that is beyond the sublime. The Great Horned Owls hooting behind me only added to the ambience. The more time I spend in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, the more impressive the place appears.

As the light faded, I quietly breathed my “thank you”, turned the skis around, and eased toward the night.

Cheers

Carl