Tag Archives: Wrangell – St. Elias National Park

Mount Bona and alpenglow

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Mount Bona, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska.

Russell Glacier and Mount Bona and Mount Churchill, alpenglow at sunset, and an array of wildflowers in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Please click on the image above to view a larger version of this photo.

Hey Folks,

Here’s an oldie but a goodie; well, not really an ‘oldie’ in the sense of a photo I took a long time ago, but a recent version of a favorite scene of mine; Mt. Bona, Mt. Churchill, the University Peaks and the Russell Glacier, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve. I shot a very similar composition to this a few years ago on a Skolai Pass Photo Tour in the fall.

We very nearly didn’t get this scene last week. After a long backpack (made even longer by twice running a grizzly sow with her 3 cubs) we made camp and had a well – deserved supper. Tired, I watched as the light started to get better in the late evening, and thought it might be worth a hike a little further over toward this scene. In part because I wanted to shoot the alpenglow, but also because I wasn’t sure if the weather would hold until the next day, and I so wanted the 2 people on the trip to get to see this view while it was clear; I convinced one of the folks to join me for a walk, and we headed off toward the glacier.

When we arrived, the sun was still well up, and the light not nearly so warm. We made some photos, scouted out possible compositions, and waited around for the evening light; instead, the light faded; distant clouds behind us blocked the fading sun from the mountains, and the light dimmed. I thought it might be worth heading back toward camp in the hope of maybe catching some colorful clouds at sunset. We walked about 10 minutes in that direction and starting shooting some images in that area. I turned and saw the light in this direction start to glow again, and knew it would be a good idea to head back.

I had to hustle back got back just in time to catch the last of the alpenglow. Having already been here earlier, I knew exactly the foreground I wanted, which lens and composition I wanted, and this shot was merely a matter of pointing and shooting.

I guess in some ways this scene isn’t anything new, as I’ve shot almost from this very spot before; but it’s not a bad place to spend a nice afternoon, and even make some photos all the same.

Cheers

Carl

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

American Porcupine Photo

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American Porcupine, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska.

An American Porcupine, Erethizon dorsatum, in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Please click the image above to view a larger version of this photo.

Hey Folks,

It’s always a treat to photograph a species I’ve never photographed before (or at least made any “keepers” of). Our recent trip up near the Nizina Glacier, in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve seemed to be porcupine central. I think I saw 3 in the first 6 hours of the trip. That’s pretty cool, considering I often go the entire summer season without seeing any porcupines at all.

This one wasn’t too concerned about my camera clicking away, and I managed to snag a few images where he wasn’t buried in the thicker brush (Soapberry – Sherpherdia canadensis) and forest they typically might be found.

I’m guessing the young cottonwood saplings were his dinner. I saw a number porcupines out in the gravel bars of the riverbed, where the main vegetation was pretty much what you see here; the cottonwood saplings, Yellow Dryas (Dryas Drummondii) and the Wild Sweet Pea (Hedysarum Mackenzii). Continue reading →

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

Click This; April 2011

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Brown bear backlit at dawn, Katmai National Park, Alaska.

A coastal brown bear, Ursus arctos, walks along Brooks River shoreline at dawn, backlit, Katmai National Park and Preserve, Alaska.

Hey Folks

Next up in this series of news of the month pieces.

This month, I haven’t been spending as much time in the woods, and even less reading the news. Mostly, I’ve been grating sandpaper over my eyeballs … more commonly called “working on website updates”. I need to take about a  year off, and learn how to do this properly, then start over from scratch and rebuild everything (yeah, that’s gunna happen).

Below I’ve compiled various bits from around the web that held my failing attention long enough to actually read through the piece.  Feel free to add your own stuff of note, I’d love to see some things I’ve missed.

In a completely random order: Continue reading →

Photography; it DOES get in the way

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Winter in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Mt. Blackburn, Alaska.

Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Wrangell Mountains and the Kuskulana River, Mount Blackburn, near Nugget Creek mine. Winter, Alaska. Please click on the image above to view a larger versoin of this photo.

Hey Folks,

The other side of the same coin, I suppose. How many hours have I spent looking at a computer screen, sifting through snippets of html code for a closing bracket (>) or some php code for a dollar sign, etc, etc, etc. Please, don’t answer that. 🙂

How many hours have I hacked, stabbed, mauled, wrestled with and mangled some code to tweak my website/s? Days (i.e., months) fiddling with photoshop, trying to learn how to process an image. Upgrading software, learning software, relearning software, replacing software, trialling software, etc, in the interest of my photography. Those hours could’ve been spent in the woods. Continue reading →