Tag Archives: Wrangell-St. Elias National Park

Trumpeter swan, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska

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Trumpeter swan on pond, and reflection, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

Hey Folks,

Continuing with the bird theme again, here’s a trumpeter swan I found on my recent travels. The trumpeters were the first birds I saw back in the park as spring began, 2 of them actually swimming on the Kennecott River as it first opened up.

Once the river is ice free, it becomes a silty chocolate brown color, and quite a raging river, the last place a swan might frolic.

But early on, as the first ice melts back, the water is a deep aqua blue, clear and cold, and not as torrential as it becomes in the summertime, once the glacial melt increases. So I was kinda surprised to see trumpeter swans there early on. Then I saw them on the ice, from where I posted a photo or 2 a month back.

Now the ponds are all open and the swans grace their way along the surface (I know, ‘grace’ isn’t a verb, but it sounds nice). They’re definitely an awesome bird.

Trumpeter swan, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska. You can see more bird photos from the park here.

Juvenile trumpeter, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska

Juvenile trumpeter swan on ice, Wrangell St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

Here’s one of the young trumpeter swans I shot the other day on the ice in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park.

There were 2 adults and 2 youngsters in tow, last years young, I imagine. As the waters open up the adults will nest and hopefully raise some more cygnets this year.

This yearling was trying to get a drink of water from the meltwater of top of the ice.

Arctic Loon, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska

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Arctic Loon, Wrangell St. Elias national Park, Alaska.

Hey Folks,

I think of all the birds in the world, the loon has to be the most beautiful. I think the saying should be ‘beautiful as a loon’, not ‘crazy as a loon’. I’ve spent a bit of time watching loons lately, and have yet to seen them do anything crazy. But oh my, their beauty is immeasurable.

Absolutely amazing.

This pair are, according to my bird guide, ‘Arctic loons’, or Gavia arctica, as the Latin name would have it. I thought they were Pacific loons, or Gavia pacifica, but some other photos clearly show the front of the neck to be green more than purple – so I’m gunna call them Arctic loons.

Of course, the same guidebook says the crown and nape are ‘pale gray’ – I saw a blend of creamy tones none of which could be described as ‘gray’, by even the most bland scientific measurement. So much for guidebooks and trying to be objective.

So here’s a ‘thank you’ to my new friends, the Arctic loons, the most beautiful birds in the world.

We have more birds from Wrangell-St. Elias National Park on this page.

Cheers

Carl

Osprey, Wrangell St. Elias National Park, Alaska

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osprey soaring, Wrangell St. Elias national Park, Alaska.

Hey Folks,

It’s been a fun week so far .. the birds are back in the north country. Specifically, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska. That means lots of time wondering how I can sneak my way close enough for a photo of one of them.

Ever try to sneak up on a bird?

It’s a tough gig. They have ‘eyes like eagles’ funnily enough, and always know exactly where you are – and how close they let you approach seems to correlate precisely with how well they fit in the frame of your camera – as they get more than half the viewfinder, they fly away – regardless if you’re shooting an enormous bald eagle or a sneaky little robin.

But it’s fun, and it’s so great to have them back in the north.

The woods literally come alive every morning with the various songs and calls of the migratory birds, all getting their groove on and nesting and breeding before summer. I hadn’t realized how much I dig their many sounds until they returned.

Here’s an osprey photo. I was set up in my blind trying to get some duck photos – with no luck. This osprey appeared and I tried to get some images of him/her. It was ridiculously hard, as I was sitting on the ground, kneeling in fact, with my tripod about 1 foot off the ground.

I had the 500mm and a teleconverter mounted on it, and this osprey appears, flying around looking for something to eat. So I’m literally flopping about on the ground, on my back shooting up at this osprey, swinging my camera and lens around like a militiaman and his gattling gun.

I didn’t get much in the way of sharp images, but it was pretty cool – especially what happened about 10 seconds later.

osprey and Goshawk, Wrangell St. Elias national Park, Alaska.

I was sitting on my blind waiting on some ducks to approach (they never did – ducks are among the sneakiest of all birds) and this osprey started flying overhead.

All of a sudden out of the woods comes this Goshawk on the attack .. it was all over pretty quickly. The osprey, far larger, had it’s butt kicked all too soon, and took off from where it came. The Goshawk disappeared back into the woods once the osprey was gone. They must have a nest I there somewhere, but I never saw it.

More of my raptor photos can be found here.

Cheers

Carl

Hole in the Wall, Skolai Pass, Wrangell St. Elias National Park

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Ice and snow form a glacier on one of the peaks at Hole in the Wall, Skolai Pass, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

Hey Folks,

Here’s an image from last September – I was basecamped in Skolai Pass, part of the Goat Trail backpacking route. This morning I had some nice light to shoot a variety of images.

Skolai is an amazing place with a variety of photographic subjects that is seemingly without end.

Wildflowers can be amazing there, landscapes as grand as the immense Russell Glacier and Mt Bona and Mt Churchill, 16 550′ high Mt Bona, and 15 638′ high Mt Churchill towering in the background, ice patterns and crevasses in the glacier, lakes, waterfalls, streams and cascades, shorebirds, raptors, songbirds, and mammals ranging in size from tiny voles and arctic ground squirrels to foxes, marmots, Dall sheep, caribou and grizzlies.

I’ve even see wolf tracks along the air strip up there.

Yellow Paintbrush Photo, Skolai Pass

Yellow Paintbrush or Coastal Paintbrush photo, wildflower, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

Here’s a photo of a Yellow or Coastal Paintbrush (Castilleja unalaschensis).

Taken in Wrangell St. Elias National Park, Alaska. I’m eagerly waiting spring this year here to really get some more photos of the flowers in the area. The flowers don’t really hit the high country until July, but hopefully I’ll get some opportunities in the lower country, in the forest, in the spring.

Hole in the Wall is a massive escarpment of peaks similar to Moraine Lake, only bigger and Hole in the Wall feels more primordial, with no trees, the moraine and glacier are still intact, rather than the revegetated montane alpine country and the deep blue lake of Wenkchemna. Hole in the Wall has 7 peaks, rather than 10, and they stand almost sentinel like over Skolai Pass.

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Trumpeter Swans on Ice, Wrangell St. Elias National Park, Alaska

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Trumpeter swans stand on ice, waiting for it to melt, on a frozen lake in Wrangell St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

From my birds of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park feature.

So spring’s finally here, and summer’s just around the corner. Well, so thought the trumpeter swans, anyway. They headed north, arrived, and trumpeted the standard ‘What The Heck?” when they saw ice everywhere.

This family of 4 trumpeter swans were amongst the first to arrive – good flyers, I expect, as I doubt they took a shortcut. I’m sure they’re about as keen as I am for the ice and snow to melt and some warmer weather. I was surprised to see a couple of youngsters with them – what a way to start your life, a crazy migration thousands of miles north

to the land of ice and snow. The youngsters are last year’s chicks, I didn’t realize they stayed with their parents more than a year.

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Snowshoeing Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, winter

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Winter snowshoeing in Wrangell St. Elias national Park, Alaska.

Another winter in McCarthy, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park

“Oh, break up is early”, they said. “Spring’s here!” they cried. “Summer’s on the way”, they projected. Well, it was about 15 degrees Fahrenheit this morning, and that didn’t factor in the wind chill. Winds in the vicinity of, oh, I dunno, say around 200mph, blowing straight out from under the polar ice cap, I’m led to believe. And here’s me trying to snowshoe across one of the great lakes to take some pictures!

Well, fool me once, for about 5 minutes, but I’m not THAT stupid. Uh uh, no sir, not me. This little vegemite turned tail, and scampered back to the veritable safety (i.e., warm, heated and still running) of my van, turned that baby around and beared to’ard the ole cabin. Full steam ahead. (NB: given the road conditions, and the wildly lunging, out of control nature of said van in such conditions, ‘full steam’ consisted of about 15mph – or, 185mph slower than the aforementioned wind).

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Conservation Photography

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Crystalline Hills, Wrangell Mountains, winter, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

Hey Folks,

I stumbled across this article earlier today, and thought it might be a good topic for a post. The subject is conservation photography, rather than typical nature photography. “Although nature photography can appeal to a viewer’s aesthetic sensibilities, the truth is that photography has much more potential to play a role in conservation than has yet been realized. When photographic skills, creative talent and scientific understanding converge on a subject the outcome can be powerful.”

I think it’s a great article, and an important one, but I think it’s simultaneously important that we remain aware of the capacity in which photography can harm our, as well as our audience’s relationship with the natural world.

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Where are the Wrangell Mountains and How to Visit Them

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If you are looking for where in the US are the Wrangell Mountains, you will find them in the rugged southeastern interior of Alaska.

This range defines the landscape of Wrangell St. Elias National Park, the largest national park in the United States. Many visitors start their journey with a Wrangell Mountains map to navigate the two primary access points: the McCarthy Road to the south and the Nabesna Road to the north.

Mt Drum photo, Wrangell St. Elias National Park, Alaska

Mt Drum, Mt Sanford in the Wrangell Mountains of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park
Mt Drum, Mt Sanford in winter the Wrangell Mountains of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park

Scenic Vistas and Winter Light

I truly believe there is no grander vista in all of North America than the Wrangell Mountain Range viewed from Willow Lake. It is one of the few places where you can see a massive line of peaks all exceeding 12,000 feet, including the towering Mt. Blackburn at 16,500 feet.

This photo above was taken a during a brutal cold snap. The alpenglow was incredible, but the temperature was minus 40 and dropped to nearly minus 50 that night. Working a tripod in those conditions is a nightmare. The metal tabs and ballhead lock up, forcing you to remove your gloves to make adjustments. It reminds me of the book “Black Elk Speaks,” where the cold was so intense that metal would freeze to skin and tear it away.

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The North Face – and the last supper

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The north face of Mt. Bona, in the University Range, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska. Black and white photo of Mt. Bona..

Hey Folks,

And so, with little to no ado, I bid adieu, for the time being. I’m hitting the road in the morning, and I’m not sure when I’ll have internet access again – hopefully it’ll be no more than a few days between swigs.

I’m heading out in the morning to Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, to live in a cabin named “Shacky”. I’ll be there a couple of weeks or so at a time, then make a run to Anchorage for some groceries and a little warming up, then back to Shacky. If all goes as planned. If all does not go as planned, I’ll spend a few nights there, say something like ‘this is C-R-A-Z-E-E-E!!!’ and boogie on back to the relative comfort of Anchor-ville.

I’ve too little pride to tolerate discomfort long.

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Dall sheep ewe, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park

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A dall sheep ewe stands on a ridge above the Chittistone Valley, in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

Hey Folks,

OK, I’ll stop with the photos from Chile, taken a year ago. Here’s another image from this past summer, of a Dall sheep ewe we saw on the Skolai to Wolverine trip. We saw numerous Dall sheep along the way, but this one I was able to get close to and make some decent photos.

It took me quite a while, as it usually does shooting Dall sheep in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, because they’re pretty skittish.

Hunting is allowed in the preserve, and is allowed in the park by subsistence permit only – meaning locals are allowed to hunt pretty much wherever they choose, provided they don’t use motorized transport to get there – so they can’t fly in via bushplane to a place like this and hunt, but they can come in and hunt here if they travel on foot – not very likely.

However, even though hunters don’t get in to a place like this very much, the sheep are still very wary – I guess word gets around. Also, so few wildlife photographers spend any time in the park, the animals don’t learn to trust people, so the remain pretty skittish.

One more post for 2007!

Cheers

Carl