2 Winters in McCarthy from an Aussie Photographer

Spending winter in McCarthy is a study in both extreme beauty and quiet endurance. Life in Wrangell St. Elias National Park during the coldest months revolves around the simple mechanics of survival, like hauling wood for the shack or coaxing a frozen snowmachine to life.

While most people only see this landscape in the green of summer, the true character of the backcountry emerges when the crowds vanish and the mercury drops toward minus fifty. The mountains seem to pull closer in the crisp air, and the vast silence is only broken by the occasional crunch of skis on fresh powder.

The following collection of images and stories comes from my time poking around the frozen Kennecott River and the Lakina drainage.

Whether it is chasing the magenta alpenglow on Mt. Porphyry or hunting for abstract patterns in the snow covered glacial moraines, winter photography here is a constant battle against the elements. Everything from sticking tripod legs to fogged viewfinders makes each frame a hard earned reward. It is a slow, cold way of living, but catching that soft noon light on an unnamed peak makes every subzero mile worth the effort.

Livin in the a Little Shack Down by the River

My humble abode. This is after I shovelled all the snow off the roof. There’s about another 6-9 inches of snow on the roof already!

The original part of the shed is the part covered by the sloping roof. The porches, the flatter roofed sections, were add-ons later. The main area is probably 14′ x 16′ or thereabouts. There’s a little platform, like a loft in the roof, which really warms up when I’ve had the fire running. I’ve been doing a few little add-ons here and there myself, mostly with just odd bits and pieces of timber I find lying around, in my downtime, here’s a look at the new Shaq, a la Carl style:

You can see I’ve fixed the place up a bit, given myself some more room. The Mezzanine level I’m quite happy with. Now I’ve room to entertain, for guests to drop in. 🙂

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Life in the Bush, Alaska

Well, it’s been a busy week. Today, for example, I chopped down a tree, to the tune of “I’m a lumberjack, and I’m OK” .. it was kind of weird, to watch a spruce tree fall at my hand, but knowing the tree was already dead kind of made it OK, I suppose. I cut the tree up, trimmed all the limbs off it (spruce trees have many, many limbs), and stacked the wood in the little wood shed I have. Not bad, but a lot of work in the snow – and it snowed all the while I was working.

This morning I shot a few images that I think will work out nicely when I get them on the computer and processed a little. It was cloudy and overcast, and I had commited the morning to doing some writing, when the sun started to come out … I headed out into the woods, and shot a number of images. We’d had some snow the night before, but a little nefarious breeze blew most of it off the trees. Pesky breeze!

Yesterday was gorgeous, and I got a few nice images of Fireweed Mtn, outside the cabin. It was crazy cold though, like 20 below and wow were my fingers chilled!

I’m really enjoying the life in the cabin – it’s quiet, simple, and has a rhythm that is so different from living in a city, or even a small town. The routine is good – wake up, stoke the fire, go back to bed, wake up, stoke the fire, go back to bed, etc .. then I get up, have a little breakfast, some coffee, stoke the fire, then do some reading by the lamp. I have 2 lamps – a kerosene lamp, and a propane lamp. The propane lamp puts out a lot of light, but it doesn’t feel right – even turned down low, I prefer the kerosene lamp .. it just ‘feels’ better for life in a little cabin in the ALaskan woods.

It’s kind of funny how weird it feels to come here and sit on the computer and do emails, etc on the internet, when a few hundred yards I live in a cabin with no power, etc. The rhythm shifts – I’d prefer to simply avoid the computer when I’m in this kind of place, I think. Unfortunately, work calls, sometimes. Mostly I come here and delete spam emails, and/or respond to people who want images for free.

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Mt Porphyry, Wrangell-St. Elias, winter

This photo was taken from the Kennicott River.

The mountain is Mt. Porphyry, the backdrop for the small town of McCarthy in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. This cold winter afternoon I skied up the river, waited for sunset, and shot images of the snow covered boulders in the riverbed, as the mountain wrapped itself in the evening alpenglow. The peak creeping into the frame on the right, behind Porphyry, is Sourdough Peak.

Soon after this photo was taken, the light faded and I skied back to the shack, stoked up the fire and enjoyed a tasty pasta supper. A nice end to a simple day.

Porphyry Mountain from Kennicott River

Here’s an image I took one of my first afternoons in the park this last time. I headed out from the cabin around 2pm, and took this maybe 45 minutes later.I was back in the cabin by 4pm, well after sunset had faded. The days are getting longer now, and I’m keen to spend some more time poking around the hills seeing what I can find. Hopefully we’ll get some more snow soon, as a few windy nights had blown most of it off the trees and shrubs right before I left. Most of the snow, it seemed, landed on the road, making the drive out somewhat, uhhmm, memorable.

The mountain on the left is Porphyry Mountain, which rises above McCarthy, and that is the tip of Sourdough Peak off in the background, which lies southeast of McCarthy, overlooking the Nizina River before it enters the Chitina River. Sourdough Peak is the one I posted a photo of the rock glacier from recently. The riverbed I’m looking over here is the Kennecott River.

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Winter in Black and white

Here’s another unnamed mountain in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. I skied up the Lakina River a ways to take this photo. I’m looking forward to skiing further up the river and exploring the drainage a bit more – it’s a great place to look around, and doesn’t get too many folks visiting – particularly in the winter. There wasn’t even a snow machine trail up here, which in Wrangell St. Elias National Park in the winter is pretty rare.

The light here was really cool, slightly diffused by a building storm, but still strong enough to make the the peak somewhat dramatic. The wind was whipping up around the peak, churning up the fresh snow, which was kinda cool to watch. Even better, it wasn’t too windy down lower where I was at. 🙂

I converted the image to black and white when I got home, which I preferred to the original color version. I think this is the first photo of this mountain I’ve posted, but the mountain is one of the Crystalline Hills, which I think I posted an image or 2 of last spring. The Crystalline Hills are the southern end of the Wrangell Mountain Range , and run east-west, parallel to the McCarthy Rd. This peak is pretty much the eastern end of the Hills. The mountain is officially unnamed, but known locally as either ‘Mom’s Mountain’, or ‘Collins’ Mountain’. Mom’s Mountain by one family that lives nearby, and the kids’ mother has a classic view of the mountain out her bedroom window – so they call it ‘Mom’s Mountain’. Another family east of there, the Collins’, who live near Long Lake, refer to the mountain as ‘Collins’ Mountain’, as its out their backyard. I smell a feud. 🙂

Note: the above info was given me by a long-time resident of the area, and he assures me it’s correct. I make no promises other than I’ve communicated his story here accurately, and that, officially, the mountain is not named.

This one’s on my wall. ?

One of the beauties about the Alaskan winter is it’s easy to catch that sweet dawn light – and earlier. This one was taken before the sun came around the mountain side. I had a great shoot in this spot, for several hours, and got a number of cool abstract images – once the sun slipped out from hiding beyond the distant mountain top everything changed, and a myriad new scenes appeared. A magical morning, for sure.

I really like the sweeping ridge lines here, and the cool blue light of the predawn sky – I shouldn’t really say predawn, because it was, like, about noon.

Here’s an image I shot earlier this winter. The snow covered rocks, backlit, caught my attention, and I made a few images before hiking back to the shack. This one I’m unsure about, and would be glad to hear any opinions on how you feel about it. If you click on the image, a larger version should open up in a new window for you.

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Footprints in the winter snow

Here’s a photo I took a little over a month back, of Long Lake, off the McCarthy Rd. You can see what happens if you get to close here; the last photographer obviously tried a little too hard to push the boundaries.

This lake freeze over, except for this small outflow at the western end of the lake, and another small section on the northside of the lake, where a spring bubbles into the lake, and keeps the surface from freezing.

That section is a spawning ground for salmon all through the winter, even into April, and is one of the latest spawning areas in Alaska. The winter spawn is an important food source for a lot of animals in the area, including lynx, wolves, wolverines, raven, mink, marten, foxes and coyotes and more.

Won’t be long now until the lake thaws and the waterfowl settle in. Loons nest here every summer, so I hope I’ll get to photograph some of them soon enough.

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Chugach Mountains Sunrise

Here’s an image looking south towards the eastern edge of the Chugach Mountains, in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. The glacial moraine in the foreground is the edge of the Kennecott Glacier. I’d hoped to get up to Kennecott early this particular morning and catch some alpenglow on Mount Blackburn, which I did, but a pesky cloud obscured the very peak of the mountain, and I need get back there and reshoot the images.

It was kinda frustrating, to be sure, catching a magnificent peak like Blackburn (16 390? high) in awesome light, before dawn, glowing magenta and red, and not quite be able to see the peak.

I’ve made 3 attempts so far, once it was completely clouded in, this time, and the last time it as minus 45deg F – the snowmachine I borrowed wouldn’t start – well, after it DID start, via a preheater (hairdryer plugged into a generator-powered AC socket) and an extra battery, warmed in my cabin the night before, it took 30 minutes just to get it warmed up enough to turn the tracks, by which time I’d missed the light I was looking for.

Maybe sometime soon I’ll get another crack at it – the last week or 2 every morning was overcast enough that I knew Blackburn wouldn’t be visible.

Hopefully I’ll be back in the park soon, and get to do some more shooting.

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Winter and Joni Mitchell

So one morning when I couldn’t catch the apparently fugacious Mt Blackburn – shrouded by cloud, it’s ironic that such a magnificent and colossal mountain might be so clandestine. Yet so often, that’s exactly what these mountains are; shy, reclusive, and hard to photograph. So I turned my lens toward the ground, shot a few abstracts like this one, of a snow-covered glacial moraine.

I really liked the curves and the play of Shadows & Light (a “must have” album, Shadows and Light, by Joni Mitchell, the band is one of the greatest assortment of musicians ever to tour together!).

I knew when I took the photo I’d convert it to black and white, as there was little color in the original, though the shadows do take on a nice blue hue.

Moraines definitely look WAY prettier in the winter, covered with fresh snow.

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Donoho Peak in Winter

Well, I’m back in the woods, living the quiet life. This image is from a trip I made up to Kennecott a few weeks back, hoping to get a nice morning shot of Mt. Blackburn. I had no luck with Blackburn, so I shot Donoho Peak, instead, along with various other images. This is Root Glacier in the foreground.

It’s been pretty cold here the last few days, so I haven’t spent much time on the computer .. the owners of the house are away, and so the house has no heat. I come over, check my email, (solar power!) and head back to my cabin.

Today I turned on a little propane heater, which I’m nearly sitting on, and it’s still freezing! The days are unbelievably clear, but it’s way cold. What’s most frustrating to me is how nothing seems to work well in the cold.

The tripod legs stick, the camera fogs up ( I couldn’t even read the historgram yesterday), ad infinitum.I can’t imagine what it must be like trying to start and deal with an automobile.

I’m heading back to the cabin to get warm.

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Kuskulana Bridge View, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park

I’ll be out for a while now, and won’t be able to post for a bit – maybe a week or 2, I think.

In the meantime, here’s a photo from the Kuskulana Bridge over the Kuskulana River, taken back in the winter one evening. This is the bridge on which my van broke down the previous winter, the beginning of a time that lives in infamy.

The Latest Update

I hope this finds you all well.

Whilst I sit here and delete spam, I’ll add a short post. The other day my generator busted. The 3rd time I used it. Don’t you just love modern technology and manufacturing! The hose from the fuel tank to the carburettor split in half … so it leaked a whole tank of gas .. which TOTALLY sucked.

However, the fellow who owns the cabin, and has lived here in McCarthy since 1955, totally hooked me up .. we (mostly he) mended it and replaced the hose (I still can’t believed he happened to have a piece the right size) .. Jim’s amazing. Then the axe busted .. the handle split right down the middle .. I glued and taped that sucker up and kept on a splitting .. I ain’t gunna get cold because of a split axe.

I’ve gone looking for a particular shot of Mt Blackburn twice now and both time been thwarted, due to weather .. yesterday was SO close .. all but the peak of the mtn was out. It was beautiful, and I did get a few other images that were nice, but I really want a great shot of Mt. Blackburn. This is the only time of year it gets alpenglow on the southside, as during the summer the warmer light happens when the sun is on the northside of the mountains. But the soutside view is spectacular. Try and try again. I did get some nice images the previous evening as well, but the best light on the mtn is in the morning.

I shovelled all the snow (about 3′) off the roof off the cabin, as it was starting to ice up on the bottom .. the heat from the inside of the cabin melts the underlayer of the snow, which then refreezes, and gets icy ..or it melts and comes thru the portch, and gets ice on everything on the floor .. it’s a hassle. But – now it’s all clean.

I cut down another tree the other day .. landed that sucker on a dime. Fortunately, the dime didnt happen to be the one in my back pocket. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the dime I was hoping it would land on .. in fact, it was about 180 degrees from the direction I was hoping it would go. So that sucked – I had to trim the fallen tree, and carry all the logs up this crappy snow-covered hillside, and over to the cabin. took some work, for sure, but now I have tons of firewood to keep me warm at night!

Now that I have the generator working again, I recharged my laptop and downloaded all my photos, and backed them up to another HD. It’s definitely a hassle trying to shoot digital images in a cabin with no electricity. I’ve thought of buying a film camera again and some film to not have to deal with it. I wish I’d saved one of my film cameras, I spose.

Well, that’s about all for now. I’ll try to get some images online and post a few before too long .. a week or so I hope.

Take care and stay warm.

More No Photos

Nothing online from my stay here yet. It’s tough, dealing with no electricity. However, I DID hook up a small generator this morning, and all works fine, so I should be able to get some images on tomy computer, at least, and somehow then get something online. In the meantime you’ll have to deal with chatter.

Yesterday I walked with Jim, the cabin owner, over to McCarthy. It’s a several mile walk, and we took our time. Right before we left I thought I should bring my camera, but I figured it would only hold things up, and the weather didn’t look like ti would be nice light anyway. Sure enough, I leave the camera at the cabin, and within an hour, the alpen glow on the mountains north of us was astounding. The first sign of good light I’ll be up early and heading towards the ridges and glaciers up that way, hoping for some images.

Living here is something else. It’s extraordinary. The mountains, the snow, the forest, the quiet, it’s another world. The cabin warms up incredibly quickly with a small fire, and I’ve cooked on the wood stove most nights. Maybe 2 nights I fired up the little 2 burner propane stove and treated myself to a little luxury. If I didn’t need a computer and batteries recharged, I’d see no reason for electricity here at all – though when I want to next start my van that may change.

Every day I walk in the woods, snowshoeing or just hiking along .. there’s tons of snow machine trails here, so often I don’t need the snowshoes.

When the weather’s really crappy, I read some, write some, lounge by the fire, chop wood, and enjoy the quiet. It’s nice.

I’ll try to write something at least semi-thoughtful next time here, regarding life in the Alaskan winter woods, but usually I’m so pressed for time when I cmoe over to do email, it just doesn’t work for me. If I didn’t have Spam, my email time would be about 1/1000th of what it currently requires.

For now, I’ll finish up deleting spam, and then head back over to Shacky, where it’s snowing right now. Tomorrow the weather looks promising, so I’ll aim to do some early photography.

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A sunset over the Kennicott River. This photo was taken probably  less than 100 yards from the shaq. The day had been cloudy and not too promising, and as I was returning from a ski down the river, the clouds started to break up. So I motored on home, grabbed my camera and headed back over to this spot for the photo.

This is right at the edge of the boreal forest and open riverbed, making a nice blend for the view.

The mountains to the south are the eastern end of the Chugach Mountains.

Winter is simply another world in the park – way too cool.