Skolai Images

Hey Folks,

Here’s another image of muskox from our trip to the arctic coastal plain this past summer, and a float trip down the Canning River in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. As you can see from the muskox photo, the mosquitoes were out in the droves this summer in the arctic. Fortunately the winds we experienced kept them down much of the time - but I had headed out to shoot these guys in shorts, a long-sleeved shirt and a ball cap - not really the gear I needed to keep the bugs at bay. After about 15 minutes of nonsense, I left the muskox, went back and donned some more suitable attire, and returned to the fray.

Muskox photos from the coastal plain, arctic Alaska.

Cheers

Carl

hey Folks,

Well, this one is not from our last trip. This photo is of the Hubbard Glacier, from my trip in June down to SouthEast Alaska. The Hubbard is a well-known glacier, because it’s one of the most calvingest glaciers in the world. The Hubbard Glacier is over 70 miles long, reaching from it’s beginnings along the face of Mt. Logan, all the way to the Pacific Ocean, at Disenchantment Bay and the Russell Fjord. Lots of cruise ships pull in for a view, but because of the abundant icebergs in the bay, they keep their distance. Icebergs the size of a 10-story building frequently fall from the face of the Hubbard Glacier, not something one wants to be to close to.   … Read the rest of this entry .. »

hey Folks,

Here’s one of the few images I took on this recent trip - the weather wasn’t too great for photography, much as it hasn’t been all summer long. We started our hike with drizzly, cloudy socked in skies and and cold damp air. The weather improved a little over the 8 days, but never for long. The rain and cold threatened pretty much constantly. This particular morning the skies were partially clear, but by lunch time the clouds ad rolled in and the blue skies gone. I was hoping to get at least something from this area, because it’s such a great scene. The broad alpine valleys really appeal to me, the expansive Alaskan landscape feels so welcoming to walk through. This was taken right from our little kitchen area, and the fall colors were great. The evening before was dreary, though the damp air really made the colors pop a little more.

This was taken just east of Bremner Mines, in the Monahan Creek drainage, on our trek from Iceberg Lake to Bremner Mines.

Cheers

Carl

So you see here how to treat life-threatening wounds in the backcountry - with a band aid …. NOT!!!

Sergei’s new nickname on this trip is ‘bandaid’ - for any ailment, broken skin or not, he requested, and was given, bandaids. For a small cut on his thumb, a bandaid. For a blister, a bandaid. For a headache, a bandaid. For a sinus infection, a bandaid. For hunger, bandaids.

Bandaid will be coming back in 2009 for another trip, and I’m sure Johnson & Johnson are glad to hear that.

Cheers

Carl

Hey Folks,

Here’s an image made near the end of our hike from Bremner Mines to Tebay Lakes - this one from the crest of a ridge above Tebay Lakes, to the south, looking north over the Little Bremner River, which runs just west of Upper Tebay Lake.

This will be my last post from this trip until I return from my Iceberg Lake to Bremner Trip. I should be back on the 2nd of Sept. Until then, be well.

Cheers

Carl

hey Folks,

One evening on this recent trip was gorgeous - so right after dinner I was scampering around trying to find images to make. The peak behind camp was glowing in the setting sun, and I set up along a small stream by our ‘kitchen’. This is the view east from dinner. Unfortunately, we didn’t get too many evenings like this, and this was the only we did where our camp was in a spot I could shoot something from. One evening later in the trek was simply amazing, but we’d had to camp in the middle of some brush up a small tributary stream, and compositions weren’t working for me.

Cheers

Carl

hey Folks,

Another image from my evening with some sun.

Cheers

Carl

Hey Folks,
Well, this image isn’t from the Bremner to Tebay trek. Just a little break. This was from my trip down to Yakutat and the Tongass National Forest in June. Hiking in the forest is such a treat, especially in an ancient one like the Tongass. The mood of the place is simply awesome. I was a hundred yards from the Pacific Ocean here, yet the forest completely enveloped me, and it didn’t feel at all like a hike near the ocean to me.

The Tongass National Forest is a beautiful forest, and a national treasure. I hate to see the damage being done to it by industrial logging, and hope protections are put in place ASAP to help preserve what remains of this beautiful place.

Cheers

Carl

Hey Folks,

Here’s our Russian Dynamo, Sveta, sliding down a snowy slope on Day 2 of our trek from Bremner Mines to Tebay Lakes, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park. The first slide she took wasn’t quite as intentional as this one, which made it a little more stressful, but later in the day she was all over this one. I think 4 out of the 6 people on the trip slid down this slope - a pleasant change from walking with a heavy backpack. The slope wasn’t quite steep enough to really get going fast, but it was fun nonetheless.

Just to give you an idea how dynamic the Alaskan weather is, the next morning we were swimming in a pond just down the valley from here - it changes fast.   … Read the rest of this entry .. »

Hey Folks,

Here’s Sergei, also known as ‘Borat’. We ascended this pass on day 2 of our trip, in good weather, fortunately, and I scarpered ahead of some members of the group to grab a few photos. One of the few times I was close to the front of the group - it was a great group of hikers. Sergei acquired 2 nicknames this year - ‘Borat’, initially, because his Russian accent is almost a perfect rendition of the film character - his second nickname came a little later in the trip - Day 3, I believe. We’ll talk about that one on another post.

We had some great weather on this particular day, it cleared up nicely, and the hiking was superb - not too hot, but not raining. On this hike we went through 4 high alpine mountain passes, each of which was quite a slog. The first 2 were snow-covered, but the last 2 were snow free. This one had a nice glacier on both sides of the pass, which made good walking. The terminal moraine at the end of each glacier was a little more treacherous.

Cheers

Carl