Archive for the ‘Denali National Park’ Category
Wednesday, November 18th, 2009
Early morning photo of Denali, Or Mt. McKinley, and reflection in a small tundra pond, Denali National Park, Alaska. Click on the thumbnail for a larger image.
Hey Folks,
A few years ago I spent a glorious week in Denali National Park and Preserve, camped out in the backcountry at one of my favorite spots to hang – a high ridge to the north of Denali, or Mt. McKinley as it’s officially known (see this post for a discussion concerning the name of the mountain). After too many years and way too many footsteps across the tundra, I finally happened to be in the right place at the right time. Previous trips had me wet, cold, hungry, and wondering where this infamous mountain actually was (hidden, veiled behind the infernal clouds). This one was gloriously different.
So just how much do I like this little spot? Well, in 2007 I took my mum and dad to Denali National Park and Preserve on their trip to Alaska and force-marched them up over the hills and across the tundra to this pond one afternoon. It’s a pretty spot to sit on the tundra, have some lunch, look for wildlife (we saw caribou) and soak up the mountain’s grandeur. They had a grand time. (more…)
Tags: Alaska, Carl Donohue, Denali, Denali National Park, Denali National Park and Preserve, Fall, horizontals, Landscape features, Mount McKinley, Mountains, Mt. McKinley, photos, pond, ponds, reflections, scenics
Posted in Adventures, Alaska, Backpacking and Hiking, Denali National Park, Landscape features, Mountains, Summertime, Travel | 6 Comments »
Friday, November 6th, 2009
A dall sheep ram approaches while it grazes on the high alpine tundra, Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska.
Hey Folks,
Here’s a Dall sheep ram I photographed a few years back, when I was doing a hike in Denali National Park and Preserve. It’s been a couple of years now since I spent any time in Denali National Park (the last time I was beyond Savage River was on a trip with my parents, in 07). As much as I enjoy my project in Wrangell – St. Elias National Park and Preserve, I do miss photographing in Denali. Hopefully this next year my schedule will work out such that I can squeeze in some time in Denali – and find this Dall sheep ram again.
It’s quite an experience having a full curl ram approach within inches of your eyeball. I remember I was lying down (as I wrote about here in an earlier post), and this ram got up from his slumber, (more…)
Tags: Alaska, Carl Donohue, Dal sheep, Denali, Denali National Park, Denali National Park and Preserve, photos, ram
Posted in Alaska, Bighorn and Dall Sheep, Denali National Park, Summertime, Wildlife | 6 Comments »
Sunday, October 12th, 2008
Hey Folks,
So here’s the reason why the bus that I thought would take me to the park entrance (see this post). I got on the bus and heard the driver talking about ‘wonder if the wolves would still be there’. Immediately perked up, leaned forward, and eavesdropped my a** off. Turns out a pack of wolves had killed a caribou bull not far off the road, and the whole pack had been feeding all morning whilst I was walking around the backcountry chasing some stupid moose. I finally start to get this story, thru the bits and pieces I could overhear, as the bus pulls into Eielson visitor Center for a scheduled stop. Now, I know the bus drivers have a schedule to keep, but if there’s a wolf pack feeding on a caribou carcass down the road, IMO schedules ought be abandoned. (more…)
Posted in Alaska, Cool stories, Denali National Park, Grizzly Bears, Wildlife | 12 Comments »
Sunday, October 12th, 2008
Hey Folks,
So, I’m back to the ‘photos from the past’ section. I’ll post a few more from my recent stay in the park, but wanted to post this, a favorite of mine, from Denali National Park a few years. This was probably one of the greatest days I ever had photographing. I hiked my tail off all morning after this bull moose – I was just finishing breakfast on what was to the be the last day of a 2 day stay in Denali Park, and I really wanted to get something worthwhile. The weather was pretty gnarly, but it was my last day, and I hadn’t much to show for 12 days of staying hunkered down in my little 1 person tent in wind, rain, sleet, snow and cold. So I sat drinking coffee glassing the surrounding tundra with my binoculars, hoping for some wildlife; any wildlife. At last I see this bull moose wandering over a ridge, WAAAAYYYYYY off in the distance. I mean, far, far away. But what the heck, I hadn’t anything else to do other than pack up my gear and head out of the park, right? So I grab my camera and start walking. It took me nearly an hour of solid hiking, (more…)
Posted in Alaska, Cool stories, Denali National Park, Fall, Moose, Wildlife | 4 Comments »
Saturday, October 4th, 2008
hey Folks,
Here’s an old image I dug up last night .. going through some old files for editing. I shot it a couple of years ago, returning from a trip to Denali National Park one fall. The sky began to clear up late in the afternoon, and I was driving back towards Anchorage. A week or so in the park with clouds and rain and on my way home, a sunset! I pulled over to the side of the road, wandered off into the woods, got completely SOAKED in this marshy area, and set up my gear near this Dward Birch (Betula pumila or Betula borealis), glowing orange in late autumn colors, and the clouds began to catch the last of the day’s rays. Then i walked back to my truck, and got my feet even more wet.
Cheers
Carl
Posted in Alaska, Denali National Park, Fall, Sunsets | No Comments »
Thursday, May 8th, 2008
Hey Folks,
Well, it seems those pesky wolves are in the news up here yet again. This time it’s not the F&WS and their infinite wisdom declaring a population to be ‘experimental’, or a bunch of anti-wolf people shooting wolves from airplanes. This time, the news is about the National Park Service tracking down a wolf in Denali National Park, anesthetizing the animal, and removing a snare from its neck. You can read more about the story (the pictures are pretty gross, don’t visit these links if you might be upset by some nasty wounds on a wolf) here and the update here. Basically, 2 wolves had been trapped this past winter, and escaped, but with the snares on their necks. The snares dug in deep, and caused some ugly wounds. The park service, getting ready for the opening of the park and influx on countless visitors, has no interest in having a bunch of tourists see wolves in this condition, so they’ve been hunting high and low for these 2 wolves, to try to remove the snares. (more…)
Posted in Alaska, Denali National Park, Environmental Issues, News, Wildlife, Wolves | 5 Comments »
Thursday, April 3rd, 2008
hey Folks,
So, here’s an image of Denali I don’t think I’ve posted here before. Mount McKinley is simply one big grand mountain that is ALWAYS a treat to see. I saw it a few days ago. This photo though, was taken last August when I spent a week camped out on the tundra, not far from this pond. Actually, this little pond was my water source. Every morning, after I’d do some shooting, I’d saunter down, ever so casually, fill up my one quart pot, stroll back over to the ‘kitchen’ and make breakfast – (more…)
Posted in Adventures, Alaska, Backpacking and Hiking, Cool stories, Denali National Park, Fall, Lakes, Landscape features, Mountains, Travel | 5 Comments »
Monday, March 31st, 2008
Hey Folks,
Recently some of the environmental news has be regarding the delisting of the Gray Wolves in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Hence you can see, I post a picture of a wolf from Denali National Park. As you can see from the image, the wolf was collared by the Park Service biologists, to track and record her movements and to help them learn more about wolves. She’s dead now, apparently killed by wolves in another pack last winter, wandering onto some turf that didn’t belong to her. Such seems to be the way with wolves. (more…)
Posted in Alaska, Denali National Park, Environmental Issues, Montana, News, Wildlife, Wolves, Wyoming | 11 Comments »
Saturday, March 29th, 2008
hey Folks,
What an awesome day. A walk down along the coastal trail, Denali, or Mt. McKinley in full view is a treat. Absolutely gorgeous. There’s probably not too many towns in the world you can walk along the beach and be looking at a 20 000′ tall mountain. Here’s a picture in honor of ‘the mountain’ – ain’t it something!
Cheers
Carl
Posted in Adventures, Alaska, Backpacking and Hiking, Denali National Park, Landscape features, Mountains, Travel | 8 Comments »
Sunday, March 23rd, 2008
Hey Folks,
Well, I was going to post another little note about ANWR, but I haven’t finished it yet and I want to go to bed. So I looked through my folder of images for the blog, and had a cool kayaking photo all picked out when I saw this one and chose it instead. This photo was taken in Denali National Park. I spent the whole day up on this ridge with a band of Dall sheep rams, it was awesome. They’re pretty used to people approaching them up there, so they let me get reasonably close. Mid-morning they all lay down in the shade and took a nap, so I did the same. A couple of hours later, one woke up, rose and walked around the area a little. I tried to get in position for some shots, and he ended up on this little outcrop here. I was lying on the ground, and before ya know it, he walked right up to me. I lay as still as I could and he ended up nearly stepping right over me. It was pretty cool.
I’d love to get some images of rams like these over in the Wrangells, where the sheep tend to be bigger, but because they get hunted quite a bit, they’re WAY more skittish. Also, because Denali is so much more heavily visited, the sheep are very used to people. In Wrangell – St. Elias NP, even where the sheep are not hunted, they so rarely encounter people, especially the rams who stay up very high, that they’re pretty wary. Maybe this summer I’ll have some more luck with them. Until then, Denali is the place for rams.
Happy Easter!
Cheers
Carl
Posted in Alaska, Bighorn and Dall Sheep, Cool stories, Denali National Park, Wildlife | 8 Comments »
