Skolai Images

Hey Folks,

Here’s another aerial photo I took, right before we landed at Ross Green Lake. This is the terminus of the Tana Glacier. It used to be possible to hike from Ross Green Lake, east of here (to the left) across the glacier, and around to Iceberg Lake. As you can see from this photo, the Tana Glacier has become an array of crevasses - not something one can easily, or safely, hike across. The route hasn’t been hiked in a few years. I wish I had an opportunity this trip to explore it a little more, and possibly find a new route across. It looked to me, from the air, like it was possible slightly to the north of here, but I can’t say without hiking it first, or at least a good look from the ground - from the air, in a place as vast as this, perspective is everything, and things are often not as they appear to be; the scale is so hard to gauge.

I like the story this photo tells - of the place of ice and water on rock, and how this stuff works. Look at the rock in the foreground, and the debris surrounding it, torn, cracked, splintered and shattered by power of the ice and a little gravity. In the background, you can clearly see a medial moraine, running down between the seam of 2 glaciers that run together off the great Bagley Icefield to create the Tana Glacier.

I did get to hike, one afternoon, down from our camp to the Tana Glacier and walk around it a bit. it’s amazing being on the ice. I’ll post some photos from that hike later.

Cheers

Carl

Hey Folks,

What’s this, you might ask! Sand dunes and ripples in Alaska? Yup!

At the headwaters of the Tana River, near Ross Green Lake, the glacial silt from the numerous glaciers and ice fields in the area is blown about the incessant wind, and there are some incredible sand dunes down the Tana. We landed at the airstrip at Ross Green Lake, and were immediately taken by the cool landscape around us. Jagged snow-capped crags and spires sank into the clouds south of us (Thompson Ridge), a myriad of fall color sparkled on the hillsides, a deep cool lakes of every hue nestled into the depressions in the valley, the Tana glacier fell into pieces at its terminus to our west, and rippled sand dunes and waves of fine sand patterned themselves beneath our feet. ‘Cool’ is the only word that describes the place. (more…)

Hey Folks,

Here’s a second post for today. I’m trying to see if I’ve fixed a few things that have suddenly been messing with my blog - darn pesky hackers! So here goes:

I just finished a trip to Ross Green Lake, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park - we basecamped near the lake, and spent our days exploring the valley, the nearby Tana Glacier, and photographing the fall colors. The weather wasn’t the best - a day in the rain on a chunk of ice that’s part of the largest non-polar ice field in the world is a rough gig. But we did have a good time. This image is of a small valley that runs down to the Tana River valley, show from the plane as we flew to Ross Green Lake. I hadn’t even landed for our trip and I already got some nice photos. Flying around Wrangell - St. Elias National Park is a real treat, and I’m fortunate that I get to do it as often as I do. It’s simply amazing to view from the air.

Cheers

Carl

Hey Folks,

I can’t say for sure, but I’m pretty certain Loki here made the first ever traverse from Iceberg Lake to Bremner Mines for a 3-legged dog. He was pretty wiped out though - here he is at the end of the trip:

I think he was carrying too heavy a pack, don’t you? Either way, he’s a beautiful dog - very mellow, and great company. He seemed to have a good time, though he found the moraines and some of the stream crossings a hassle. His owner, Dan, helped him out, and he did fine. I had a 3-legged dog when I was young, Duke, so I guess I was partial to having Loki along. Thanks for coming, Loki.

Cheers

Carl

Hey Folks,

Here’s another image from the Harry’s Gulch section of the Bremner Mines to Tebay Lakes trip we did in August. This is Svetlana, or Sveta, as she hiked past me on the ridgeline. We decided a little further on that we were a tad high, and the sidehilling was a little slow, so we descended to easier walking down along the valley floor. A good decision, but I’m sure glad we spent time up high too - great views back east through the Chugach Mountains. (more…)

Hey Folks,

Sunset on our 2nd last night of the Iceberg Lake to Bremner trip. We’d just wrapped up a tasty dinner, and I saw the clouds start to break a little. The valley we were camped in began to glow and I headed back to the tent to grab my camera. I shot this looking down towards the Bremner River, as I liked the deep rich color of the sky. I was hoping the cloud would get a little more color as the sun sank lower, but alas, it wasn’t to be so.

Cheers

Carl

Hey Folks,

Here’s an image from the recent Bremner Mines to Tebay Lakes trip we did. This one is of a small waterfall we passed by as we paralleled the East Fork of the Little Bremner River, heading west down out of the pass at Harry’s Gulch. This was definitely one of the coolest sections of the hike. The night before we camped on a grassy bench just below the pass, had a visit at dinner time from a grizzly bear, and then enjoyed a really delightful walk down the valley. The stream grew larger and larger as other tributaries ran into it - up at the head of the pass it was a fraction of the size it was here. Shortly after we stopped for this scene, we had a creek crossing of our own. The first of 2 that required some caution. Fortunately everyone did great, and nobody took a dunking - just as well, because there were some nasty falls downstream that could’ve been problematic - like, really problematic.

Anyway, we had a great day hiking down the valley. This scene really caught my eye, and the creek washed into a tight deep ravine just below here as well, which was pretty cool. At the end of the day we camped high on a ridge with iews back up this valley - pretty sweet (not as sweet as my usual campsites, but someone else chose this one - I’m sure they’ll let it be known who).

I’m heading back to the park for another week, so I’ll schedule some posts for the interim and then reply when I return - stay tuned.

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. (more…)

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