Skolai Images

Hey Folks,

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.

Cheers

Carl

Hey Folks,

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 laying around, in my downtime, here’s a look at the new Shaq, a la Carl style:
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Hey Folks,

Here’s a closer look at the same mountains, Mount Drum, Mount Sanford, Mount Zanetti and Mount Wrangell. This is a panoramic image - click on the single frame and will open the full size photo for you - the finished photo is I think 8 horizontal frames stitched together in Photoshop - which means this sucker will print up H-U-G-E! Hopefully this does the view some form of justice.

Cheers

Carl

Hey Folks,

Just got back into town for a brief respite, some catchup work, and I’ll try to post a few photos. This one from the trip home this afternoon. I think there is no grander vista in all of North America than the Wrangell Mountain Range from Willow Lake. I can’t think of another place where one can see so many really big mountains - all of these are over 12 000′, and haven’t included Mt Blackburn, a little to the south (right) which is 16 500′.

It was REALLY cold here, and is expected to get down to -37˚ F this evening, hence I took some photos and then jumped in my (heated) van and headed to Anchorage. But I’ll be back, soon.

For now, I’m headed to bed. I’ll write a catch up post tomorrow.

G’nite.

Cheers

Carl

Hey Folks

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.

Cheers

Carl

Hey Folks

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.

Cheers

Carl

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. (more…)

Hey Folks

Well, I’ve not got a lot to tell you, unfortunately. For various reasons, none to exciting, I’m in Anchorage until after the holiday. Around the first of the year I’ll be heading to McCarthy. Not for a trip, but for the winter. That’s right, I’ll be staying just outside a town that has about 5 people in it during the winter. I’m not sure how often I’ll get internet access, but hopefully I can work that out and stay in touch. For those of you who don’t know much about McCarthy, the photo posted here gives you a little idea. This is a sign posted by the side of the McCarthy Road as you LEAVE McCarthy, headed back OUT of the park! How often do you see signs like this warning of danger as you’re LEAVING the backcountry? The road is 60 miles of gravel road, running between the tiny rustic hamlet of Chitina, on the Park boundary at the Copper River, and McCarthy. It used to have a sign as you begin the road claiming you were entering ‘The Worst Road in Alaska”. It’s not as bad anymore, but the road does lay claim to numerous tires every year, and the odd van as well. It’s not maintained very often during the winter, from what I’m told, but hopefully will be passable. I’ve got 4 snowchains and a bag of gumption - hopefully that’ll get me around OK.

Once at the end of the road, I’ll be living in a tiny cabin in the woods; (more…)

Hey Folks,

I know, I know .. I promised yesterday’s post would be the last of this series, but I changed my mind. This is another image of some ice forms on the Kennicott Glacier. I really was hoping to get some nice abstracts of the deep blue glacial ice so common in this kind of landscape, and so totally missing from my files. It took me quite a bit of clambering around (before my injury, of course), and fiddling with my tripod so that I could get this particular composition, but I was glad I did. There was this huge chunk of hanging ice right above me (more…)

Hey Folks

Well, this one will be the last of my current winter series. This is another photo of the Wrangell Mountains, Donoho Peak, and the moraine at the toe of Kennicott Glacier and Root Glacier. You can clearly see from the snow tha this is wintertime. No disputing that!

What I really like about winter here is that I can shoot the sunset, alpenglow and be back for dinner. A few months ago (more…)