Backpacking down the Goat Trail, Chitistone Canyon, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Please click on the image above to view a larger version of this photo.

Hey Folks,

So now the “season” has officially ended, I want to thank everyone that came out this year for such a fun summer/fall. It’s always a treat to see familiar faces, those who’ve returned yet again for another Alaskan Alpine Treks trip, thank you. And for all those who took their first trip with us this year, thanks so much, and I sincerely hope you had a great time here. Thank you.

So now, it’s time for me to take off and explore some more. I’m taking 4 weeks to join up with Erin and Hig, of Ground Truth Trekking, for part of their ‘Life On Ice’ adventure, down around the Malaspina Glacier and the Lost Coast of Wrangell – St. Elias National Park, a little travelled part of the world for sure. I’m super excited about this trip,  for a number of reasons, one is simply to spend a month in the backcountry. I’m also stoked to join up with Erin and Hig, great people with a wealth of experience and wisdom to learn from. That’ll be a great experience. (more…)

Brown bear, Ursus arctos, walking upright down Brooks Lake near the footbridge, first light of a cool, foggy morning. Brown bear, Katmai National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Please click on the image above to view a larger version of this photo.

Hey Folks,

Just back from a fantastic 2 weeks in Katmai National Park on our Grizzly Bears in the Fall Photo Tour. What a great way to wind up the season!

This year we had a challenging but rewarding trip; there were definitely fewer bears than in some recent years (still more than 45 bears along the river), but some great weather, light and conditions helped us to all make some nice images.

This photo I have to say a big thank you to one of the folks on week #2, Chris, a Brit now living in San Diego. I was loaded down with my 500mm and D300s on my tripod, and my D700 and 70-300m over my shoulder. We had moved off the river a little to give a passing bear some room, when this scene appeared behind us. Trying to stumble thru 4′ tall grass, hummocks and tussocks and wet marsh without busting my tail was a bit of a mission, and Chris kindly offered to hold my 500mm for me, so I could step over the ground easier and snag a shot before it was too late. Thanks Chris, I appreciate it. (more…)

4 grizzly bear (brown bear, Ursus arctos) cubs sit in the forest, and await there mother's return. Grizzly bear cubs, Katmai National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Please click on the image above to view a larger version of this photo.

Hey Folks,

Heading off for 2 weeks in Katmai National Park for the grizzly bear fall photo tour. Hopefully we’ll run into these 4 youngsters again, though it’d be most surprising if all 4 cubs made it through last winter; I sure hope so, but the ways of the wild aren’t always aligned with our hopes. Their mom turned herself inside out last fall feeding these hungry bear cubs, so we’ll see how things went for them.

See you folks back in October.

Cheers

Carl

Hiking on the Russell Glacier, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. To view a larger version of this image, please click on the photo above.

Hey Folks,

Here’s a quick snapshot from the recent trip we did to Skolai Pass; Justin hiking on the Russell Glacier on a gorgeous afternoon in Wrangell – St. Elias National Park. This was actually the first time I’ve ventured out on to this particular glacier; good times indeed.

An hour or so later, we saw a wolf heading up the valley. That’s a great day!

Cheers

Carl

Waterfall and boreal spruce forest, Nizina River drainage, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Please click on the image above to view a larger version of this photo.

Hey Folks,

Here’s another waterfall photo from a trip I took to Wrangell – St. Elias National Park and Preserve early this summer. This is a waterfall I’ve flown over many times, along the Nizina River, but never had the opportunity to shoot it. This summer we took a trip to the Nizina Glacier and hiked around the area a bit, shooting a few waterfalls, flowers, the glacier and surrounding landscape. Overall, a productive and fun trip and a fantastic place to visit.

Cheers

Carl

A waterfall glows in the light of a colorful sunset. Near Chitistone Pass, looking toward Skolai Pass, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Please click on the image above to view a larger version of the photo.

Hey Folks

Roane Waterfall in the Skolai Pass/Chitistone Pass area, Wrangell – St. Elias National Park; an awesome foreground subject for a sunset photo (it also makes a great foreground at sunrise).

We just had 2 fantastic trips to the Skolai – Wolverine area, and got some great photos, etc. Highlight for me was seeing my first wolf in Wrangell – St. Elias National Park; something I’ve been hoping for now for years. Seeing it in a place such as this only made the experience that much greater for me. We watched him for 5 minutes or more.

A great summer so far; here’s to good weather for the rest of it.

Cheers

Carl

Nimble Bob hiking on the Nizina Glacier, Wrangell St. Elias National Park, Alaska. Please click the thumbnail to view a larger version of this photo.

Hey Folks,

I just had the good fortune to spend a week with a fellow whose company I enjoy very much, Bob S, from California. Bob’s been out on 4 trips with me now, 2 photo tours to Skolai Pass, 2 weeks in Katmai photographing grizzly bears and now a trip to Wolverine and the Nizina Glacier in Wrangell – St. Elias National Park. Thanks Bob for your fantastic company!

The first trip Bob made with me was on what became a somewhat infamous Skolai Pass Photo Tour, where we basically hunkered down under a tarp for the bulk of the week avoiding the sleet and wind and rain that hammered Alaska most of that summer. Yikes!

So I was more than amazed when Bob contacted me about a redo the following year. A hardy soul indeed, so we ventured back to Skolai Pass, where we had a grand time, some great light, and a memorable morning photographing a friendly grizzly bear in the mountains. Good times. The following year Bob comes back again, for 2 weeks in Katmai photographing the great coastal brown bears. We had a fantastic time, and some great photography opportunities.

This year we did a mixed trip, some time down “low” in the valley floor, hiking and photographing the Nizina Glacier and surrounding area, and then made our way up to Wolverine, a high alpine ridge above the Chitistone Valley, where we walked and talked and took pictures in the mountains. Good stuff.

Next year Bob aims to go to Africa for a photo tour, so anyone with any recommendations for a great trip to shoot wildlife in Africa, please get in contact.

Cheers

Carl

Moose cow and 2 calves, standing in the boreal spruce forest, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Please click on the image above to view a larger version of this photo.

Hey Folks,

Here’s a moose cow and her twin calves we saw just off the McCarthy Rd recently. That’s the 2nd cow and twin calves I’ve seen this summer inside the park. Few critters are cuter than moose calves. I’d like to have got a little closer and made some better images, but hell hath no fury like a mother moose protecting her calves; caution keeps my distance.

Cheers

Carl

One-flowered cinquefoil (Potentilla uniflora), Mountain Avens (Dryas octopetala), Moss Campion (Silene acaulis) and the view across Chitistone Canyon toward the University Range, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Please click on the image to view a larger version of this photo.

Hey Folks,

Image of the Month for July 2011: from a photo trip in June. This scene from Wolverine, looking across the Chitistone Valley toward the University Range.  The alpine flowers up there were gorgeous this last week, earlier than I expected them to be, but I was glad to be surprised.

This is part of the view we had right from camp.

Cheers

Carl

Mount Blackburn in alpenglow, across the Root Glacier and Donoho Basin, winter time, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park, Alaska. Please click on the image above to view a larger version of this photo.

Hey Folks,

Image of the Month for June, 2011. Mount Blackburn, in all the glory of a clear winter morning.

This is another of those photos I really wanted to shoot for along time. As grand a scene as Mount Blackburn is in the summertime, from Kennicott or McCarthy, it doesn’t get that really great alpenglow like this, because the sun rises and sets so far to the north during those months.

For years I thought about making the effort to shoot Mount Blackburn in the winter in rich warm light. Finally making the photo was a nice treat.

Cheers

Carl