Hey Folks,

A short selection of images. 12 favorites from 2010.

Click on the thumbnails below for larger versions of each photo in the gallery. (more…)

Backpacking; setting out on a trek toward Mt Jarvis, in fresh fall snow, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. To view a larger version of this image, please click on the photo above.

Hey Folks,

From our recent exploratory trip to the Mt Jarvis area, Wrangell – St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. As you can see, September in Alaska, particularly around the 7000′ altitude, can be cool; fresh snow, and we had 2 more snow storms during our trek.

What a great trip we had though; Brad and Tracey, from Chicago, were quite the troopers, and really made the trip easy. Being flexible is critical on a backcountry trip, as the weather and conditions can often dictate the best course of action. Their easy going nature contributed to a great hike, and we enjoyed a lot of laughs, some superb views, and a mix of conditions and elements that made the trip a wonderful adventure. For great vistas, it doesn’t get much better than this one. We camped right on that little shoulder to the right hand side of this frame, tents looking straight across at 13 421′ tall Mt. Jarvis. Awesome!

I’m off again tomorrow (Monday) to photograph for a couple of days before packing for the Katmai Grizzly Bear Photo Tour. Should be a blast and I can’t wait; but, in the meantime, the forecast is for sunny skies and great light, fall color and big mountains. Shoul dbe some nice photo opportunities.

Cheers

Carl

A large mature adult grizzly bear male, or boar, approaching, Katmai National Park, Alaska. Click to see a larger version of the photo.

Hey Folks,

Just a quick post to announce that spaces are filling up on the grizzly bear photo tours, scheduled for Fall, 2010. It’s also, perhaps, a good time to say check over the website, and see how you like the recent changes. The Grizzly Bear Photo Tour page is just one of the new additions, and that tour has already had a bunch of inquiries. I don’t want to sound like a car salesman here, so I won’t say ‘book quickly‘, but I do want to say, if you’re thinking about it, it might be worth at least sending a quick email to get your name on the list. That way I can at least put a temporary tentative hold on a space for you.

I’m also excited about a few other trips this summer, including a Mt Jarvis exploratory hike, and a few others you can see listed on the custom trips page.

The ANWR trip is a great float down the Canning River, and we’ve added a great slide show from that trip. Take a look at the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge trip. (more…)

A grizzly bear charges up the river chasing spawning Sockeye Salmon, Katmai National Park and Preserve, Alaska.

Hey Folks,

NB: I’ve now added this trip to our regular webpages. By all means, browse this page, but also visit the page listed under ‘Phototours’ on the Trips section of the website. That page can be found here.

This coming year, 2010, I’m super excited to offer a new phototour to Katmai National Park and Preserve; we’ll be basecamping in remote southwest Alaska, photographing grizzly bears, dawn til dusk, for a week. Katmai National Park is home to some of the largest grizzly bears (or “brown bears” as they’re often called in that region) in the world. Feeding largely on salmon from some of the richest salmon runs in Alaska, the bears are magnificent creatures and there’s no better time to photograph them than in the fall. This trip offers an unsurpassed opportunity to photograph wild grizzly bears in a remote and brilliantly wild setting and promises some simply incredible photographic possibilities.

Schedule:

– Trip #1: Sept 19-25, 2010.

– Trip #2: Sept 26 – Oct 2, 2010

Price:

– Fully Outfitted Camp and Guided Photo Tour: $2675.00

-  Both trips (14 days): $4600.00

(more…)

Hey Folks,

We just got through a great trip up on the Sanford Plateau, on the north side of Wrangell – St. Elias National Park. The hiking was great, the views sublime, and the group awesome. This image is from our campsite on the 2nd night, where we spent 2 full days enjoying the high alpine tundra and incerdible views of the massive mountains nearby – Mt Sanford (over 16 000′), Mt Wrangell (over 14 000′) and Mt Drum (over 12 000′). This image is of early morning at Mt Drum.

The weather wasn’t too bad – a mix of rain, clouds, wind, and calm sunny weather as well – a welcome respite. Much better than the weather on the previous trip to Skolai Pass, where rain, sleet and even a little snow bound us up tight for much of the trip. I’m excited to start doing more treks on the north side of the park and exploring this area further – we’ll definitely be back on the Sanford Plateau in 2009, and hopefully be able to do a few other trips in the area as well.

I’m off tomorrow for the 2 week trek from Bremner Mines to Tebay Lakes, which I’m very excited about, and hopefully we’ll get some good weather. We’ve a great group of hikers again, and this promises to be loads of fun. I need to get to bed and get some rest, because tomorrow evening, we’ll be in the backcountry. I’ll try to put a trip report together when I get back on the 20th. Stay tuned!

Cheers

Carl

Hey Folks,

I just got back from a trip to Icy Bay, down on the southern edges of Wrangell – St. Elias National Park. This will definitely be a trip for next year. It was my first time in this amazing place, and it really is cool. There’s SO much to see and explore in the area. It’ll be a sea kayaking/hiking trip, a little of everything. the scenery is awesome, and the geology of the place is fascinating. 100 years ago it was a wall of glacial ice, now 3 glaciers have receded, and the valleys left in their wake filled with water, creating 4 deep cold fjords. The Taan fjord is the most navigable for paddling, the Tsaa fjord is almost covered with icebergs. Here’s a shot from a camp site along the shores of the Taan fjord, Icy Bay, looking out over the bay towards Mt. St. Elias, as it catches the last rays of the sun for the day. Pretty sweet view, eh? (more…)