Posts tagged ‘denali’

Sep 5

A Few More Photos of the Alaska Range

I was going back through some of my photos, and realized that I hadn’t processed some of my infrared photos of the Alaska Range.

I use a Nikon D300 that I’ve converted to infrared through LifePixel.com. (Please use that affiliate link if you are thinking of converting one of your cameras.)

All but the last of these images are from Talkeetna, which is about 60 miles south of Denali. I think the view from Talkeetna gives a better overview of the Alaska Range. The weather was also a lot better when we were in Talkeetna. I would have loved to seen Denali from Wonder Lake on the north side, but that just didn’t work out.

Anyway, I wanted to share these, and hope you enjoy them. (Click the photos to see larger versions.)

Denali

Mt. Foraker (17,400 ft), Mt. Hunter (14,573 ft), and Denali (20,310 ft)

These are the three highest peaks in the Alaska Range, and the 1st, 3rd, and 10th highest in the US.

Mt. Foraker, Mt. Hunter, and Denali

Mt. Foraker.

The lenticular cloud above the summit indicates high winds.

Denali

Mt. Foraker, Mt. Hunter, and Denali

Mt. Foraker

Mt. Hunter

Mt. Hunter, and Denali

This is taken from Denali State Park (about 35 miles from Denali), with the Chulitna River in the foreground. In Talkeetna, stop at the Denali Brewing Company for a Chuli Stout, named after this river.

Aug 25

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Alaska, Days 13-14

From the 63rd parallel in Kantishna, it took several flights and a seven and a half hour train ride to get back to Austin over the course of 24 hours. When we left Kantishna, it was about 42 degrees.

Denali Backcountry Lodge

Rather than take the six-hour bus ride from Kantishna back along the park road, we opted for a 40-minute flight with Kantishna Air Taxi. Fortunately, the weather held out for us—cloud ceilings of 2000 to 3000 feet AGL meant that we could fly about 1500 to 2000 feet above the ground and get a good view of the tundra and wildlife on our way back to the Denali Depot.

Our Cessna U206D Super Skywagon, built in 1969

In the lower right of the photo above, you can see the bus used by Christopher McCandless, who was attempting to live off the land by himself before he perished. He was the subject of Jon Krakauer’s book, Into the Wild.

Denali Depot and the main Visitor’s Entrance to Denali National Park

Coming in for our landing at Denali Depot

After arriving at Denali Depot, we boarded the Alaska Railroad southbound for our return to Anchorage. We had beautiful scenery along the way.

We spent the night in Anchorage before our long flights to Texas. When we arrived in Austin, it was 101.

I’ll probably create another blog post in the next few days to cover a few things that didn’t fit into my earlier posts. Stay tuned.

Aug 25

Alaska, Day 12

The rain continued off and on through day 12 in Kantishna, but that didn’t stop us from hiking a bit. In the morning, we went to Blueberry Hill, near Wonder Lake. We tasted wild blueberries and low-bush cranberries along the way

View of Wonder Lake (and behind the clouds, Mount McKinley) from Blueberry Hill

As you can see, it was overcast. We hiked in mist and the occasional rainshower. The cloud ceiling was only a few hundred feet.

In the afternoon, we hiked to the cabin of Fannie Quigley, a woman and local legend who lived in Kantishna from 1906 (before the park) until her death in 1944.

We also hiked a couple hundred extra yards to get to the official end of the road at the air strip. Here’s proof…

Next up, a long day of travel from Kantishna back to Anchorage. More to come.

Aug 24

Alaska, Day 11

I’m catching up after being off the grid in the Denali backcountry.

After the great weather in Talkeetna, the rain came again.

Storm approaching Eielson Visitor Center

We took a bus to the Denali Backcountry Lodge, at the end of the park road, 92 miles from the entrance. It was a six-hour bus ride, which included stops when we saw wildlife. Our driver/guide pretty much talked non-stop for that six hours, describing scenery, animal behavior, park history, and anything else relevant for our trip.

Along the way, we saw Dall Sheep, Moose, Caribou, Grizzly Bear, Gyrfalcons, and WIllow Ptarmigan, to name a few.

More to come tomorrow, as I continue catching up.

Aug 21

Alaska, Days 6-10

I apologize for not posting in a few days. Our days have been full, and the internet less than speedy and reliable, so updating the blog took a back seat.

In Skagway, we took the White Pass and Yukon Route Railroad to White Pass, briefly crossing into Canada before returning to Skagway.

The next port of call was Sikta, where our good weather karma started to run out. Our last day at sea met swells up to 18 feet, and winds up to 50 knots, as a large storm passed from west to east, as we went through in the opposite direction. This same storm caused significant flooding in Sikta the day after we were there.

In the photo below from somewhere in the Gulf of Alaska, note the relationship between the horizon and the boat. Our motion sickness patches worked great, though.

One of the highlights of our trip so far was a stop at Happy Trails Kennels, home of Martin Buser, a four time Iditarod champion. We loved the excitement of the dogs, playing with some 10-week-old puppies, and sitting in Martin and Kathy’s home talking about dog training philosophy.

We next worked our way up to Talkeetna, where the good weather karma returned. Denali is only visible about 30% of the time. Many people come to Alaska and stay for days without seeing it. Here are a couple of photos from Wednesday evening and Thursday morning. These are from about 60 miles away.

Tomorrow, we will probably be off the air for a couple of days in the Denali Backcountry. More when we return.

Conservation Photography and Other Photo Adventures

Posts tagged ‘denali’

A Few More Photos of the Alaska Range

Alaska, Days 13-14

Alaska, Day 12

Alaska, Day 11

Alaska, Days 6-10

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