Archive for March, 2008

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Wild Wolf photo, Denali National Park, Alaska.

Monday, March 31st, 2008

A female wolf, alpha female of the Grant Creek Pack, in Denali national Park, stands with the head of a small caribou she hunted and killed earlier that day.

Hey Folks,

Recently some of the environmental news has be regarding the delisting of the Gray Wolves in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Hence you can see, I post a picture of a wolf from Denali National Park. As you can see from the image, the wolf was collared by the Park Service biologists, to track and record her movements and to help them learn more about wolves. She’s dead now, apparently killed by wolves in another pack last winter, wandering onto some turf that didn’t belong to her. Such seems to be the way with wolves. (more…)

Posted in Alaska, Denali National Park, Environmental Issues, Montana, News, Wildlife, Wolves, Wyoming | 13 Comments »

Denali photo, Mt McKinley, Denali National Park.

Saturday, March 29th, 2008

Denali, Mt. McKinley, Denali National Park, Alaska.

hey Folks,

What an awesome day. A walk down along the coastal trail, Denali, or Mt. McKinley in full view is a treat. Absolutely gorgeous. There’s probably not too many towns in the world you can walk along the beach and be looking at a 20 000′ tall mountain. Here’s a picture in honor of ‘the mountain’ – ain’t it something!

Cheers

Carl

Posted in Adventures, Alaska, Backpacking and Hiking, Denali National Park, Landscapes, Travel | 8 Comments »

Conservation Photography.

Friday, March 28th, 2008

Crystalline Hills, Wrangell Mountains, winter, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

Hey Folks,

I stumbled across this article earlier today, and thought it might be a good topic for a post. The subject is conservation photography, rather than typical nature photography. “Although nature photography can appeal to a viewer’s aesthetic sensibilities, the truth is that photography has much more potential to play a role in conservation than has yet been realized. When photographic skills, creative talent and scientific understanding converge on a subject the outcome can be powerful.”

I think it’s a great article, and an important one, but I think it’s simultaneously important that we remain aware of the capacity in which photography can harm our, as well as our audience’s relationship with the natural world. (more…)

Posted in Alaska, Environmental Issues, Landscapes, Rants, Winter, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park | 7 Comments »

Going to the Sun Road photo, Glacier National Park, Montana

Wednesday, March 26th, 2008

Going to the Sun road, in the Rocky Mountains, Glacier National Park, Montana, in the fall, is one of the highlights of the Rockies.

Hey Folks,

I think Glacier National Park is one of the grandest places in North American, certainly that I’ve been. My first ever solo trip out backpacking in the Rockies was at Glacier National Park, many years ago. I was scheduled to go with a friend of mine, and he bailed out right before the trip – I had to choose between going solo and canceling. Like there was an option! :) I had no idea at the time, but that trip probably put me in Alaska right now, and on the road to being a backpacking guide.

I flew out to Kalispell, got off the plan and grabbed a shuttle straight to the park. I remember arriving in the park, in awe, trying to see it all in one breath – impossible! Trees towered over me as we travelled through the forests of the Western edge of the Rockies – huge, healthy, trees, tall as the sky. (more…)

Posted in Adventures, Cool stories, Fall, Landscapes, Montana, Travel | 9 Comments »

Yellow Paintbrush Photo, Wrangell – St. Elias NP, Alaska.

Tuesday, March 25th, 2008

Yellow Paintbrush or Coastal Paintbrush photo, wildflower, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

Hey Folks,

Here’s a photo of a Yellow or Coastal Paintbrush (Castilleja unalaschensis). Taken in Wrangell St. Elias National Park, Alaska. I’m eagerly waiting spring this year here to really get some more photos of the flowers in the area. The flowers don’t really hit the high country until July, but hopefully I’ll get some opportunities in the lower country, in the forest, in the spring.

Cheers

Carl

Posted in Alaska, Flowers, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park | 5 Comments »

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Monday, March 24th, 2008

Weasel, ANWR, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska

Hey Folks,

Here’s a follow up to my recent post on proposals to drill for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska. Whilst that post concentrated on facts and figures and data and so forth, I think greater arguments ought be made. As you can see from a cursory read of that post, it’s too easy for folks to cut up a pie in any way they choose in order that it might yield the slices that best fit their appetite. I suppose part of the reason for this is that the pie itself is, ultimately, generated by our cultural institutions, our way of living, our way of seeing the world. The potential number of barrels of oil the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge may yield is somewhat of an abstraction – what constitutes a “barrel”, for example? How large is the footprint of a drilling rig? How many caribou will that impact? Any measurements we choose to use are simply yardsticks of our own worldview (I guarantee you, for example, that the Porcupine Caribou Herd would, if asked, probably give a very different answer to even our cleverest scientists). What if we don’t look upon the world with that viewpoint, however? How else might we be able to see the world, and in what ways might we possibly benefit from a different angle? (more…)

Posted in Alaska, ANWR, Environmental Issues, Miscellaneous, Rants, Small Mammals, Wildlife | 3 Comments »

Dall Sheep Ram photo, Denali National Park, Alaska.

Sunday, March 23rd, 2008

A Dall sheep ram photo, taken late summer, Denali National Park, Alaska.

Hey Folks,

Well, I was going to post another little note about ANWR, but I haven’t finished it yet and I want to go to bed. So I looked through my folder of images for the blog, and had a cool kayaking photo all picked out when I saw this one and chose it instead. This photo was taken in Denali National Park. I spent the whole day up on this ridge with a band of Dall sheep rams, it was awesome. They’re pretty used to people approaching them up there, so they let me get reasonably close. Mid-morning they all lay down in the shade and took a nap, so I did the same. A couple of hours later, one woke up, rose and walked around the area a little. I tried to get in position for some shots, and he ended up on this little outcrop here. I was lying on the ground, and before ya know it, he walked right up to me. I lay as still as I could and he ended up nearly stepping right over me. It was pretty cool.

I’d love to get some images of rams like these over in the Wrangells, where the sheep tend to be bigger, but because they get hunted quite a bit, they’re WAY more skittish. Also, because Denali is so much more heavily visited, the sheep are very used to people. In Wrangell – St. Elias NP, even where the sheep are not hunted, they so rarely encounter people, especially the rams who stay up very high, that they’re pretty wary. Maybe this summer I’ll have some more luck with them. Until then, Denali is the place for rams.

Happy Easter!

Cheers

Carl

Posted in Alaska, Cool stories, Denali National Park, Wildlife | 8 Comments »

Puppy Love – Iditarod sled dog.

Saturday, March 22nd, 2008

A dog nuzzles a handler before the start of the 2008 Iditarod

hey Folks,

Here’s another from the start of the Iditarod in Anchorage, March 1, 2008. It doesn’t seem like that long ago, and here the month has flown by. I wanted to get a shot or 2 of some interaction between the dogs and heir handlers, but they were typically not in decent light. Finally got a few that I was happy with. This one, the handler knelt down to check the dog’s booties, and he got a face full of tongue for his trouble. Seconds later the starter said “Go”, and the dogs were gone!

Cheers

Carl

Posted in Adventures, Alaska, Anchorage, Iditarod, News, People, Travel, Winter | 2 Comments »

Whitewater Kayaker surfing photo Baker River, Patagonia, Chile.

Friday, March 21st, 2008

A whitewater kayaker surfing on a play wave on the Rio Baker or Baker River, Patagonia, Chile.

Hey Folks,

Here’s another from the Rio Baker – at the end of the first canyon, which is 5 enormous rapids over 2 miles, there’s a flatwater section, and then just down from the take-out spot is a big playwave. We bought an extra kayak, a smaller playboat, just for this one wave. You’d never want to run a river the size of the Baker in such a small boat, unless you’re a kayaker with world-class crazy skills – a bigger volume boat is what you need for running such big rapids. But, once down at the playwave, those big boats aren’t as handy for doing tricks and surfing, like this small Wave Sport ZG playboat. Being smaller and less volume, the boat is more maneuverable, and in the hands of someone like Santiago Ibanez, from Peru, it rocks and rolls with ease. Santiago’s a great fella, a helluva great kayaker, and he guides on the Futaleufu River when he’s not in Peru.

By the way, if you haven’t read my earlier blogs on the Baker, the river is scheduled to be dammed in the coming year. Hopefully enough activism and enough demonstrations will stop that from happening. For more information, visit these pages:

Baker River and also here.

Cheers

Carl

Posted in Adventures, Chile, Kayaking, People, Travel | 6 Comments »

Whitewater kayaking photo Baker River, Patagonia, Chile.

Thursday, March 20th, 2008

Whitewater kayaker dropping off a waterfall on the Baker River, Patagonia, Chile

Hey Folks,

Simpler times indeed. Last year at this time I was in the Andes Mountains with some good friends, on a trip to the Rio Baker, or Baker River, Patagonia, Chile. A series of insane Class 5 and 6 rapids make this one of the biggest whitewater kayaking runs in the world. This is the first of the 4 rapids, a cool drop over a waterfall. This kayaker is my friend from Futaleufu, Chilean native Memo, who’s real name is Guillermo – we just called him Memo. It was his first time on a river this size, and he paddled it with aplomb. I’m hoping to get back down to Chile maybe next winter and revisit some old friends and places. We’ll see if that happens.

Cheers

Carl

Posted in Adventures, Chile, Kayaking, People, Travel | 6 Comments »

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