Hey Folks,
Well, this image isn’t from the Bremner to Tebay trek. Just a little break. This was from my trip down to Yakutat and the Tongass National Forest in June. Hiking in the forest is such a treat, especially in an ancient one like the Tongass. The mood of the place is simply awesome. I was a hundred yards from the Pacific Ocean here, yet the forest completely enveloped me, and it didn’t feel at all like a hike near the ocean to me.

The Tongass National Forest is a beautiful forest, and a national treasure. I hate to see the damage being done to it by industrial logging, and hope protections are put in place ASAP to help preserve what remains of this beautiful place.

Cheers

Carl

Hey Folks,

The sun was still setting northwest of me, but the color toward the south was nice. I tried a few different shutter speeds, trying to get a nice blur of the waves. Shooting here was a great experience .. I really had a great time, alone on the beach, just enjoying the play of the surf. A beautiful place.

Cheers

Carl

Hey Folks,

Here’s a look at some of the pebbles and stones washed up on the beach at Point Carrew, a famous surfing beach near Yakutat. On a clear day, the view from here across Disenchantment Bay towards the Malaspina Glacier and Mt. St. Elias is second to none! On this evening, clouds to the northwest meant the view was stifled – I could see the pyramid like peak of St. Elias poking out above the clouds, but it wasn’t such a great photo. I liked this little collection of pebbles and rocks.

Cheers

Carl

Hey Folks,

I do enjoy the beach. Especially late in the day. This was after I’d returned from the debacle at Icy Bay and was wondering what I’d do with the rest of my time – I wasn’t scheduled to return back to Anchorage for a week, so I tooled around at the beach for a while – that’s usually a pretty good option, I reckon. Especially on days like this.

Cheers

Carl

Hey Folks,

One of the reasons I really looked forward to getting down to this area was to see the Tongass National Forest. The Tongass is one of the last great forests remaining in the US, and probably the great temperate rainforest of the world (along with the forests of Pumalin and surrounding area, central Patagonia, Chile). I’ll try to write more on the Tongass as I get time. What this shows is why the expectation is that the forest will soon be renamed. “Tong National Forest” – as clearcutting and intensive logging continue to literally tear the ass out of the forest. This kind of stuff is SO destructive, and heartbreaking to see. Fortunately, much of the clearcutting is no longer undertaken, and the older cut areas have started to grow back – but to regenerate an ancient forest and all it’s glory takes centuries.

Cheers

Carl

Hey Folks,

This image I actually took before I got to Icy Bay. I arrived in Yakutat on a cold, drizzly afternoon, and spent the night on Cannon Beach, just outside town, before flying in to Icy Bay the following morning. I wanted some images of the Tongass National Forest while I was in the area, so I spent a few hours combing the beach and the wandering the old ancient forest there. It’s unbelievable. What a powerful place!

Lupine are probably my favorite flower – but I spend most of the summer in the high alpine country of Wrangell – St. Elias, and the flowers there aren’t quite as awesome as the ones on the lush coastal areas. So it was a treat to shoot some of these flowers down here. You’ll see a few more lupine images if you pop in here over the next 2 weeks.

Cheers

Carl