Ramblings:

hey Folks,

Well, as winter just wound to a close, I thought I’d post a short note about winter outdoor gear. All in all, what’s the best outdoor hiking and backpacking gear I bought this winter? What piece of gear really rocked my world? A $40.00 pair of Sierra Designs Down Booties! These things rock! Kept my feet warm and happy during the coldest of days - not quite 50 below zero! I was really impressed with them. Sierra Designs make some good gear, but these are the best buy of the season. Comfortable, light, durable, cheaply priced and stylish! Other candidates for good buys or just good winter gear were:

* My Lowe Alpine Mountain Cap. I don’t even know if this is still made - I’ve had mine for over 10 years, and it’s still good as new. It now officially counts as my oldest piece of 1st-tier gear. My North Face Firefox sleeping bag, which is no longer made, is just as old, but I don’t use it most of the time, after buying the Western Mountaineering Ultralite 18 months ago. Regarding the cap, I have the Triple Point Fabric version and they also have a Gore-Tex version. This hat is awesome, fleece-lined, and toasty! And it looks cool as well!

* A surprise contender, for me, is the REI fleece gloves I have .. they’re fingerless, but with a little extra fold-over mitten .. these are great, I can fold the mitten cover back, exposing my fingers for operating a camera, and quickly cover them back up as it gets cold. Unless it got REALLY cold, these gloves we re just fine this winter. Well-priced, and warmer than I thought they might be.

* Atlas 1030 Snowshoes. Excellent shoes for getting around in the powdery snow in Wrangell - St. Elias National Park, good traction cleats, lightweight rugged construction, and easy to fix buckles. Great snowshoes, though not cheap either.

If you’re looking for something to spend your tax refund on, you won’t go wrong with any of the above gear, and it’s probably all marked down for end of season sales.

Cheers

Carl

Hey Folks,

Welcome back. It’s been a stressful week, working to change server from one very poor webhost I’d had in the past to the new host. Hopefully all the glitches have been worked out and the site is back to normal. If you run across any anomalies, please use the contact link, or write a post here and let me know. I’d appreciate it, thank you. I think we’ve got it all working again though.

This photo, along with the one posted here as the new Image of the Month in the Gallery section, was taken early February in Wrangell - St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

Thanks

Cheers

Carl

Hey Folks,

Just a quick note to let you know I’m still around. As you can see, I’ve been getting out a bit, over in Wrangell - St. Elias National Park, and there’s plenty of snow around to keep things interesting. It was nearly minus 50deg F a couple of weeks ago, and skiing and snow shoeing was a task. But I did manage to get out every day and enjoy the woods.

The winter is absolutely amazing in the Wrangells, and though the weather can at times be somewhat adversarial, it’s so worth the experience. Fortunately, the road in to McCarthy is reasonable this year, though it does have a few glaciers across it that require caution. If anyone’s headed in to the park, bring some chains, though so far they haven’t been requisite. Do bring snow shoes, skis a hat and gloves!

Anyway, I’ll try to get back to posting information as I have time. I hope you’re all have a good winter, and getting in shape for a big summer backpacking season. It’ll be here before you know it!

Cheers

Carl

Hey Folks,

Just a quick post to say I won’t be around much for the next while. I’ll be in Wrangell - St. Elias National Park shooting for my book project, and so won’t have a lot of time or internet access to update the blog, but will do so as I’m able. Feel free to comment or post, or email me if you have any questions, and I’ll definitely reply as soon as I am able. I’ll try to check in at least every few days or so, depending on the availability of email access. Be patient.

So, for now, stay warm, and enjoy the rest of the winter.

Cheers

Carl

Hey Folks,

Here’s a short trip review of a trip we did this previous summer. Skolai to Wolverine, a favorite route for just about everyone who’s done it. We did this trip in 2007 in late July, early August, and had a blast. Allowing extra days to spend on route gave us the leeway to make some shorter days, with less time carrying heavy packs, and more time eating good food, enjoying the lingering sunsets, and dayhiking and exploring the region. We hiked up to Hole in the Wall on our first afternoon, where we saw and photographed a family of White-tailed ptarmigans, along with some Dall sheep. Hole in the Wall is one of the first places most visitors get to be up close with a glacier, so it’s always a treat. We had a late lunch up in the hanging valley, and moseyed back down to camp in the early evening. The following day we hiked over to Chittistone Pass, where we set up and camp and did a short walk around that area. (more…)

Hey Folks

Here’s a photo from fall in Wrangell - St. Elias National Park. This is a shot of sunrise over the infamous Kuskulana Bridge and Kuskulana Gorge. The gorge is 280 feet deep, and nearly 600 feet wide. The bridge was originally built in 1911 to allow the Kennecott Mining Corporation access to the lucrative Copper Mines by the Kennicott glacier. It’s been rebuilt and strengthened a lot, but it’s still pretty crazy to see it. This is on the McCarthy Road, at mile 17. We always stop on the way and walk out on the bridge, take some pictures, etc. It’s a cool welcome to the park, for sure. In fall, the river level drops down markedly from the summer high water, and it also becomes much cleaner, with less glacial silt in it. It’s amazing how quickly the Kuskulana River goes from being a raging dirty glacial river to a smaller clear stream in early september. Sometimes a few days makes a world of difference.

Cheers

Carl

Hey Folks,

I thought I might write a small post here about my favorite National Park, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park. Though it’s the largest national park in North America, and possibly the most impressive as well, it’s relatively little visited; many people have never even heard the words Wangell - St. Elias National Park. the park gets (as of 2007) less than 40 000 visitors a year. Denali National Park gets close to a million, and parks in the Lower 48 states such as the Smokies or Yellowstone get in the vicinity of 10 million.

Wrangell St. Elias National Park is nearly times larger than Yellowstone National park, at 14 million acres of wild, remote, gorgeous country. Established as a National Park in 1980, the area was proclaimed a World Heritage Site in 1979. Together with Glacier Bay National Park, Wrangell St. Elias adjoins (more…)

Hey Folks,

Here’s a photo I took of the Kennicott Glacier, not far from the small town of McCarthy, in Wrangell St. Elias National Park, Alaska. I was exploring the west side of the glacier, which is much less frequently hiked and travelled than the east side. But, with a little luck and some perseverance, I found a few places I managed to scrape out some decent photos. Hiking around glaciers require care, particularly if you’re hiking solo. I guess hikign anywhere, anytime, requires care, but particularly solo trips. That said, I do love being out exploring the backcountry on my own - it’s a particular way of connecting with the land that is immeasurably different to trips with other people. (more…)

Hey Folks,

Recently someone asked me about some photography tips, and I thought that might make a good post for a blog. There’s obviously way too much stuff to talk about in one post, so I’ll just make this one specific to shooting landscapes on backpacking trips. Hopefully this will help you bring home some better images from your trips. The image I’ve posted here is of Regal Mountain, a 13 845′ high shield volcano, or stratovolcano, in the Wrangell Mountains, seen from Skolai Pass, Wrangell St. Elias National Park. Regal Mountain is most commonly seen from the west, from the Root Glacier near McCarthy. Because the mountain is so covered with glaciers, it’s hardly been studied at all by geologists. It’s a WAY cool mountain!

First thing is suck it up and bring your tripod. Even a little lightweight tripod is WAY better than no tripod at all. These days you can buy an ultralight tripod that’ll really help you out. Like everything else, it seems, you pay more dollars for every ounce you lose. (more…)