As the bush plane flew low over the marshes and swamps adjoining the Kobuk river, I was left to wonder when this terrain would take on a desert appearance to support sand dunes. It never did - the marshes, interspersed with boreal spruce forests that was cut by meandering waters of the wide Kobuk river, continued endlessly until suddenly it just became sand. 4x4 and snowmobile tracks in the marsh suddenly disappeared. After that, it was just miles of endless sand.
That abrupt transition between forests and waterbodies and sand-dunes were features I experienced at multiple places in the park, and that juxtaposition was just shocking how many ever times I looked at it. And the transition zone was a timeless battle between the advancing forests and the advancing dunes, and who lost or won was just decided by precipitation and prevailing winds. The one constant was the mosquitoes, they were relentless in these transition zones.
One spot on the transition zone features these beautiful lime-green reindeer lichen that carpeted the forest floor. In the late evening (11pm) light, they had a light fluorescent glow unlike anything else I had seen.
Kobuk Valley National Park
AK USA
Amidst the Granite Walls
Park # 61 - Gates of the Arctic National Park
The Gates is a massive park situated entirely within the Arctic circle in Alaska, characterized by a long (but not very tall) ranges running east to west along the Continental Divide, and forming the border between the boreal and tundra climactic zones. Its wilderness experience is unparalleled, next to only the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. There are valleys in this where one could spend days without meeting another soul or witnessing any signs of civilization.
I chose to skip all that and visit the Arrigetch region of the Gates - known for its towering granite peaks with dramatic names such as Caliban, Xanadu, Elephant's tooth (given by climbers, of course). It is one of the most heavily visited areas of the park, so much so that there is even a very walkable climbers trail going up the valley. Despite that, it was challenging, and amazingly beautiful, especially when the weather cooperated.
Having explored this, it is certainly one of the parks I want to come back to explore some of it's more remote corners, of which there are so many.
Gates of the Arctic National Park
AK USA
Wild Alaska
The Alaskan arctic is probably one of the last unexplored frontiers for me. The rugged terrain, unpredictable weather, and a short season, coupled with mosquitoes swarming during the prime hiking season means that it is not on the top of my bucket list. The cost and difficulty in getting there compounds the inertia to visit it. But the last two National Parks on my list lie in the arctic, and that was needed incentive to overcome the inertia.
I expect the landscape to look a lot like the above, with rugged mountains rising above vast glaciated valleys that are filled with marsh, tussock and alder making it a challenge to walk through. Add in a few freezing river crossings too. It is going to be an interesting experience, and hopefully a rewarding one.
Wrangell St. Elias National Park
AK USA
Novarupta
While the term Katmai National Park conjures up images of Fat Bear Week and of gluttonous grizzles gorging on salmon, I found the volcanic wastelands of the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes far more fascinating. The eruption of the Novarupta volcano which deposited hundreds of feet of ash on this vast valley took place in 1912, and it was the largest eruption of the 20th century. Though news of this eruption was overshadowed by an even more titanic disaster, the sinking of the Titanic.
Hiking into this remote valley left me with an itch to explore more of this unique landscape someday.
As before, you can buy this calendar at this link.
Katmai National Park
AK USA
The Core of Novarupta
Most people associate Katmai with its famous grizzles. They are the star of the show, after all. However, there is an entirely different aspect to the National Park that very few people get out to explore.
In the summer of 1912, this park lay witness to one of the largest volcanic explosions of the century: the Novarupta explosion. It created an umbrella cloud 1000 miles wide, and expelled thirty times as much ash as Mt St Helens, lowering earth's temperature by more than a degree. The ash flow piled 700ft deep into the glaciated valley which now resembles a moonscape. This is the Valley of the 10000 smokes, so named for the innumerable fumeroles and vents that were observed in the aftermath of the explosion.
This valley is like no other: a vast ash-strewn landscape with nary a sign of vegetation stretching for miles into the horizon. The distant glacier-covered volcanoes are a reminder of the active nature of this region. In the late afternoon light, I snatched a few telephoto images of this mountainscape to capture the interplay of shadow and light.
Katmai National Park
AK USA
Waiting for Dinner
When do you decide from being a spectator to becoming an active participant? When it comes to wildlife, my principle is never (interfere). But there are times which have come close to testing it. This was certainly one of them.
Out at Brooks Falls in Katmai National Park, it was still early in the season. The salmon still hadn't started their upstream migration to their spawning grounds. They were waiting patiently in large numbers at the mouth of the river for some hidden signal that only they knew. The grizzles had just come out of their long winter hibernation, looking both famished and tired. The salmon is a key component of their summer diet, and the ursine population needed every salmon they could get their paws on; it was the only way to recover from the lost reserves.
And so, this year, the grizzlies waited at the same spot they wait every year. They were hoping to catch their break-fast, a feast of juicy salmon. However, with the slow run of the salmon, they just kept waiting in the cold waters of the river, looking sad and forlorn. 634 Popeye ( I think ) was one of them, and every spectator out on the deck felt so sorry for this guy that we all contemplated just feeding him a salmon from the store. Thankfully our better instincts (and a warning from the ranger) prevented us from doing so. So all we could do was just watch nature take its course.
Katmai National Park
AK USA
Glaciers in Fall
There are some photos which require a lot of planning just to get every aspect of the composition, lighting and timing just right. And then there are others which are a consequence of the circumstance of being at the right place at the right time. While on a drive in the Matanuska-Susitna Valluy (the Mat-Su as the locals call it), I spied this amazing landscape of a vast glacier descending behind a colorful meadow sporting fall foliage. I pulled over the next turnout at the right moment just before the view disappeared. The contrast between the vast greys of the glacier juxtaposed by the vibrant reds look far better in print. And you can experience it for yourself in my 2023 calendar, available for purchase at this link.
Mat-Su valley
AK USA
2023 Photography Calendar
My 2023 landscape and nature photography calendar is now available for sale through Lulu
This calendar showcases a wide variety of landscapes from the frozen slopes of the Arctic and the Pacific Northwest to the sun-drenched cities of Italy. With the pandemic easing, we have been blessed to be able to travel and explore the different corners of the country and the world. And this calendar has captured my favorite memories and experiences.
And remember, this calendar is for a good cause - all proceeds will get donated to Sierra Club Foundation. We are gifted to have such amazing public lands, and having visited 54 National Parks and many more wilderness areas, I have come to realize the vital importance of our public lands system in protecting and preserving nature, culture, wildlife, and landscapes for the future. The Sierra Club Foundation helps secure protections for public lands and waters, promote healthy ecosystems and communities, and fight for clean air and water, and build a diverse, inclusive environmental movement that reflects and represents today’s American public, and prioritizes important connections between environmental health and social justice.
Seattle WA
USA
Misty Mountains
Backpacking in Wrangell St. Elias late in the season has its risks: you are likely to be at the whim of the Pacific storms which can dump a lot of moisture. And the short summer here means that you are going to be cold, damp and miserable if you are not moving. And if you are really lucky, you are going to be frozen in the icy north too. My sojourn in the Park had all of these, and more. But it was still an amazing experience.
Waking up in the morning after a day of hiking in the cold miserable rain, I was treated to a landscape blanketed in snow, with the morning light slowly peering through. The warming sunlight led to fog forming and drifting over the rolling hills and snow-capped peaks all around. And for a while, the landscape glowed with alternating pastels of yellow and blue. This magical landscape was the only factor that helped me brave the freezing cold that morning.
Here I tried to capture one such scene from that delightful morning walk.
Wrangell St Elias National Park
AK USA
Scenes from Wrangell
After a week long backpack that traversed 27 miles of vertiginous terrain in Wrangell St Elias, I was stunned by the breathtaking scenery in just one small portion of this vast park. I have many more stories to share, but here is a quick preview of the beautiful landscape hidden in the largest National Park of the country.
Wrangell St. Elias National Park
AK USA