There were quite a few large streams to cross on the Black Rapids Glacier this year with absolutely no englacial drainage to help calm the water at the surface. At least they are pretty to look at. The channel here was quite a bit deeper and wider than it looked and this little island of ice with the precariously balanced boulder proved to be a useful crossing point.
Autumn in Denali National Park
Mountains south of the Park Road in Denali National Park and Preserve. "Rivers" of yellow wind through the red foliage and "lakes" of green spruce dot the hillsides. I have yet to find a place that I would prefer to be in autumn, even though the season here is incredibly short. The splendid colors only hang around for about a week before the deciduous leaves fall, followed shortly by the snow.
The northern lights just a few yards away from our cabin.
On the Black Rapids Glacier in the Eastern Alaska Range. Eventually the slushy blue streaks in the snow from a few days before this gave way to water channels in the ice beneath the surface. Sometimes they find old channels from previous years, sometimes they don't. In the summer of 2014 we spent two weeks camped on the glacier and had to cross many of these streams. It was still early in the melt season which meant that there weren't any moulins yet to drain the water for the surface. This meant that to get across the glacier we had to jump over many of these streams, a handful of which were quite wide. My knees would often be swollen and sore at the end of the day. I was always more comfortable jumping to my dominant, right leg, but when I didn't mix it up I paid for it later. I started jumping all the small streams to my left leg, and only to my right if there were consequences for missing a jump.
The higher you go on the Harding Icefield Trail, the better the views seem to get. It's a long way down to the crevassed Exit Glacier. Kenai Fjords National Park.
An early snowfall fell in September of 2013 in Fairbanks. The foliage was just coming into peak and the oranges and yellows were beautifully covered in a bit of white. I would not mind if snow fell every year on autumn leaves.
The old ammonia leaching plant at the Kennecott copper mine. To the left is the largely debris covered Kennicott Glacier (yes, the spelling is different) and the flanks of Mt. Blackburn (16,390 ft - 4,996 m) hiding behind the clouds. (In my opinion, it's worth a trip to Alaska just to go here!)
Northwestern Glacier, a tidewater glacier near Seward, Alaska. Kenai Fjords National Park.
Grizzly Bear - Denali National Park
The brown bear paused from eating soapberries to look around before returning to the river. I can't believe how beautiful, almost human, it's eyes were. This really wrapped up a fantastic bus trip into Denali National Park.
Paddle-tailed darner (Aeshna palmata) on bird vetch (Vicia cracca). Vetch is an incredibly invasive plant species in the Alaska Interior. It's kind of pretty, but it chokes all native plants, including tree saplings and spreads like crazy. The dragonfly is just pretty, enjoy it!
Blue Skies in the Alaska Range
Peak near the head of a large tributary to the Black Rapids Glacier in the Eastern Alaska Range.
The aurora borealis dances over a boreal forest in Fairbanks, Alaska. Blog: http://lwpetersen.com/photo-blog/week-northern-lights-wouldnt-quit/
Silhouetted boreal forest and reflection at Ballaine Lake - Fairbanks, Alaska
Dreamlike - View of Item Peak and Silvertip from the Rainbow Basin above the Canwell Glacier. Late August in the Alaska Range.
Pastel skies and arnica on the side of the road. At Donnelly flats south of Delta Junction.
I woke up and it was -35° F at the house. The redpolls managed to devour two whole feeders worth of seed yesterday, and they are on track to do it again today. Lucky for them, it looks like today is the last cold day in the forecast - we're looking at possible temperatures over 60° [F] warmer! And Spring is right around the corner!
Not a minute after that eruption on the horizon this auroral corona danced overhead and seemed to last for a really long time. Usually only appearing for a few seconds, I think I had about a minute of shooting this one. In the center you might be able to make out the big dipper, but the stars were pretty dim compared to the northern lights that night!
Jupiter and Venus shining bright after sunset as twilight takes over on a cold, cold night on Murphy Dome. The "blue hour" lasts a very long time in the interior of Alaska for most of the fall, winter, and spring.
Early on the Thoro Ridge Trail in Denali National Park a caribou came up over the hillside with her calf and trotted across the ridge for a while. blogpost: hiking the Thoro Ridge
In the short summer, water scours the glacier surface creating a ripple-like surface on the ice going down glacier. At the end of the season, when the first major snow falls the rough surface becomes once again smooth. This was taken at the end of the day when I could really see the shadows from those ripples. It kind of looks like little waves on the glacier.
Quaking aspen along a trail at the University of Alaska Fairbanks at peak foliage in September.
Spruce forest, low sun, ice fog. Suggested Prints: 5"x10" or 10"x20" Metal
I had the sneaking suspicion that I was being watched . . . Wandering around the Alaska Dog Musher's Association trails, in part of Creamer's Field. Fairbanks, Alaska.
Panorama taken in the White Mountains of Alaska. Autumn has come and gone here already. I started to build a snowman, but my hands got cold.
Supraglacial stream on the Canwell Glacier. We had a beautiful hike in, then it started raining. When we woke up there was a dusting of snow on the tent and the air was crisp.
Lenticular clouds form rapidly over the Alaska Range. Taken from the Canwell Glacier.
Pastel colors in the sky over the Alaska Range
Across the Richardson Highway from the Donnelly Creek Campground. Possibly the calmest weather I've ever seen in this part of the Alaska Range. Wind is often funneled through Isabel Pass from the south, so it's not often I see flat water here.
The pastels turn fiery as the Sun nears the horizon. Taken on the Alaska Dog Musher's Association trail system on the Creamer's Field Migratory Bird Refuge. It's sunrises like these that keep me going in the dark winter here.
Longitudinal crevasses on the Castner Glacier
One of the brightest, albeit brief displays I've seen over Fairbanks, Alaska.
The shuttle buses in Denali National Park stop constantly for wildlife, this is one of the few stops that is made purely for the view. Braded rivers, kettle ponds, and glacial erratics dot the valley. This was one of the only days I've been there that the glaciers were visible.
Anybody want to go swimming!? Flying over a water-filled pothole up high on the Black Rapids Glacier in the Alaska Range.
Watching ravens play
A bright rainbow in the Donnelly Flats just north of the Alaska Range.
Snow-clad spruce trees at sunrise. Sunrises have to be one of my favorite things about Fairbanks, next to the aurora, and the mountain range to our south. Our sparse boreal forests give nice open views of the sky too. I love seeing those subtle arctic blues behind the brilliant colors. Almost every morning in the winter is wonderful!
Northern lights spiral
Rocky moraine on the Black Rapids Glacier in the Eastern Alaska Range. You'd barely know there was 8 inches of fresh snow just a few days before. June 2014.
The White Mountains of the Alaska interior starting to earn their name in early September.
The south face of Mt. Shand (12,660 feet, 3859 meters) in the Alaska Range. That's about a mile of vertical, exposed rock.
September - The view from US Creek Road
Taken during a late autumn drive into into the White Mountains of the Alaska Interior for a dayhike. The White Mountain Recreation Area is incredibly remote, but littered with trails for hiking, snow machining, and skiing. Bordered by the Steese and Elliot Highways the rest of the 1 million acre rec area must be accessed by a handful of mining roads and by trail.
Looking at the toe of the Canwell Glacier from Miller Creek. Eastern Alaska Range.
Mountains covered in ice and a dusting of fresh snow in the Trinity Basin, high up in the Alaska Range.
Surface stream near a moraine on the Black Rapids Glacier in the Alaska Range.
Evening meal time in Denali National Park. I took over 30 photos of this mama and her calf feeding on willows, and then the calf nursing right in the middle of the Park road. That set starts here, if you'd like to take a look.
After a bit of slipping and sliding on the alpine trail I found myself on the totally snow-free, rocky ridge. This was the view from the direction I came, with Denali on the horizon. Denali National Park
Moby Dick in the Hayes region of the Alaska Range and some ice in the air. This is an incredible looking peak from the east. (10,062 ft 3067 m)