Evening hike to the Rainbow Basin
Beautiful night in the Eastern Alaska Range
The view from my campsite
This was were I holed up for the night, hoping for aurora, but getting a lot more in the way of winter weather instead. I'll say that I sure wasn't expecting stumble on such a wonderful spot to stay the night. In the Alaska Range - near the Canwell Glacier
Reflections
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.
Castner Creek
White Princess was out when I was driving by - back in the clouds by the time I stopped and got out with the camera.
A nice place to camp
Gorgeous view from my tent. It was flat-ish. Sharp rocks, but flat-ish. I recommend multiple pads.
Jagged
Jagged peaks in the Rainbow Basin shortly before sunset - Eastern Alaska Range blogpost: Camping in the Rainbow Basin
Red Rock Canyon Trail
This is a hard packed dirt and rock "road" that I can drive on comfortably in the Subaru for a couple of miles. It narrows quickly, with brush scraping both sides of the car, then comes to a good size stream that I can't cross. ATV's and well equipped off-road vehicles can continue, but I go by foot. Anyway, this is at the start of the road.
I just wandered around for hours
Carefully . . . the talus is steep and fairly loose.
Setting up camp
In the Rainbow Basin. My MSR Hubba Hubba, 17 year old Lowe Alpine Pack, multiple cameras and tripod.
Silvertip
It's three glacier valleys away.
Canwell
Cool little green valley, turning red - above the Canwell Glacier.
Camp
Finally ready to settle in for the evening.
The other side
Many people drive past Rainbow Ridge on the Richardson Highway - this is what the other side of it looks like.
Sometimes everything disappears
Even short-lived whiteout conditions on mountains and glaciers are incredibly disorienting. Everything becomes, simply, void. When fog comes in with snow there are times you can't see your own feet. It's best not to even try to travel at all when possible.
Fog
Cool cloud layer at about 4500 ft. elevation, above the Canwell Glacier.
McCallum Peak
McCallum Peak with Institute Peak lurking in the background with some perfect evening light - Eastern Alaska Range
Silvertip. Well, from what I could see of it through the clouds.
A mountain disappears - black and white
Evening Light
Last light of the day hits the glacier in the Rainbow Basin as the sun is about to drop below the mountains to the west. It's hard to describe how peaceful everything was this day. It was so quiet as I sat alone in front of my tent watching time pass. Occasionally I'd hear a crack from the ice or a rock tumble down a slope. Without those sounds I would never have had the sense that time was passing.
Rocky Camp
My tent in the Rainbow Basin near the Canwell Glacier in the Alaska Range. It was a pretty sweet and quiet campsite.
Dreamlike
Dreamlike - View of Item Peak and Silvertip from the Rainbow Basin above the Canwell Glacier. Late August in the Alaska Range.
