Fireworks!

This year we had a new camera to take pictures of the airborn explosions. It was a lot of fun and a very good fireworks display. The show didn't start until a little after 11pm due to the amount of visible light.

Overnight

On July second I hiked up to the high country shelter and spent a night in my new two man tent. I rained all night long but I had a lovely hike up and it stopped raining about the time I woke up. Overall it was an enjoyable experience. The tent withstood the rain and wind nicely. This is the evening view of the Wilks range as the clouds roll in.

Sunset

Christina mentioned an unusual light for a short time on the evening of the second. The light red glow in the sky was reflecting off the water and gave the mountains and water a warm red cast rather than the normal blue.

I was hiking up to spend the night on a mountain ridge when I looked up and saw a rainbow headed my way. I hurried and got the camera and my rain jacket out of my pack. I didn't get too wet.

I liked the way this rainbow gave the rock outcrop additional color.

This is the Bridge to Shoemaker Overlook as seen in other posts. It was previously sagging considerably as both primary bridge stringers were broken. So for safety's sake we finished it off so no one would try crossing and have it totally collapse under them.

The alpine shooting stars are out and giving some color to the high elevation muskegs and meadows.

An immature bald eagle.

Anan

There were a few folks from out of town that were here for work related purposes. I helped show them around the district and we stopped at Anan Creek. The pink salmon are just beginning to run and the bears certainly seem ready. This is a black bear that was wandering around in the grass.

Brown bear cubs being frisky as their mother tries to catch lunch.

Anan

The stalk.

The leap.

Anan

The pounce.

The plunge.

The meal.

The envious cubs watch their mother eat. No, they didn't even get to lick the plate.

Eagles

I was showing some folks around the Wrangell Ranger District. This was taken at one of the Nemo campsites. This eagle is looking over its mate which is taking a turn on the nest next to this snag (Not pictured).

Back to Anan creek, right after the bear finished the salmon, this eagle flew down to nibble on the scraps. Not much was left.

"Is THIS all you left?" said the eagle to the bear.

High Country Part I

I hiked up to the North Wrangell High Country Shelter last night (6-15-07) after a baby shower. I didn't get started until 8:37pm and it was after 11 by the time I got to the top. This is a picture of Shoemaker Harbor with all it's lights while I'm trying to hold the camera still. My plan was to hike up by myself and spend the night out under the stars. I hiked up by myself but I wan't alone. When I got to the top there were a number of friends already there, making it a more enjoyable evening. And the sky full of stars didn't really turn out either. Seems like Alaska is the land of the midnight sun. We may not get the midnight sun here in Southeast but the sky still stays relatively light.

No, this isn't a hinged bridge. The extreme snow load of this past winter destroyed this pedistrian bridge.

The snow didn't just break the bridge, it broke much of the longer span step and run.

Rainbow falls has quite a bit of water cascading down over the edge that is generated by melting snow.

High Country Part II

A friend was kind enough to take a few pictures of me skiing a nice little line.

My campsite. I put the bottom of my sleeping bag in the backpack to keep my feet warm because of a moderately strong north wind. It seemed to work nicely. I stayed cozy and warm. In fact by 6 am I was starting to get a little too warm and decided to get up.

The evening light toward the North. This was at about 11:40pm. I went to sleep a little later and at 2:20am or so I was awakened by birds clucking. A pair of ptarmigan decided to visit me in the early morning light... Yes it was already getting light - it didn't get much darker than this even on a night with no moon. They came within about 20 feet before deciding that I wasn't particularly friendly looking. I fell back asleep and woke up about 15 minutes later to more cackling. A third ptarmigan came wandering by but that one decided it wasn't safe and flew off.

Mountains in Black and White

Castle Mountain.

Etolin Island.

Etolin Island - Virginia Peak.