Fall Colors in Wrangell - St. Elias National Park, Alaska

 

October is the peak season for autumn colors in the U.S and in many parts of the northern hemisphere. In Alaska, the fall color season starts in August and peaks in September.

On a gorgeous September day, eastern Alaska was painted in golden yellow to vivid red! I photographed the northern part of Wrangell - St. Elias National Park. Birch trees, which comprise a large part of fall colors in Alaska, were brilliant under the sun.

 

Tundra and shrubs are decorated in bright orange to red. These amazing autumn colors are special in the northern region and alpine environments exclusively. I just love these colors!

 



Mount Sanford with fall colored birch.
 

Historical cabin surrounded by fall colored birch.
 

 

Gold was discovered at Nabesna in Wrangell - St. Elias National Park in early 1930s. The Rambler Mine is the remains of an abandoned gold mine. The atmosphere was a bit spooky around the mining ruins.

Wildlife in Wrangell - St. Elias Park

I haven’t updated my blog for a while… This will be the last posting from my Wrangell – St. Elias National Park project.

While I stayed in Wrangell – St. Elias National Park for 4 months, I saw a lot of wildlife and photographed as many animals as possible. Although there were many black bear sites in the area, and I personally saw some of them, I couldn’t get any good shots.

It’s the “year of rabbits” in the Kennicott and McCarthy area. I’ve saw multitudes of Snowshoe Hare every day. Some of them hung out right in front of my door. Hundreds of them were just sitting on the five-mile dirt road between Kennicott and McCarthy.

Porcupines are also very common in the area… Be careful, don’t be too close.

The Alaskan state bird, the Ptarmigan, changes its color from winter to summer. In spring, their feathers are half white and a half brown. There are Dall Sheep and grizzly bears in Wrangell – St. Elias National Park and Preserve. Dall Sheep live in high elevation and grizzlies haven’t been sighted in Kennicott during the past 10+ years.

The wildlife there was shy. Unlike in Denali or Yellowstone, animals haven’t gotten used to the presence of tourists. It requires a lot more effort and patience to photograph wildlife in Wrangell – St. Elias.

Thank you for reading my stories from Alaska. I’m in Jackson, Wyoming for next 4 months. I’ll update this pages as often as I can. Please check back!

Flying over Wrangell - St. Elias National Park

Wrangell – St. Elias National Park is the largest National Park in the United States, and it contains spectacular mountain ranges and massive glacier system in the vast wilderness.
The best way to experience this largest park is take a flight over the mountain ranges and glaciers in a small bush plane. I’ve been on the planes a quite a few times since mid May.
I was flying among the high peaks of St. Elias Mountains in late May. I was thrilled to flying very closed to glacier covered rugged peaks.Also, there are so many glaciers between the mountains. Several smaller glaciers merge into a huge glacier! It was truly magnificent place.

I also flew over some major rivers in the park. The rivers start from the massive glaciers, and they get wider and braided as they go downstream. The braided river reflects sunlight through the thin clouds and it shining like silver.Here is the famous Mt. Blackburn and Root Glacier merges into Kennicott Glacier. I've lived this area for 4 months.

Kennecott Mill Town

One of the big attractions in Wrangell – S. Elias National Park is the Kennecott Mill Town. (The mining company was named after the Kennicott Glacier. However, when they registered the name, they misspelled as Kennecott.)

Soon after the richest copper was discovered in this remote part of Alaska, the mill and the railroad to transport copper ore were built in this area supporting town of Kennicott in early 1900s. That was before Wrangell – St. Elias National Park was established (in 1980).

While the mill was operated 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (except July 4th and Christmas Day), the mining employees and support employees lived Kennecott. Since the Kennecott mines closed in 1938, it quickly became a ghost town until the ruins were rediscovered for tourism. The old mill buildings are registered as a National Historic Landmark, and they are being stabilized and restored.

I’ve been photographing these picturesque buildings in the different times of the days. My favorite time is during sunset. The red buildings glow under the warm sunset light.


More information about Historic Kennecott is:
http://www.nps.gov/wrst/historyculture/kennecott.htm

Mt. Blackburn and Root Glacier

I’ve been living right at the point where the Root Glacier merges into the Kennicott Glacier, in Wrangell – St. Elias National Park (Alaska), since mid May. I’ve been exploring and photographing this massive glacier and its moraines for a while.
Walking on a glacier is a special experience, kind of like walking on another planet! The ice crystals shine from all directions. The melting water creates narrow streams, as they find a way out toward the glacial surface. There are numerous waterfalls on the glacier. The pools reflect some of the most beautiful colors on earth. I love to find the aquamarine blue colored pools on the glacier.
This peak is Mt. Blackburn and its highest point is 16,390 ft. When it’s clear out, I can see this white peak from my window. My favorite view is that of Mt. Blackburn, as it rises high above the glaciers.