Posted by Larry Fischer on August 27, 2010 at 4:40 PM
Just returned from an 18-day sojourn to the south slope of the Brooks range, the northern-most mountain range in Alaska.
Took a few photos.
This is one from a hike up a very narrow gulch we called Clint Lydell Gulch. Required some climbing and rock-scampering abilities. This is looking down at the entrance to the gulch. Note the Dall Sheep trails on the sides...
Comments and constructive criticism sought and welcomed.
Posted by Tom Kennon on August 27, 2010 at 8:55 PM
Hey Larry, sounds like you had a great trip. Nice scene, I like the way your shot leads to the distant mountain range. I am leaving in the morning for 8 days in Alaska, did you see any hint of fall up there?
Posted by Scott Bean on August 28, 2010 at 12:36 AM
Nice shot Larry, kinda reminds me of the Flint Hills along Deep Creek Road....Not! Nice lines to this shot and interesting detail all the way through it even all the way to the distant mountains in the background. I really like the light on the second row of mountains on the left side. That makes the picture for me by really adding a sense of depth.
Posted by Darren Huski on August 28, 2010 at 6:09 AM
Outstanding!!
Now the Brooks Range sounds like a fantastic place to visit. Did you float plane into the back country? Tell us more about the experience....
Posted by Brad Mangas on August 28, 2010 at 9:48 AM
Good to see you made it back Larry. I'm sure it was another great experience, maybe we can visit and you can tell me all about it next time I'm in.
Posted by Larry Fischer on August 28, 2010 at 9:56 AM
Darren,
I flew to Fairbanks from Topeka, Ks. I have a friend there. We drove the "Haul Road" to the confluence of the Dietrich and Bettles Rivers. This is the road made famous by the cable TV series recently featuring winter-time truckers.
We then used motorized canoes [Mercury 20 hp jet units for shallow water travel] to go upstream about 8 miles [as the crow flies] then off-loaded the motors and "longlined" [pulled] the canoes up the Matthews River about 4 miles.
If you can access a topo you will find the Matthews runs almost due north/south. We stayed there 14 days. To depart we canoed down the Matthews and Bettles River to the Haul Road, then back to Fairbanks.
Lots of cloud/rain weather. Not conducive to great photography. I will submit some "fog" shots for review since that was the predominant "light".
I took my Nikon D700, a Nikkor 28 mm f/2.8, Nikkor 35-105 f/3.5, and a 500 mm Nikkor Reflex. I have to say the D700 is a heavy camera!!!
Lots of walking and climbing, some of which was quite "interesting", especially in some narrow canyons. I fell once about 5 feet and landed on my back while climbing on the side of a waterfall. My pack cushioned the blow and no damage was sustained. God was with me on that one.
Very wild country. The Brooks Range is the oldest mountain range in AK. They are "worn" so-to-speak and have significant cliffs. We saw wolf tracks, Dall Sheep and 4 grizzly bears.
Thanks for the interest.
the fisch
Posted by Bill Dark on August 28, 2010 at 12:48 PM
Wow, sounds like a great trip into the backcountry, Larry. Beautiful photograph of the Brooks Range here - nice light and composition.
Sounds like the haul road is open to the public - very surprising in this new age of national security. A disruption in oil supply along the pipeline would not be good. When a company I worked for in '86 closed their office on the North Slope in October, I had to drive one of the small trucks from Deadhorse to Oklahoma City. I'll never forget those 18-wheelers blowing by at probably 60 mph on a snowpacked road. Every now then I would see a guardrail wiped out and figured somebody had lost it. Wouldn't have been so bad except for the drop of a few hundred feet. I'd love to go back when I didn't have to be on a schedule.
Let's see some more!
Posted by Darren Huski on August 28, 2010 at 5:28 PM
Fisch, that sounds like a fantastic trip! Thanks for the details on how you got there. The Haul Road has interested me for a while as a possible trip.
I spent several weeks in Alaska one summer in college, mostly around Denali or Kenai Fjords. I'd like to go back now as both a better photographer and one who is not on a film budget of two rolls per week. Which sounded small then and ludicrous now. Having the free film of digital already makes the camera sound lighter and my wallet heavier.
Show us the fog, rain and overcast. Even in bad light Alaska is a big and wild country that needs to be seen and shared.
Discussion
7 repliesTook a few photos.
This is one from a hike up a very narrow gulch we called Clint Lydell Gulch. Required some climbing and rock-scampering abilities. This is looking down at the entrance to the gulch. Note the Dall Sheep trails on the sides...
Comments and constructive criticism sought and welcomed.
Nikon D700, Nikkor f/2.8, 28mm manual; f/22, 1/40 sec., ISO 250, =0.7
ev.
Processed with Capture NX2.
the fisch
Now the Brooks Range sounds like a fantastic place to visit. Did you float plane into the back country? Tell us more about the experience....
I flew to Fairbanks from Topeka, Ks. I have a friend there. We drove the "Haul Road" to the confluence of the Dietrich and Bettles Rivers. This is the road made famous by the cable TV series recently featuring winter-time truckers.
We then used motorized canoes [Mercury 20 hp jet units for shallow water travel] to go upstream about 8 miles [as the crow flies] then off-loaded the motors and "longlined" [pulled] the canoes up the Matthews River about 4 miles.
If you can access a topo you will find the Matthews runs almost due north/south. We stayed there 14 days. To depart we canoed down the Matthews and Bettles River to the Haul Road, then back to Fairbanks.
Lots of cloud/rain weather. Not conducive to great photography. I will submit some "fog" shots for review since that was the predominant "light".
I took my Nikon D700, a Nikkor 28 mm f/2.8, Nikkor 35-105 f/3.5, and a 500 mm Nikkor Reflex. I have to say the D700 is a heavy camera!!!
Lots of walking and climbing, some of which was quite "interesting", especially in some narrow canyons. I fell once about 5 feet and landed on my back while climbing on the side of a waterfall. My pack cushioned the blow and no damage was sustained. God was with me on that one.
Very wild country. The Brooks Range is the oldest mountain range in AK. They are "worn" so-to-speak and have significant cliffs. We saw wolf tracks, Dall Sheep and 4 grizzly bears.
Thanks for the interest.
the fisch
Sounds like the haul road is open to the public - very surprising in this new age of national security. A disruption in oil supply along the pipeline would not be good. When a company I worked for in '86 closed their office on the North Slope in October, I had to drive one of the small trucks from Deadhorse to Oklahoma City. I'll never forget those 18-wheelers blowing by at probably 60 mph on a snowpacked road.
Let's see some more!
I spent several weeks in Alaska one summer in college, mostly around Denali or Kenai Fjords. I'd like to go back now as both a better photographer and one who is not on a film budget of two rolls per week. Which sounded small then and ludicrous now. Having the free film of digital already makes the camera sound lighter and my wallet heavier.
Show us the fog, rain and overcast. Even in bad light Alaska is a big and wild country that needs to be seen and shared.