Hi all! Was hoping to solicit some suggestions for a short fall wildlife photography trip for Jenaya and I.
By way of explanation and criteria, Jenaya won two round-trip tickets to anywhere WestJet (an Alberta-based airline) flies, but she has to use them by December. She's after a week of quality wildlife photo opps somewhere in North America. If WestJet flew to Alaska, I wouldn't even bother you for suggestions as that would be her clear choice.
Her top choices for subjects include grizzlies, wolves, bull moose, caribou, sheep...incidental encounters with lynx, wolverine, etc most welcome.
As such, we've been thinking about flying into Whitehorse and driving some of the Dempster Hwy and visiting Kluane NP. I'm a little concerned that we might be dependent on "getting lucky" to end up with many quality opportunities, but it seems we should find at least something to point our lenses at out of a few days up there!
We're very open to suggestions elsewhere, so if you have a North American location in mind with some quality photo opps in the fall, we would be extremely grateful to hear from you!
Oh yeah...we are limited to 400mm on DX cameras for reach in case that eliminates some of the options. Also I'm afraid we have to do this on a very restricted budget so formal tours/guides aren't an option this time around. Keep in mind we are very used to working respectfully with bears and other large NA critters from living and photographing in the parks and wildlands of SW Alberta.
One last restriction...I reactivated a painful disc injury in my back last fall and again in July, so I'm afraid epic hikes and expeditions are out.
Many thanks in advance for any and all suggestions!
With appreciation...
Posted by Jim DeWitt on August 13, 2012 at 6:56 PM
Kluane is good for sheep but, in my experience. not a lot else. Although I did see the best single aurora borealis display of my life camped on the shores of Kluane Lake. You can drive a long ways on the Dempster Highway and not see ... one ... damned ... thing. Been there; done that.
For a relatively short trip, I'd suggest Whitehorse -> Haines Junction -> Haines -> Skagway -> Whitehorse. The Haines -> Skagway step is a ferry ride and you'd have to get reservations. In the late fall, the Bald Eagles along the Chilkat River can be amazing. If time permitted, a drive in to Atlin might be productive and a side trip headed back to Whitehorse. And if the road to Alsek Valley Trail is open, just west of Haines Junction, it's pretty dramatic and is the only place in the Yukon where I have seen a wolverine.
Posted by Mark Stahlke on August 13, 2012 at 7:02 PM
Does WestJet fly to Jackson Hole? Yellowstone NP would have a lot of the opportunities you're looking for.
Jim's suggestion is a good bet though going past Eagle Plains on the Dempster is most likely a waste of time. Best for caribou we found was north of Dawson around Tombstone. Another route is to go over 40 Mile at Dawson and come back down through Alaska. We encountered grizzlies along the road here. While we didn't see any, a local Whitehorse photographer we had met had some excellent grizzlie photos shot from the road in that area.
Discussion
3 repliesBy way of explanation and criteria, Jenaya won two round-trip tickets to anywhere WestJet (an Alberta-based airline) flies, but she has to use them by December. She's after a week of quality wildlife photo opps somewhere in North America. If WestJet flew to Alaska, I wouldn't even bother you for suggestions as that would be her clear choice.
Her top choices for subjects include grizzlies, wolves, bull moose, caribou, sheep...incidental encounters with lynx, wolverine, etc most welcome.
As such, we've been thinking about flying into Whitehorse and driving some of the Dempster Hwy and visiting Kluane NP. I'm a little concerned that we might be dependent on "getting lucky" to end up with many quality opportunities, but it seems we should find at least something to point our lenses at out of a few days up there!
We're very open to suggestions elsewhere, so if you have a North American location in mind with some quality photo opps in the fall, we would be extremely grateful to hear from you!
Oh yeah...we are limited to 400mm on DX cameras for reach in case that eliminates some of the options. Also I'm afraid we have to do this on a very restricted budget so formal tours/guides aren't an option this time around. Keep in mind we are very used to working respectfully with bears and other large NA critters from living and photographing in the parks and wildlands of SW Alberta.
One last restriction...I reactivated a painful disc injury in my back last fall and again in July, so I'm afraid epic hikes and expeditions are out.
Many thanks in advance for any and all suggestions!
With appreciation...
For a relatively short trip, I'd suggest Whitehorse -> Haines Junction -> Haines -> Skagway -> Whitehorse. The Haines -> Skagway step is a ferry ride and you'd have to get reservations. In the late fall, the Bald Eagles along the Chilkat River can be amazing. If time permitted, a drive in to Atlin might be productive and a side trip headed back to Whitehorse. And if the road to Alsek Valley Trail is open, just west of Haines Junction, it's pretty dramatic and is the only place in the Yukon where I have seen a wolverine.