Gray skies and mountain storms have defined most of this summer. There
was one nice day in mid-July, and I planned to hike up the Falls Creek Trail
that day. Unfortunately, the trail isn't well marked, so a couple hours
later, after a hefty elevation gain, I had to admit that I was totally lost.
I'll try again someday.
Photos from mid-July
Falls Creek, at the trailhead
Flowers cling to a rock wall by another waterfall
View from Beluga Point along the Seward Hwy
A couple takes in the view from atop a rock
A Dall Sheep Ewe came down near the road
Then she approached even closer, in spite of the crowd that
formed
Her spring lamb was more skittish, staying up in a ravine
in the mountains
Two shots of a damselfly that I can't identify: View 1/View 2
Three honey bees, photographed in Anchorage: Bee 1/ Bee2/ Bee3
The weather deteriorated as the month progressed. By the 24th, I was
fed up. Hearing of sunshine in Fairbanks, I headed north, thinking it might
be nice by the time I got to the Denali State Park, where I had a couple
hikes planned. It was pouring rain there. So I drove further north to Denali
National Park, where the rain had stopped, but the heavy overcast continued.
Although I wasn't able to do a nice long hike anywhere, I got some nice
photos along the way.
Photos from the trip north
Clouds hang over a lake somewhere between Willow and Trapper Creek
A foggy scene in Denali State Park
I was delighted to see this caribou buck in Denali National
Park
Same guy, different pose
Long view of the scene, with caribou eating river beauty
flowers
Close up of River Beauty (Dwarf Fireweed)
Norwegian Cinquefoil, a common circumpolar species
A strange lichen in Denali State Park--Old Man's Beard
Maroon Burnet and Tall Fireweed grow along Honolulu Creek
Red-necked Grebe mother and baby |
7/27/06
Finally! The sun! Clearly visible! I waited until evening to hike up Flattop,
knowing that the sun would set around 10:50PM. I was on my way back down
when I took the sunset photo (lower left), but it was still plenty light
enough to find the way back to the trailhead. All the recent rain had created
a marvelous garden of wildflowers all along the way. I found the Golden-crowned
Sparrow (middle row, left) among some of the last trees before the alpine
tundra. There was a huge crowd on the trail, even up at the summit, and
everyone was smiling. All the collage pix have larger versions if you click
on them. |
