During the first few days of September, I guided a small group of highly skilled photographers up to the Brooks Range. (I’ve posted a few images already.) This was a group of three friends, and rarely have I encountered such an enthusiastic bunch. During the 5 days of the trip, I think we spent more time making images than I have on any previous trip I’ve led.
Late Color
It’s been a late fall across much of Alaska, and the colors were a few days behind where I would have expected them. Which, from our standpoint, was just about perfect. In early September, the colors in the Brooks Range are usually on the decline, but this year, it looked like we would hit it at peak. And we did.
While we made several stops on the drive north, it wasn’t until we reached Finger Mountain that we hit our first patch of glowing autumn colors. We pulled over at the top and walked over to some rock outcroppings that were surrounded by bright red bearberry, maroon blueberries, and orange dwarf birch, that were just coming into their own.
From my fairly extensive experience in the Brooks Range, I’d feared that we’d only be encountering the tail end of the colors, I was grateful to be proven wrong.
We continued to find colors as we moved north, and with every mile they increased in intensity.
We arrived in Wiseman in the early evening, just in time to have a bite to eat before venturing down to the Koyukuk River, a short walk away, to make some more images. Little color erupted in the sky, but the river was rushing, the avens on the gravel bar were blown out to cotton-ball tufts, and the surrounding mountainsides were alive with color. All in all, it was a great way to start the trip.
Variable Weather
One of the things I love (and occasionally hate) about the Brooks Range is that any period of weather is likely to be ephemeral. Sure, if it’s nasty, you probably only need a wait a few hours or a day and things will change. But that also works in the reverse. Got a beautiful day with perfect, dramatic clouds and light? Better hurry, because it won’t last.
Overnight, clouds rolled in and we woke to gray skies. We made the most of it, venturing out for a drive north up the road, and found a surprising number of compositions. Rivers, colors, mountains emerging from behind clouds, and glacial blue creeks…
Heading North
On day 3 after a sunrise shoot, we drove north up the Haul Road. Urging everyone to be patient, I made an effort to minimize stops, knowing this was our one day to get on the north side of the mountains. That said, some spots were too good to pass up. The siren song of Sukakpak Mountain reflected in a moose-infested pond, mountains draped in termination dust, and the wide-open landscape of the Chandalar Shelf were too much to ignore.
Atop Atigun Pass it was winter. Six inches of fresh snow covered the peaks, and extended all the way down the Atigun River Valley. Winter, it seemed had leapfrogged autumn on the north slope. No one complained. The juxtaposition of flowing creeks and snow covered tundra were more than enough to occupy us. And the day was clear and bright. Dall Sheep near the road, and a distant Grizzly provided a little welcome wildlife.
We spent the better part of the day up north, waiting for reflections, and bumping along the pot-holed road looking for new compositions of the valley. Eventually, however, we reached our furthest north point at Galbraith Lake and turned our wheels south.
On the south side, the autumn colors seemed even brighter than they did in the morning. Maybe it was the shift from the snowy landscape on the north slope, maybe the colors had actually gotten brighter during the cool day. Either way, any sign of exhaustion was washed away as we worked our way back.
Low sunlight lit up the mountains, and caused the yellow poplars and willows along the river to glow. We stopped at Sukakpak Mountain just as the days light was fading, the steep western slope of the mountain lit up like a beacon.
Finally, once the last of the light faded, I saw a bit of tiredness appear on the faces of my clients (up to that point, I wasn’t sure it was possible), and we worked our way back to Wiseman.
One More Day
The final full day of the trip, I’d allocated to play catchup and revisit some spots that had been productive. We ended up spending a good chunk of the day hiking up Marion Creek to the falls. This stream, for some reason, flows glacial blue (though no glaciers lie in its headwaters). The color contrasted beautifully with the yellow trees that grow alongside. The sunshine of the day before had disappeared, replaced by lowering clouds and occasional drizzle, which was good for our needs. The overcast softbox light was perfect to bring out every color in the tundra.
Autumn Encore
On day 5, we headed south. A little sadly, I think. The Brooks Range had treated us well, with a startling amount of diversity in weather and color. But it wasn’t over yet.
The colors that had yet to peak on our journey north had reached new levels of awesome on the way south. Mountain slopes were a checkerboard of dark spruces and bright yellow birches and aspens. And at one point, I quite literally squealed to a halt (before finding a safe pullout a bit further on) when we came across a small cree valley that was loaded with the most intense autumn color I have ever encountered in Alaska or anywhere. I’ve not seen anything like it before or since.
Can’t think of a better way to round out a successful photo tour.
Interested in making a journey like this one? Keep your eyes peeled for a new photo workshop that I’ll be offering in 2020 which will follow a similar itinerary. Sign up for my Newsletter so you don’t miss the announcement! Or Contact Me for more information.
I’d also like to say a special thanks to these three intrepid, enthusiastic, and amazing photographers for making it such a great trip: Kerry Leibowitz (top), Debbie Hicks (middle), and Ellen Kinsel (bottom).
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