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> He barely took photos on his phone before he moved to Alaska; now, he has about 10,000 of them. Most of them are in the same place, just different seasons. Th
by irrational 3y ago
> He barely took photos on his phone before he moved to Alaska; now, he has about 10,000 of them. Most of them are in the same place, just different seasons. The long grasses change colors — red, pink, beige. That makes the mountains look different week to week. And then there’s the sky. Because of the ice crystals that form in the atmosphere during the long winters, “sun dogs” appear where it looks like there are three suns in the sky. Most fantastic might be the aurora borealis, which can make it look like the sky is swirling, shooting fingers down. “It will make your insides feel funny,” Mustang said.
I wish he would post his pictures somewhere. I’m sure a lot of them must be fantastic.
- grecy 3y agoI lived in the Yukon for 4 years, it truly is magical and hard to believe. I drove a few hours south to get into Coastal Alaska, and ~8 hours North into the Arctic Circle which I did a dozen or so times, summer and winter. -40 is a magical thing, and it's like being on a different planet. I didn't post all my photos and adventures, but what I do have can be seen here [1]. I've never lived anywhere with more hiking, fishing, camping, biking, hunting, snowboarding, back country snowboarding, winter camping, remote wilderness, white water paddling and all the rest. Unreal. [1] http://theroadchoseme.com/salmon-fishing-with-bears-in-haines-alaska http://theroadchoseme.com/salmon-fishing-with-bears-in-haine... (I didn't tag the posts too well, you'll have to click "Next article" at the bottom of each one to keep seeing more adventures through all the seasons) This might be my most "out of this world" Christmas (and I've had a few!) http://theroadchoseme.com/mendenhall-glacier-juneau-alaska http://theroadchoseme.com/mendenhall-glacier-juneau-alaska
- discobean 3y agoBeen following you for ages. Don't know if you remember but I saw your jeep parked in Tassie when you went hiking for a few days and we were travelling around there at the same time - I sent you the pic with my grey one. Keep it up!
- grecy 3y agoHaha, yes, I remember very well! Thanks for the kind words.
- mixmastamyk 3y ago-40 and winter camping… does not compute.
- grecy 3y agoThe best way is with a wood stove inside the tent. Yes, it's very common. You can go fancy with an "Arctic Oven" like this: http://theroadchoseme.com/liard-hot-springs-winter http://theroadchoseme.com/liard-hot-springs-winter Or old school with a wall tent like this: http://theroadchoseme.com/haines-pass-camping http://theroadchoseme.com/haines-pass-camping
- spondylosaurus 3y agoHow do you mitigate carbon monoxide buildup? I was always told that stoves in enclosed areas are a no-no, but clearly you survived to tell the tale, so there must be some safe way to do it :P
- singleshot_ 3y agoCheck out “outdoor boys” on YouTube for a crash course.
- foobarian 3y agoThat's pretty great because -40F = -40C :-)
- werdnapk 3y agoI camped in -42C or so (every degree matters at those temps) once and slept in a quinzee which is basically a snow fort build from digging out compacted snow. The temp outside at night was -42 and the temp in the quinzee was about -20. Coldest night of my life.
- irrational 3y agoThat "inside the ice cave" picture is unreal.
- seanmcdirmid 3y agoI’ve experienced -35C in Harbin during a winter (2005). My digital camera battery kept dying, it made taking pictures of ice sculptures (including a full ice bar) really hard. What is weird is that Harbin is super populated and not that far north (it’s a couple of degrees south of Seattle). What was weird is that the bus I took from Changchun had a digital thermometer up front where you could see it fall from around -25 to -35 during the trip. My mom was born and raised in Alaska, but Ketchikan is closer to Seattle in climate and distance than anchorage.
- cactacea 3y ago> What is weird is that Harbin is super populated and not that far north (it’s a couple of degrees south of Seattle). Latitude has quite a bit of influence on climate but insolation isn't the whole story. Winds generally blow east to west at those latitudes. Harbin's air flow is from the interior of Asia, vs the North Pacific for Seattle and Ketchikan. Seattle - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediterranean_climate https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediterranean_climate Harbin - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humid_continental_climate#Hot/warm_summer_subtype https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humid_continental_climate#Hot/...
- seanmcdirmid 3y agoOh, totally. Siberian blasts are no joke.
- KennyBlanken 3y agoThe irony of taking lots of pictures of a place that is rapidly being destroyed by the industry you're delivering supplies to.
- q87b 3y agoIt's true, this article is about oil drilling supplies. Humanity is doomed. :(
- DANmode 3y agoPictures don't do a lot of those scenes justice. The enormity and clarity of what are multiple depths to a lens just can't be captured in a still.
- hunter2_ 3y agoThe aurora is a notable exception. Long exposure is key to gathering enough light for detecting vibrant colors. I suspect that pupil dilation (via diagnostic eye drops, MDMA, etc.) could help, but I haven't tested this hypothesis.
- irrational 3y agoYes, but I will never drive the road to Prudhoe Bay, so pictures are the nearest I will ever get to seeing it.
- jaystraw 3y agoWhen my mom came up here to visit, her first time to Alaska, I don't think her phone left camera mode. I didn't have a smartphone when I moved up so never had that problem, but boy I still try sometimes.