Posted on September 29, 2017, 9:08 am, by QT Luong, under
Locations.
Carolyn and Rolf Peterson, who together have raised a family on remote Isle Royale, lamented that Ken Burns didn’t roam the national park, but instead just zeroed in on a single overlook. Which one did he choose? Lookout Louise. Expansive elevated views do not come easily on Isle Royale because of a combination of gentle […]
Posted on July 16, 2017, 10:19 pm, by QT Luong, under
Locations.
The Subway in Zion National Park is a unique tunnel-like canyon with water flowing over polished rocks and small emerald pools, often bathed in an ethereal light that confers to it the atmosphere of a crypt. For hikers, it is accessed through the “bottom-up” strenuous 7-mile round-trip hike through the Left Fork of North Creek […]
Posted on May 7, 2017, 5:25 pm, by QT Luong, under
Locations.
Visitors to Brooks Camp, Katmai National Park, come for the bears, and few are even aware of the Dumpling Mountain Trail. However, the hike offers superb scenery and an environment very different from the Brooks River. Follow me up the mountain on an autumn day with changing weather. As the first part of the trail […]
Posted on April 29, 2017, 1:14 am, by QT Luong, under
Locations.
While nowadays visitors come mostly to see the bears, Katmai National Park was established as a National Monument in 1918 to protect the site of the 1912 Novarupta eruption, the largest volcanic blast of the twentieth century. It buried a valley in pumice and ash and its surface was steaming with thousands of fumaroles, hence […]
Posted on March 16, 2017, 1:18 am, by QT Luong, under
Esthetics.
I wrote previously about finding a new view of Horsetail Fall, Yosemite “natural firefall”. The high vantage point let me frame the waterfall in a rich wide-angle composition that brought me much satisfaction. But would most people consider it to be “better” than the classic photograph? What would their relative preferences say? On the day […]
Posted on March 7, 2017, 11:40 pm, by QT Luong, under
Locations.
For most of the year, Pinnacles National Park is quite a dry place. I revisited right after the high rains of this winter – which put to shame last year’s El Nino conditions, to observe the place transformed by the flow of the creeks and to photograph another elusive waterfall. Pinnacles lies less than 50 […]
Posted on February 26, 2017, 9:40 pm, by QT Luong, under
Locations.
In mid to late Feburary, Horsetail Fall on El Capitan is backlit by the setting sun, creating the unique natural phenomenon known as the “natural firefall”. Nowadays, the Yosemite firefall is widely known to the public, and even makes media headlines each year. The National Park Service has to close the inner lanes of the […]
Posted on February 12, 2017, 9:20 pm, by QT Luong, under
Locations.
The combination of easy access, interpretive signage, and dramatic change makes Exit Glacier in Kenai Fjords National Park possibly the best place in the world to witness glacial retreat with your own eyes. This is an account of the changes I saw in my four visits to Exit Glacier from 2001 to 2016. Exit Glacier […]
Posted on February 4, 2017, 1:46 pm, by QT Luong, under
Locations.
Although Wrangell-St Elias is a national park of immense size – the largest of all with immense potential for exploration, perhaps none of the experiences it offers is as accessible and remarkable as exploring its Root Glacier. Find out what I discovered by spending a day wandering above and also under the ice. Of all […]
Posted on January 28, 2017, 12:00 pm, by QT Luong, under
Locations.
Besides the incredibly raw ghost mining town, the Nabesna road in Wrangell-St Elias also provides access to the more expected experience of a national park: a beautiful scenic drive that leads to several trailheads for great hikes, with a campground and lodges available. But unlike on other park roads, you won’t have to share with […]
