2015 Vacation photographs
Part 2
Photographs are shown in chronological order.
For the first part of the vacation photos, click here.
For the third part of the vacation photos, click here.
The White Mountains tend to be steep, around 5000 feet, and
difficult to climb. I am looking north.
Looking a little to the east of the previous photo.
Looking just to the east of the previous photo.
Now I am on a pass just a half mile from the tent, and looking
toward the White Mountains. A panorama.
Looking to the left side of the above.
Looking to the right side of the panorama.
Saw more animals here. This is a Dall Sheep, indigenous to
Alaska, and Yukon and Northwest Territories.
A group looking over the pass.
This wolf appeared near the campsite.
Wolf packs typically disband in the summer. This one looks
hungry!
A Willow Ptarmigan.
A Meadow Vole, a small mouse-like critter. He was in the creek right by the tent.
Ground squirrels. Very noisy little critters.
Only butterfly photo, because if you are photographing them,
you are not catching them! This is a mating pair of Boloria
chariclea butleri.
Looking to the east of my campsite. The last fragment of the
White Mountains.
Lots of neat plants in the arctic. This is moss campestris.
Northern Shooting Star (Primula frigida).
Red Bearberry (Arctous rubra).
I think this is Dryas integrifolia.
Capitate Lousewort (Pedicularis capitata).
Arctic Stitchwort (Cherleria arctica).
Maydell's Point-Vetch (Oxytropis maydelliana).
Meadow Bistort (Bistorta plumosa).
Arctic Wintergreen (Pyrola grandiflora).
This photo shows the typical tundra.
Star-tipped Reindeer Lichen (Cladonia stellaris).
I am back at Summit Lake (July 3), having finished the
backpack trip. I have 4 more days to explore the area.
I saw three Tundra Swan chicks in the outlet creek from
Summit Lake. Water was moving fast. I had to cross this
creek whenever I left camp, and this was a low spot I would
jump. I filmed a video, click to watch.
Occasionally, I saw willow bushes that looked like they had
been trimmed. This is probably the work of a muskrat.
This Least Sandpiper is near the tent, and has an eye on me.
Another view.
A Tundra Swan on the north side of the lake.
Saturday morning, July 4. Some scenery shots around
Summit Lake
Clouds forming over Mt. Dennis. Had rained a lot the
previous day.
I am on a hill 500 feet above the lake. My tent is in the middle
of the photo. The green strip on the middle left is the outlet
creek. I camped on a peninsula.
A closer view.
Looking west of the lake.
Looking further west.
Looking due west of the lake from the hill.
Another view to the west.
Another view of my campsite.
Looking north into the Little Bell River valley. This is where
I had hiked to access the White Mountains.
Now I am on a rocky nob 1000 feet above the lake, looking
east.
More scenery from the nob.
Looking south from the nob. I have to hike around this.
More scenery.
This saddle lies just over the ridge from the nob. I would have
excellent collecting here on Saturday and Monday. That is an
animal trail. Things heal slowly in the arctic, so trails form
easily.
A closer view. I would collect all along this trail to the far nob.
Another ground squirrel, on alert.
From the bottom of the saddle, looking back to the north.
Another close view.
Just to the west.
I loved these trails, so easy to hike. The hill is composed of
shale.
Looking to the west from the saddle.
More scenery from the saddle.
Another view to the northeast.
Some of the flowers.
Really pretty here when the sun is shining.
Looking to the west. I am still at the saddle.
Another view of Little Bell River.
Another view of Little Bell River.
This is where the outflow creek from Summit Lake meets
Little Bell River. These meet Bell River several miles west.
Too difficult to hike over this terrain, very boggy.
Another view of Little Bell River.
Robins were the most common birds. Here is a juvenile.
Cloudberries. Not yet ripe. The locals harvest gallons of
these in Inuvik.
A view of the little pond just north of Summit Lake.
A view of the little pond just north of Summit Lake.
A view of the little pond just north of Summit Lake.
This is Sunday, July 5. I am just inside the spruce bog north
of Summit Lake east of the Little Bell River.
Another shot inside the bog. A good spot for O. jutta, H.
comma, C. chippewa, and others.
Another bog shot.
A view around the other pond north of Summit Lake.
A view around the other pond north of Summit Lake.
A view around the other pond north of Summit Lake.
This Long-Tailed Jaeger photo bombed my tundra shot!
This is the end of Part II. Click here to go to Part III.
Part 2
Photographs are shown in chronological order.
For the first part of the vacation photos, click here.
For the third part of the vacation photos, click here.
The White Mountains tend to be steep, around 5000 feet, and
difficult to climb. I am looking north.
Looking a little to the east of the previous photo.
Looking just to the east of the previous photo.
Now I am on a pass just a half mile from the tent, and looking
toward the White Mountains. A panorama.
Looking to the left side of the above.
Looking to the right side of the panorama.
Saw more animals here. This is a Dall Sheep, indigenous to
Alaska, and Yukon and Northwest Territories.
A group looking over the pass.
This wolf appeared near the campsite.
Wolf packs typically disband in the summer. This one looks
hungry!
A Willow Ptarmigan.
A Meadow Vole, a small mouse-like critter. He was in the creek right by the tent.
Ground squirrels. Very noisy little critters.
Only butterfly photo, because if you are photographing them,
you are not catching them! This is a mating pair of Boloria
chariclea butleri.
Looking to the east of my campsite. The last fragment of the
White Mountains.
Lots of neat plants in the arctic. This is moss campestris.
Northern Shooting Star (Primula frigida).
Red Bearberry (Arctous rubra).
I think this is Dryas integrifolia.
Capitate Lousewort (Pedicularis capitata).
Arctic Stitchwort (Cherleria arctica).
Maydell's Point-Vetch (Oxytropis maydelliana).
Meadow Bistort (Bistorta plumosa).
Arctic Wintergreen (Pyrola grandiflora).
This photo shows the typical tundra.
Star-tipped Reindeer Lichen (Cladonia stellaris).
I am back at Summit Lake (July 3), having finished the
backpack trip. I have 4 more days to explore the area.
I saw three Tundra Swan chicks in the outlet creek from
Summit Lake. Water was moving fast. I had to cross this
creek whenever I left camp, and this was a low spot I would
jump. I filmed a video, click to watch.
Occasionally, I saw willow bushes that looked like they had
been trimmed. This is probably the work of a muskrat.
This Least Sandpiper is near the tent, and has an eye on me.
Another view.
A Tundra Swan on the north side of the lake.
Saturday morning, July 4. Some scenery shots around
Summit Lake
Clouds forming over Mt. Dennis. Had rained a lot the
previous day.
I am on a hill 500 feet above the lake. My tent is in the middle
of the photo. The green strip on the middle left is the outlet
creek. I camped on a peninsula.
A closer view.
Looking west of the lake.
Looking further west.
Looking due west of the lake from the hill.
Another view to the west.
Another view of my campsite.
Looking north into the Little Bell River valley. This is where
I had hiked to access the White Mountains.
Now I am on a rocky nob 1000 feet above the lake, looking
east.
More scenery from the nob.
Looking south from the nob. I have to hike around this.
More scenery.
This saddle lies just over the ridge from the nob. I would have
excellent collecting here on Saturday and Monday. That is an
animal trail. Things heal slowly in the arctic, so trails form
easily.
A closer view. I would collect all along this trail to the far nob.
Another ground squirrel, on alert.
From the bottom of the saddle, looking back to the north.
Another close view.
Just to the west.
I loved these trails, so easy to hike. The hill is composed of
shale.
Looking to the west from the saddle.
More scenery from the saddle.
Another view to the northeast.
Some of the flowers.
Really pretty here when the sun is shining.
Looking to the west. I am still at the saddle.
Another view of Little Bell River.
Another view of Little Bell River.
This is where the outflow creek from Summit Lake meets
Little Bell River. These meet Bell River several miles west.
Too difficult to hike over this terrain, very boggy.
Another view of Little Bell River.
Robins were the most common birds. Here is a juvenile.
Cloudberries. Not yet ripe. The locals harvest gallons of
these in Inuvik.
A view of the little pond just north of Summit Lake.
A view of the little pond just north of Summit Lake.
A view of the little pond just north of Summit Lake.
This is Sunday, July 5. I am just inside the spruce bog north
of Summit Lake east of the Little Bell River.
Another shot inside the bog. A good spot for O. jutta, H.
comma, C. chippewa, and others.
Another bog shot.
A view around the other pond north of Summit Lake.
A view around the other pond north of Summit Lake.
A view around the other pond north of Summit Lake.
This Long-Tailed Jaeger photo bombed my tundra shot!
This is the end of Part II. Click here to go to Part III.
