Alaska 06
Aug 24th, 2006, 08:29 AM
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Aug 28th, 2006, 12:15 PM
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Great shots! Can you go back in and "Add Comments"? Would like to know more about the 'What & Where'. Thanks for sharing. Seems lik you camera also has 'Image Stabilazatio' - that is necessary at 12X and your shots are clear & sharp.
Aug 29th, 2006, 06:27 AM
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I did not have a chance to label my pics or to write a trip report. I had to come back to work from my vacation the next day I returned to NY.
But I will answer all your questions and I will provide details that may be helpful in planning your 2007 Alaska trip.
To annahead: FZ10 camera does have an image stabilazer. It is helpful when shooting wildlife and other non-stationary objects. I also use the tripod when taking landscape pictures during sunset.
But I will answer all your questions and I will provide details that may be helpful in planning your 2007 Alaska trip.
To annahead: FZ10 camera does have an image stabilazer. It is helpful when shooting wildlife and other non-stationary objects. I also use the tripod when taking landscape pictures during sunset.
Aug 30th, 2006, 02:15 PM
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oleg, could you tell us about your encounter with the wolf? Were you just walking along the road and it came up? What time of year was this? Actually, what was the date and approximate time? 
We saw wolves but from a distance. We hiked alot in Denali, including along the road next to the wolf area, but none came up to us. I am so envious, but so delighted you shared your photos so we could share in your experience with you.
We saw wolves but from a distance. We hiked alot in Denali, including along the road next to the wolf area, but none came up to us. I am so envious, but so delighted you shared your photos so we could share in your experience with you.
Aug 31st, 2006, 07:06 AM
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birder-
Our encounters with wolves were surprisingly frequent and very close.
On August 15, 2006 (my first full day in Denali) I took a 5 pm shuttle bus to Polychrom Pass overlook. It is the last bus of the day going to the park. Our driver's name was Jason. He is in late 30s, speaks with slight southern accent and has a pony tale. He is talkative and informative. As soon as we set out on our journey it stopped raining. As we approached the Pass the sky even cleared out a little bit. Just enough for the sun to peek shyly thru the heavy gray clouds. When we got off at the Pass, the clouds moved apart over the red mountains and we could see a piece of blue sky.
My first wildlife siting of this trip was a female moose quickly crossing the road near Savage River campground area.
We saw nothing significant on our way in - just flocks of Dahl Sheep far on the hills.
It was made up completely on our way out. We saw a grizzly, a bunch of male caribous and a pack of wolves. They just spilled over on the road, right in front of the bus. About seven of them. There was a black wolf among them. Jason hit the brakes and we dashed toward the front window suppressing gasps of disbelief. The wolves paid no attention to the bus. They just strolled on the road toward the bus and when they realized they have an obstacle they all move to the right and then into the forest. For about a minute, we could see just fragments of them among the trees before they disappeared.
My second encounter with the wolf was during my second bus trip on August 16, 2006. It was a 7:30 Fish Creek bus. Our driver's name was Ken. He is in early 50's, drives the bus for 29 years. We laugh when he says a joke from the very onset of the trip. It is drizzling (couldn't imagine other kind of weather by then) but visibility is good.
First 20-30 miles - nothing special. Just a few grizzlies viewed with binoculars, a lone caribou on the top of the ridge, sheep which is hard to see even with the binocular. The highlight of the trip came about 5 miles from Polychrom Pass. A thin grey wolf came onto the road in front of the bus. We stopped expecting it to stay a few seconds and move off the road. But the grey bandit has diffrent plans in mind. He started by harassing a little white sign the rangers placed on the edge of the road. The wolf tried to chew it several times. We heard the sounds of the teeth against the metal. The wolf soon realized that the little white square was no meal. It went along the left side of the bus slowly, looking at us as we hung from the windows with his hungry yellow eyes. It was at that moment that I took the best picture of the wolf.
The wolf stood on the right near the rear of the bus for about a few minutes. Then he yawned and went uphill on the left side. As we followed the wolf with our binoculars, we saw a huge black grizzly about 300 ft away up the hills. The bear was busy with a piece of the kill, its ‘hump’ on the back moving as it chew the meat. The next moment our wolf ran toward the bear trying to snatch a piece of kill. The wolf was a few feet away from the bear when the bear made a threatening move toward the bold raider. The wolf moved back quickly but then approached the bear again. The bear chased the wolf again. But the arrogant wolf just kept harassing the huge bear. He obviously was very hungry. The standoff lasted about five minutes. From the distance it looked like a play but it could became deadly for the wolf at any second. When Ken started the bus, the two animals were not far from each other – and both were eating. I took a picture but it did not come out good. Still, you could see the two side by side clearly.
Our encounters with wolves were surprisingly frequent and very close.
On August 15, 2006 (my first full day in Denali) I took a 5 pm shuttle bus to Polychrom Pass overlook. It is the last bus of the day going to the park. Our driver's name was Jason. He is in late 30s, speaks with slight southern accent and has a pony tale. He is talkative and informative. As soon as we set out on our journey it stopped raining. As we approached the Pass the sky even cleared out a little bit. Just enough for the sun to peek shyly thru the heavy gray clouds. When we got off at the Pass, the clouds moved apart over the red mountains and we could see a piece of blue sky.
My first wildlife siting of this trip was a female moose quickly crossing the road near Savage River campground area.
We saw nothing significant on our way in - just flocks of Dahl Sheep far on the hills.
It was made up completely on our way out. We saw a grizzly, a bunch of male caribous and a pack of wolves. They just spilled over on the road, right in front of the bus. About seven of them. There was a black wolf among them. Jason hit the brakes and we dashed toward the front window suppressing gasps of disbelief. The wolves paid no attention to the bus. They just strolled on the road toward the bus and when they realized they have an obstacle they all move to the right and then into the forest. For about a minute, we could see just fragments of them among the trees before they disappeared.
My second encounter with the wolf was during my second bus trip on August 16, 2006. It was a 7:30 Fish Creek bus. Our driver's name was Ken. He is in early 50's, drives the bus for 29 years. We laugh when he says a joke from the very onset of the trip. It is drizzling (couldn't imagine other kind of weather by then) but visibility is good.
First 20-30 miles - nothing special. Just a few grizzlies viewed with binoculars, a lone caribou on the top of the ridge, sheep which is hard to see even with the binocular. The highlight of the trip came about 5 miles from Polychrom Pass. A thin grey wolf came onto the road in front of the bus. We stopped expecting it to stay a few seconds and move off the road. But the grey bandit has diffrent plans in mind. He started by harassing a little white sign the rangers placed on the edge of the road. The wolf tried to chew it several times. We heard the sounds of the teeth against the metal. The wolf soon realized that the little white square was no meal. It went along the left side of the bus slowly, looking at us as we hung from the windows with his hungry yellow eyes. It was at that moment that I took the best picture of the wolf.
The wolf stood on the right near the rear of the bus for about a few minutes. Then he yawned and went uphill on the left side. As we followed the wolf with our binoculars, we saw a huge black grizzly about 300 ft away up the hills. The bear was busy with a piece of the kill, its ‘hump’ on the back moving as it chew the meat. The next moment our wolf ran toward the bear trying to snatch a piece of kill. The wolf was a few feet away from the bear when the bear made a threatening move toward the bold raider. The wolf moved back quickly but then approached the bear again. The bear chased the wolf again. But the arrogant wolf just kept harassing the huge bear. He obviously was very hungry. The standoff lasted about five minutes. From the distance it looked like a play but it could became deadly for the wolf at any second. When Ken started the bus, the two animals were not far from each other – and both were eating. I took a picture but it did not come out good. Still, you could see the two side by side clearly.
Aug 31st, 2006, 07:10 AM
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oops - cut my post;
Continue:
My last encounter with wolves was on my third day in Denali on August 17, 2006. We were returning from Wonder Lake. We had seen tons of wildlife. We had been so spoilt that we only stopped the bus when animals were next to it. We had stopped using binoculars altogether. We encountered two wolves – one grey and one black about at the same spot as I saw them two days ago. The grey one was leading the bus. The black one was behind us. Both on left side of the road. The grey one showed absolutely no fear of the bus. We followed him trying not to keep the animal ahead all the time. He put quite a show: we saw him hunting two hares along the road edge. Both ran for their lives in opposite directions and the wolf got none. Then the wolf just shit on the road in front of us as we laughed. Both wolves were obviously in search of food.
Our driver, Barr (a woman in her late 30s) told us that there had been problems with wolves some time ago prompting temporary closure of Teklanika Campground.
Continue:
My last encounter with wolves was on my third day in Denali on August 17, 2006. We were returning from Wonder Lake. We had seen tons of wildlife. We had been so spoilt that we only stopped the bus when animals were next to it. We had stopped using binoculars altogether. We encountered two wolves – one grey and one black about at the same spot as I saw them two days ago. The grey one was leading the bus. The black one was behind us. Both on left side of the road. The grey one showed absolutely no fear of the bus. We followed him trying not to keep the animal ahead all the time. He put quite a show: we saw him hunting two hares along the road edge. Both ran for their lives in opposite directions and the wolf got none. Then the wolf just shit on the road in front of us as we laughed. Both wolves were obviously in search of food.
Our driver, Barr (a woman in her late 30s) told us that there had been problems with wolves some time ago prompting temporary closure of Teklanika Campground.
