Posted on March 24, 2017, 12:53 pm, by QT Luong, under
Locations.
Lake Clark National Park is the third less visited of America’s 59 National Parks. Lack of road access may contribute to that. My summer visit used a chartered floatplane to travel into the park’s backcountry. On a recent 2.5-day visit aimed at seeing some of the park in the autumn, I limited explorations to the […]
Posted on February 19, 2017, 11:20 pm, by QT Luong, under
Locations.
In Alaska, because of the size of the land and the limited number of roads, much of backcountry access is by small plane. I have made aerial photographs in each of the Alaskan national parks. However, when planning an aerial session in Kenai Fjords National Park, it was exciting to notice that helicopter flights have […]
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 […]
Posted on January 21, 2017, 4:04 am, by QT Luong, under
Locations.
For something a bit different within our national parks, I visited the incredibly raw and well-preserved mining ghost town of Nabesna, a rare and off-limits find in the quiet northern corner of Wrangell-St Elias Of the two roads that lead into Wrangell-St Elias National Park, Nabesna Road, which opens up the northern reaches of the […]
Posted on December 11, 2016, 3:36 pm, by QT Luong, under
Locations.
Kobuk Valley National Park is the least visited of the 59 national parks, because it is arguably the most difficult to access. In this post, I discuss the logistics of visiting Kobuk Valley National Park, contrasting my approach with that of my fellow travelers who have visited the 59 national parks. Getting there Most Kobuk […]
Posted on October 6, 2016, 3:43 pm, by QT Luong, under
Locations.
This year, to celebrate the National Park Service Centennial, a few individuals have embarked on well-publicized trips to visit all 59 U.S. national parks in a year. Besides releasing Treasured Lands, whose early reviews seem to acknowledge as “the” book of the Centennial, I am celebrating by quietly completing a second round of national parks […]
Posted on September 25, 2016, 9:58 pm, by QT Luong, under
Locations.
At the beginning of September, I was happy to take a break from “Treasured Lands” and return to Alaska for two weeks. The trip was neatly divided into two parts. Whereas the second week was devoted to two remote parks typical of Alaska, during the first week, I rented a car and drove around, just […]
Posted on March 2, 2016, 5:02 pm, by QT Luong, under
Recollections.
The huge cliffs of Yosemite are what brought me to California, however, compared to the more northern, and therefore more glaciated Alps, the California mountains didn’t seem that big nor impressive. In the spring of 1993, a few months after arriving in California, I therefore set my sights on Mt McKinley – the official name […]
