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Friday, December 8, 2023

The Daze of My Life: Robert Glenn Ketchum, An Autobiography

The Daze of My Life:  Robert Glenn Ketchum, An Autobiography


 Biographies are studies of someone's life based on cumulative research. Good ones may reveal something, but probably barely scratch the surface of what actually went on. The internet is allowing me to do something VERY different. 
~Robert Glenn Ketchum


Friday, December 8, 2023

The Daze of My Life:  Robert Glenn Ketchum, An Autobiography #371
Daze, #371:  
Joel Reynolds, my friend, and West Coast Director for the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) informs me in mid-summer that although Northern Dynasty (the company that wants to develop the Pebble mine) has no funding because our full-page ad campaigns in major newspapers drove all of their shareholders away, that are plotting a new tactic and are planning to sue the EPA for canceling their permit to develop the mine.


photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2023,
@RbtGlennKetchum @RobertGKetchum @LittleBearProd #LittleBearProd

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Fishfarms: India. Forming My World View through Aquaculture in 1977 by Robert Glenn Ketchum

Fishfarms:  India

Forming My World View through Aquaculture in 1977 by Robert Glenn Ketchum


The second stop in my world tour with Thomas Mann’s daughter, Elisabeth Mann Borghese, to photograph aquaculture was India, a VERY different place than anywhere I had ever been.
~Robert Glenn Ketchum




Friday, December 8, 2023

Fishfarms: India, Forming My World View through Aquaculture in 1977, #7
India #7:  
It is a VERY long, hot day on our drive to Agra. The fact there is also a national election and the streets along the way are crowded with celebrations, makes our progress that much slower. Towards the end of the day, when it becomes clear the Janata party has won a major victory, the streets turn into bedlam. We have been in the car for hours, and I am beginning to wonder if we will ever get there, and then this appears. It is the Yamuna River, which runs through a portion of Agra. We are finally close. Elisabeth agrees that we will all stay overnight (our cab driver, as well), because driving back in the dark with all the election celebrating would be insane. Making a joke, the cab driver points to the activity on the river shore, and he says he knows the hotel is preparing for us, because they are washing our sheets. The fact is, because of the numerous tourism visits to the Taj Mahal, there are many hotels in Agra, and these workers ARE washing the hotel linen in the river. This gives Elisabeth and I some pause for thought, as most rivers in India are quite polluted with human waste, and if you look carefully upriver in this shot, you will see 8 head of cattle “bathing” just beyond where the sheets are being washed. Oh well! On to our hotel.


photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2023,
@RbtGlennKetchum @RobertGKetchum @LittleBearProd #LittleBearProd

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Thursday, December 7, 2023

Weekly Post, "The Chugach: Alaska’s Most Expansive Mountain Range" by Robert Glenn Ketchum

 The Chugach:  Alaska’s Most Expansive Mountain Range

by Robert Glenn Ketchum



Alaska’s most expansive mountain range at over 100-miles square. Dozens of summits rise above 10,000ft. and there is snow accumulation of 600 inches or more above 3,000ft.  
~Robert Glenn Ketchum




Thursday, December 7, 2023

THE CHUGACH:  Alaska’s Most Expansive Mountain Range #32
CHUGACH: #32:  
After a bitterly cold night in the Chugach mountains, an inversion fog forms as the sun rises.


photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2023,
@RbtGlennKetchum @RobertGKetchum @LittleBearProd #LittleBearProd

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Fishfarms: Russia. Forming My World View through Aquaculture in 1977 by Robert Glenn Ketchum

Fishfarms:  Russia

Forming My World View through Aquaculture in 1977 by Robert Glenn Ketchum



In 1977, I was commissioned by Elisabeth Mann Borgese to help do research, interviews, and take photographs for a book she was writing about worldwide aquaculture. It would be published by Harry N. Abrams, one of the world’s premier publishing houses, famous for their beautiful books. It would also involve around-the-world travel to 8 countries, and some of the most remarkable places I would ever visit. SEAFARM: The Story of Aquaculture was a very successful publication featuring over 100 of my images, and an exhibit I assembled with support from Nikon, became a Smithsonian traveling exhibition for 6-yrs., viewed by over 6-million people.
~Robert Glenn Ketchum




Thursday, December 7, 2023

Fishfarms:  Russia, Forming My World View through Aquaculture in 1977, #5
Russia #5:  
As the official car in which Elisabeth Mann Borgese and I are being driven into Moscow gets closer to city center, the “neighborhoods” where people live, give way to the dramatic architecture at the heart of the capitol. Many buildings built during the Stalin era, were designed to be ornately impressive, AND of notable scale. Our hotel is to be such a place, and we are informed that the location above is similar. It has a great ballroom where we will be hosted at a huge dinner, a few evenings from now. Against the morning sky it all seems a little like Gotham to me, but our new “friends” speak good English, know Elisabeth well, and seem very congenial, so I continue to shoot “discreetly,” and we motor on, soon to pass-by Red Square.


photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2023,
@RbtGlennKetchum @RobertGKetchum @LittleBearProd #LittleBearProd

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Wednesday, December 6, 2023

Weekly Post, THE SONORAN DESERT: Visiting with Don Juan by Robert Glenn Ketchum

THE SONORAN DESERT:  
Visiting with Don Juan
by Robert Glenn Ketchum

In 1988, I was contacted by Luther Propst, Director of the Rincon Institute of Tucson, AZ, who asked me if I could help them devise a campaign to protect a part of Saguaro National Monument from a massive real estate development that would disrupt substantial habitat.  I did so, and we not only succeeded in mitigating the development, we added 30,000 acres to the monument, and got it upgraded to National Park status.  While doing this work, I fell in love with the Sonoran Desert, returning to it repeatedly, and visiting the many varied parts of it in Arizona, Mexico, and Baja, CA.  This is the tale of those visits. 
~Robert Glenn Ketchum





Wednesday, December 6, 2023

THE SONORAN DESERT:  Visiting with Don Juan #177
Sonora #177:
On one of the islands in the Sea of Cortez, a lush, and very diverse garden blooms out of the rocks.


photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2023, @RbtGlennKetchum @RobertGKetchum @LittleBearProd #LittleBearProd

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Weekly Post, GETTING LOOPY: Cruising One of North America’s Greatest Driving Loops by Robert Glenn Ketchum

 GETTING LOOPY:  Cruising One of North America’s Greatest Driving Loops 

by Robert Glenn Ketchum

One of the greatest camping and hiking circuits to drive in the entire country, starts from my home in Los Angeles, passes through Nevada, into Utah, and on to Arizona, before heading back to LA. Along the way you can visit 3 state parks, 6 national parks, 1 national monument, and 1 national recreation area. If you wanted to put in some extra miles, you could add another national park, 2 more national monuments, and 2 more national recreation areas. I will call out the latter as we pass them, but my images will introduce you to all of the former. Come take a drive with me!





Wednesday, December 6, 2023

GETTING LOOPY:  Cruising One of North America’s Greatest Driving Loops, #122
GETTING LOOPY, #122:  
The red bluffs of Capitol Reef National Park framed nicely by this multi-trunked tree.


photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2023,
@RbtGlennKetchum @RobertGKetchum @LittleBearProd #LittleBearProd

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Tuesday, December 5, 2023

Weekly Post, NO PEBBLE MINE Pictures From Ground Zero by Robert Glenn Ketchum (Posts #426+)

 NO PEBBLE MINE Pictures From Ground Zero by Robert Glenn Ketchum


Since 1998, I have been working to protect southeast Alaska, and the fishery of Bristol Bay. The fishery is an annually renewable, BILLION-dollar-a-year industry that employs thousands and thousands of workers in multiple states. 2021 provided the largest commercial salmon catch in history (64-million+). There is no intelligent reason to allow the proposed development of the Pebble mine to go forward and imperil these resources. The United Tribes of Bristol Bay, the United Fishermen of Alaska, Trout Unlimited, Trustees For Alaska, and the Natural Resources Defense Council, all oppose the development. Even Alaskan Senator, Lisa Murkowski, has stated her opposition. The momentum is building. Now is the time to SAY NO TO THE PEBBLE MINE permanently! 
~Robert Glenn Ketchum





Tuesday, December 5, 2023

NO PEBBLE MINE, Pictures from Ground Zero #574
NO PEBBLE MINE #574: 
Here is another big valley with a lot of colors and textures. This could easily be a tapestry.


photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2023, 
@RbtGlennKetchum @RobertGKetchum @LittleBearProd #LittleBearProd 

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Weekly Post: The Piedras Blancas Ranch and San Simeon by Robert Glenn Ketchum

The Piedras Blancas Ranch and San Simeon

by Robert Glenn Ketchum

In 2002, the American Land Conservancy (ALC) decided to attempt a negotiation with the Hearst family to place the 89,000-acre Piedras Blancas ranch surrounding teh Hearst castle at San Simeon into protected conservation easement rather than developing the property as commercial real estate. I sat on the ALC board, and to close the deal the ranch had to be documented, so I was commissioned to do the work, and I became the only photographer ever allowed on the property.
~Robert Glenn Ketchum




Tuesday, December 5, 2023

The Piedras Blancas Ranch and San Simeon, #1
San Simeon #1:  
Most people have heard of the Hearst Castle, San Simeon, and they know it sits above Highway #1 on the California coast. What many don’t realize is that the castle is but a small part of the total Hearst property that surrounds it. Hearst actually owns 89,000-acres, known as the Piedras Blancas ranch. The ranch is a working cattle ranch, but other exotic species have been introduced like buffalo, giraffes, and zebras. The ranch also supports some of the largest wildflower fields in the United States, such as the vast Goldfields bloom depicted here.


photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2023,
@RbtGlennKetchum @RobertGKetchum @LittleBearProd #LittleBearProd

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Monday, December 4, 2023

Fishfarms: Thailand, Forming My World View through Aquaculture in 1977 by Robert Glenn Ketchum

Fishfarms:  Thailand

Forming My World View through Aquaculture in 1977 by Robert Glenn Ketchum


In the late 1970’s Elizabeth Mann Borghese commissioned me to travel around the world with her to photograph aquaculture. This is our visit to Thailand.
~Robert Glenn Ketchum




Monday, December 4, 2023

Fishfarms: Thailand, Forming My World View through Aquaculture in 1977, #10
Thailand #10:  
For most of this day, Elisabeth, our guides, and I, have been motoring slowly northward on the Chao Phraya River, after leaving Bangkok. The day has been VERY hot and humid, so being on the river offers some relief. There is also a lot to see, as the river hosts a good deal of varied boat traffic, and we also pass quite close to the shoreline homes where families pursue their daily activities. Some of the smaller boats are farmers, paddling from house to house offering their harvest, an interesting form of grocery delivery. After a few breaks to eat and walk around in small villages, we finally approach the area of homes where our guides expect we will spend the night. Although still tropically hot, the last rays of the setting sun fade slowly into twilight, and being out on the river seems very peaceful. When we arrive at the home of our host family, it is a large stilt house, partially over the river, and they have a spicy regional meal of fish, rice, and greens prepared for us. The family is quite excited to have us as guests, and there is a lot of talking about our project, so I am surprised to learn that these hosts do not do aquaculture, which I thought was point of coming here. I am sure we will ultimately see something, so best just to enjoy the evening, and wait for the morning’s next adventure.


photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2023,
@RbtGlennKetchum @RobertGKetchum @LittleBearProd #LittleBearProd

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Weekly Post, Denali: Crown Jewel of our National Parks by Robert Glenn Ketchum

 Denali:  Crown Jewel of our National Parks

by Robert Glenn Ketchum



Starting in 1985, I spent 24yrs. visiting Alaska several times each year. Of the many places that I went, my favorite was to stay at Camp Denali, where I often lectured and taught workshops. These images were all created during those numerous visits.  
~Robert Glenn Ketchum





Monday, December 4, 2023

Denali: Crown Jewel of our National Parks #58
Denali #58:
Late in the afternoon, the sun breaks through the cloudy skies and lights up the fall tundra, but only those staying at Camp Denali an enjoy it because all the other visitors from hotels outside the park are headed back to their hotels. Camp Denali guests have Denali National Park to themselves.


photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2023,
@RbtGlennKetchum @RobertGKetchum @LittleBearProd #LittleBearProd


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Tuesday, October 3, 2023

Weekly Post: THE TONGASS: Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees (#201+) by Robert Glenn Ketchum

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees
by Robert Glenn Ketchum


In 1985, I began a 2-year commission to explore the Tongass rainforest, the largest forest in the United States Forest Service (USFS) system AND the largest temperate rainforest in the world. It was a unique, old-growth environment under siege from industrial logging. The resulting investigative book I published helped to pass the Tongass Timber Reform Bill, protect 1,000,000 acres of old-growth, and create 11 new wilderness areas. This is the story of how that was achieved.
~Robert Glenn Ketchum




Tuesday, October 3, 2023

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #366
Tongass, #366:  
As I near the end of this Tongass blog, I am going to repost a number of images that marked the best of my various trip experience over the four years I spent working there. I was commissioned to work in the rainforest by Barney Mchenry who previously provided me with my Hudson River commission. Barney thought the best way to be introduced to the Tongass was aboard Boat Company boat which was owned by Michael McIntosh, so he introduced us. Michael was happy to have me join the other members of the boat, and one of the first places we visited was the very small community of Warm Springs. Warm Springs overlooked a large, and raging, waterfall, which Michael wanted to fish. When he got near the waterfall, the scale of my coming Alaskan adventure became clear.


photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2023,
@RbtGlennKetchum @RobertGKetchum @LittleBearProd #LittleBearProd

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Tuesday, August 29, 2023

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #365
Tongass, #365:  
The morning after my plane flight, weather rolled in and our cove was in a deep fog, so instead of going back too bed, I threw my parka on over my pajamas and wandered out on deck to find the shoreline of trees steaming in the morning sunrise.


photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2023,
@RbtGlennKetchum @RobertGKetchum @LittleBearProd #LittleBearProd

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Tuesday, August 15, 2023

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #364
Tongass, #364:  
I had never flown in a small plane, so Michael McIntosh thought I should as it would give me a very different perspective of the Tongass. I had never shot from an airplane either, so I would learn something new on this flight. Just a few minutes after we departed from Warm Springs, we flew over this high alpine lake, and I began to realize how very different everything looked from up in the air.


photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2023,
@RbtGlennKetchum @RobertGKetchum @LittleBearProd #LittleBearProd

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Tuesday, August 8, 2023

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #363
Tongass, #363:  
As I near the end of this Tongass blog, I am going to repost a number of images that marked the best of my various trip experience over the four years I spent working there. I was commissioned to work in the rainforest by Barney McHenry who previously provided me with my Hudson River commission. Barney thought the best way to be introduced to the Tongass was aboard a Boat Company boat which was owned by Michael McIntosh, so he introduced us. Michael was happy to have me join the other members of the boat, and one of the first places we visited was the very small community of Warm Springs. Warm Springs overlooked a large, and raging, waterfall, which Michael wanted to fish. When he got near the waterfall, the scale of my coming Alaskan adventure became clear.


photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2023,
@RbtGlennKetchum @RobertGKetchum @LittleBearProd #LittleBearProd

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Tuesday, August 1, 2023

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #362
Tongass, #362:  
Endicott Arm is a deepwater fiord that does not offer an anchorage, so our boat anchored in the shallower waters near the mouth of the arm and we took the smaller tenders to voyage up to the calving glacier.


photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2023,
@RbtGlennKetchum @RobertGKetchum @LittleBearProd #LittleBearProd

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Tuesday, July 25, 2023

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #361
Tongass, #361:  
My kids and I had come to Juneau to board one of The Boat Company’s boats for a tour of the fjordlands to the south. We had been into Tracy Arm several times but not the adjoining fjord, Endicott Arm, so that is what we would explore on this visit.

photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2023,
@RbtGlennKetchum @RobertGKetchum @LittleBearProd #LittleBearProd

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Tuesday, July 18, 2023

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #360
Tongass, #360:  
After leaving our week stay at Camp Denali, my kids and I took the train back to Anchorage where we overnighted, then flew to Juneau the next day. Population-wise, Juneau is a relatively small city. It is also the last port for the numerous cruise ships before they head south. As you can see here, when three of them are in town at the same time, their collective passengers are nearly as great as Juneau’s entire population.


photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2023,
@RbtGlennKetchum @RobertGKetchum @LittleBearProd #LittleBearProd

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Tuesday, July 11, 2023

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #359
Tongass, #359:  
After a week at Camp Denali, which included hiking every day, when we got on the train to head back to Anchorage, all the activities finally caught up with my kids, who then passed out cold for most of the trip.


photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2023,
@RbtGlennKetchum @RobertGKetchum @LittleBearProd #LittleBearProd

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Tuesday, July 4, 2023

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #358
Tongass, #358:  
Another roadside attraction in Denali National Park.


photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2023,
@RbtGlennKetchum @RobertGKetchum @LittleBearProd #LittleBearProd

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Tuesday, June 27, 2023

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #357
Tongass, #357:  
Another advantage of staying at Camp Denali besides the great field trips, is that the naturalists know some really fun things to do. After a morning hike, our naturalist that day took us to a ‘“special” place for lunch. We climbed a slope covered with deep, lush tundra, and at the top where we stopped to eat, we were afforded great views in every direction. Most assumed that was the point of coming to this location. However, when we had finished eating, our fearless leader informed us the view was not the point of our location, and with that, she threw herself down the hill rolling head over heels. She was “tundra rolling”. Of course that immediately set off the kids who threw themselves down the slope after her. Hysterical! That is my son, Travis, in orange, and he is doing it backwards.


photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2023,
@RbtGlennKetchum @RobertGKetchum @LittleBearProd #LittleBearProd

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Tuesday, June 20, 2023

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #356
Tongass, #356:  
Here the Camp Denali naturalist has my kids multi-tasking. Travis is using a spotting scope to watch a family of loons swim about on a lake, and Talja is picking berries for a little snack.


photographs) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2023,
@RbtGlennKetchum @RobertGKetchum @LittleBearProd #LittleBearProd

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Tuesday, June 13, 2023

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #355
Tongass, #355:  
On the opposite side of Wonder Lake, the shore is formed by a large dome called Strawberry Ridge. A favorite dayhike of Camp Denali is to start at the far end of Wonder Lake, surmount the dome and hike back to camp. It is a long hike, but not difficult, and lunch is consumed along the way. As it is a nice warm day on this particular hike, after lunch both of my kids took short naps.


photographs) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2023,
@RbtGlennKetchum @RobertGKetchum @LittleBearProd #LittleBearProd

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Tuesday, June 6, 2023

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #354
Tongass, #354:  
While the tourists staying in the hotels outside the park ride in and out on the main road, guests staying at Camp Denali get to explore the backcountry roads, and go hiking, something else the tourists never get to do. Here, on one of the dayhikes, the Camp Denali naturalist is teaching my children to identify various wildflowers.


photographs) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2023,
@RbtGlennKetchum @RobertGKetchum @LittleBearProd #LittleBearProd

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Tuesday, May 30, 2023

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #353
Tongass, #353:  
This is my daughter, Talja, kissing a moose sculpture at the Denali visitor center. Her lips have been busy on this trip, she kissed two whales in Seward, and another in Juneau.


photographs) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2023,
@RbtGlennKetchum @RobertGKetchum @LittleBearProd #LittleBearProd

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Tuesday, May 23, 2023

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #352
Tongass, #352:  
The morning routine at Camp Denali evolves. Everyone has had breakfast and now the staff is delineating the various adventures we can choose for the day, after which we will all make our own lunches and then depart in the vans.


photographs) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2023,
@RbtGlennKetchum @RobertGKetchum @LittleBearProd #LittleBearProd

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Tuesday, May 16, 2023

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #351
Tongass, #351:  
The bus ride to the end of the road and Camp Denali is 10hrs., so after you board at a nearly 1/2-way point, the bus stops adjacent the Toklat River and serves dinner. It is well planned and organized by the Camp Denali staff, even for the most inclement weather. The bus has a huge tarp on the roof, and all the meals have been preprepared family style, so a big table is set up under the tarp and everyone lines up for a more than hearty meal.


photographs) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2023,
@RbtGlennKetchum @RobertGKetchum @LittleBearProd #LittleBearProd

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Tuesday, May 9, 2023

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #350
Tongass, #350:  
Another point of amusing interest in Anchorage is this semi-psychedelic underpass. The street above is lined on both sides with many restaurants and several large hotels. There is a lot of foot traffic that crosses back and forth, but there are no traffic lights on the busy street, so the tunnel is the safest way to get from one side to the other.


photographs) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2023,
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Tuesday, May 2, 2023

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #349
Tongass, #349:  
In the Tongass rainforest the Tlingit is the largest tribe, and because they are surrounded by an endless forest of trees they express their art in their houses, boats, and totem poles decorated with very distinct, stylized designs. In the Bristol Bay region, the two predominant tribes work in a very different way. There is little forest to provide wood, so these tribes have chosen to work with things salvaged from the shore, and hunted from the sea. The mask above has many elements. The lighter objects are Walrus ivory, The mask and arms are wood, The face details are sea shells and abalone. The headdress are Raven’s feathers, and the two concentric circles that surround the face are whale baleen.


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Tuesday, April 25, 2023

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #348
Tongass, #348:  
On the various trips I made with my children to Camp Denali, we would arrive a day or two before catching the train there and wander about in Anchorage. To me one of the most interesting aspects of Anchorage is that there are a lot of art galleries featuring Native crafts. Masks are one of the most common items, and this store has masks from dozens of different Alaskan tribes.


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Tuesday, April 18, 2023

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #347
Tongass, #347:  
Along with taxidermy animals, Anchorage hosts numerous galleries that sell Native Alaskan art, many of which are masks. There are more than twenty tribes in Alaska, and each tribe has its own style and designs. I always find browsing in these galleries interesting, and my home in Manhattan Beach is decorated with some fine pieces that I have purchased over the years.


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Tuesday, April 11, 2023

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #346
Tongass, #346:  
Travis is being stared down by this Polar bear.


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Tuesday, April 4, 2023

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #345
Tongass, #345:  
I spent a fair amount of time in Anchorage because I served on the board of the Alaska Conservation Foundation for 9yrs., so I knew Anchorage well. When I would take my kids to Camp Denali we would go by train from Anchorage and overnight there for a day or two, so everyone could goof around. There is no shortage of stuffed animals in town.


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Tuesday, March 28, 2023

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #344
Tongass, #344:  
Another great feature of touring the Tongass when aboard one of the Boat Company’s boats is that they all have ship-to-shore tenders. These smaller boats carry guests ashore for day hikes, and serve as fishing platforms. They also allow for more intimate sightseeing being able to go where the larger boat cannot. On this particular day Talja, Travis, and I are watching a very active glacier calve. Our guide also knows that you will get cold without some activity so she has brought along several thermoses of soup and hot chocolate.


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Tuesday, March 21, 2023

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #343
Tongass, #343:  
It does not get more fresh than this. On days that you go fishing aboard any Boat Company boat, you literally eat what you catch for your dinner. On this particular day, we got in some excellent salmon fishing, and now the chef is preparing the fillets that we will have for our evening meal. Yummo!


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Tuesday, March 14, 2023

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #342
Tongass, #342:  
Aside from Camp Denali, my other Alaskan experience that I love best is to be aboard one of the Boat Company’s boats exploring the islands of the Tongass Rainforest. They operate three boats in southeast, all of which are about this size. There is generally a staff of twelve or so, which includes naturalist guides and a superb chef, that hosts about 25 guests on a 10-day trip. On board there is plenty to do, but every day you also go hiking, or fishing, or both. The particular pleasure of being aboard one of these vessels is, unlike kayaking and camping, when you have a day, or several days, of miserable weather, you are in a cozy stateroom when you sleep.


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Tuesday, March 7, 2023

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #341
Tongass, #341:  
My kids were with me on this trip, so at the top of the pass on the Richardson Highway I had some fun with them and challenged them to see who could balance on this rock with just one foot. I won. Hahaha!


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Tuesday, February 28, 2023

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #340
Tongass, #340:  
The view at the top of the Richardson Highway looks back down in the narrow Valdez fjord and offers an expansive overlook of the surrounding mountains, which in the winter months have become a favorite destination for extreme skiers.


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Tuesday, February 21, 2023

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #339
Tongass, #339:  
About halfway between Whittier and Cordova, a long arm branches off of Prince William Sound, and it terminates in the town of Valdez. Valdez is not as interesting to me as Cordova, but it gives access to a highway that is a pleasant drive and circles back to Anchorage. At the end of town, the Richardson Highway begins to rise rather quickly culminating in a scenic pass before passing through to the interior. I always stop at the top of the pass to climb the rocky knoll and take in the view.


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Tuesday, February 14, 2023

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #338
Tongass, #338:  
On the day I took my kids on the drive up the Copper River delta, it was raining hard and near the terminal bridge there was a good view of the glacier that entered the river from the other side (last post), so we parked the car and watched the glacier calve while we ate lunch. The glacier was quite active, I suspect stimulate by the rain, so we hung out for several hours At the time, it did not occur to me that all that water was making the river rise, but when we began our return to Cordova, we came to a number of sections of the road that were completely underwater as you can see here. Never a dull moment.


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Tuesday, February 7, 2023

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #337
Tongass, #337:  
Not far outside of the town of Cordova is the Copper River delta. The Copper is the tenth largest river in the U.S., and the delta host a vast complex of braids that extend for miles. On this map link the cluster of red tags to the left are Cordova, and to the far right you can see the delta. A gravel road runs out of town, crossing over the delta and then paralleling it to the east, terminating at the Million Dollar Bridge. It is an enjoyable drive where you often see wildlife, and when the salmon are spawning, the run up the Copper is astounding, and there is wide agreement that the Copper River salmon are the best tasting in the world.


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Tuesday, January 31, 2023

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #336
Tongass, #336:  
Just past Girdwood on the road that parallels Turnagain Arm, there is a short road that turns east and goes through a tunnel in the mountain emerging in the town of Whittier. I find nothing attractive about Whitttier, but I don’t go there to stay in the town. I go there to catch the ferry that will take me across Prince William Sound to a town I do like very much, Cordova. Cordova is small in size but big on fishing, and besides a harbor full of boats, there are several fish processing plants at the waterfront Anywhere fish are processed there are a loi of birds and in the case of Cordova, thousands of seagulls as you can see here, flocking the water behind Travis and Talja.


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Tuesday, January 24, 2023

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #335
Tongass, #335:  
On the way to Seward and the Kenai Peninsula, you pass the town of Girdwood, home to the Alyeska ski resort. At the mouth of the Girdwood Valley is a bakery and restaurant that provides tasty Alaskan-sized meals. Talja ordered pancakes.


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Tuesday, January 17, 2023

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #334
Tongass, #334:  
No one lives on the far side of Resurrection Bay, so bears and birds are free to roam and feed, on the now dead spawned out salmon. Many people drive over to Fourth of July Beach to see the bears and birds, but the rules of behavior favor the animals and not the humans. Travis and Talja know their mother does not like bears, so of course they wanted me take this picture so they could send it to her.


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Tuesday, January 10, 2023

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #333
Tongass, #333:  
When you are in Seward there is a good deal to explore, and when the salmon are spawning they are doing so in the many creeks on the far side of Resurrection Bay. at a place called Fourth of July Beach. Once the salmon spawn, they die, and their dead bodies choke up the creeks and wash up on the shore, which attracts hordes of birds and also quite a few bear.


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Tuesday, January 3, 2023

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #332
Tongass, #332:  
Another of my favorite cities is Seward. It is easy to reach with a beautiful drive from Anchorage, and it is built adjacent to a huge bay that opens to the Pacific. Resurrection Bay is not only wide, but also quite long, nonetheless, in earthquake prone Alaska, because it is open to the pacific, it is not immune to tsunamis. In fact, the locals joke about the Great Alaskan Earthquake of 1964 which leveled every single building in Seward. As a consequence, many fires were started, and the joke is that the city would have been reduced to an ash pile had not a massive tsunami come in, sweeping over the entire city, and putting the fires out. Hahaha!


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Tuesday, December 27, 2022

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #331
Tongass, #331:  
Most of the industrial sites in Sitka are near the ends of the road and not in the central city. This little jewel is tucked discreetly in what was formerly a clearcut. Very attractive.


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Tuesday, December 20, 2022

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #330
Tongass, #330:  
Although Sitka is one of my favorite cities, it is large enough to support substantial industries as well, most related to logging and paper. As I said in a previous post, none of the industrial locations like seeing photographers taking pictures of their sites, and this one in particular has posted signs saying “no photographs allowed”. What are they afraid of ?


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Tuesday, December 13, 2022

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #329
Tongass, #329:  
Sitka is one of the larger towns in Southeast, and besides fishing, it is home to various aspects of the logging industry. I wanted pictures like this for my book, so every time I visited Sitka, I drove to the various industrial sites and snapped a few pictures before I was spotted. These property owners did not like seeing me with a camera photographing things like this.


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Tuesday, December 6, 2022
THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #328
Tongass, #328:  
I often made the drive from Anchorage to Seward because I really liked Seward. It is a relatively small town, but it has some great restaurants and small shops to explore. It also has a colorful, if somewhat disheveled marina with a lot of strange objects scattered about rather randomly.


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Tuesday, November 29, 2022

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #327
Tongass, #327:  
Many of the small towns in the Tongass have unique characteristics. They all have waterfronts that harbored numerous boats, but there are other colorful things as well, so I would wander around on the docks to explore all there was to see. This is quite a collection of floats, ropes, and wire baskets.


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Tuesday, November 22, 2022

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #326
Tongass, #326:  
Many of the islands unfortunately offer this disgusting abuse of their natural habitat. Not one of these logs comes into the U.S. to be used in American manufacturing, and supporting American jobs. Every last tree felled is shipped to Japan. And, look at the wasted wood left on the ground to rot. It is shameful that the Congress allows this to be done to our public lands. Stop the cut. Restore Roadless Rule. Tell Biden to do something about this.


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Tuesday, November 15, 2022

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #325
Tongass, #325:  
Some of the Tongass' diverse habitats are vertical. This is the fjord called Rudyerd Bay, a little south of Ketchikan, and as you can see, the walls are straight up and down, but that does not stop them from being densely vegetated.


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Tuesday, November 8, 2022

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #324
Tongass, #324:  
Over the last month I have been showing examples of how the many islands of the Tongass rainforest sport very differing habitats. Here is another example. Deep into the old growth of Admiralty Island, there is a vast complex of blackwater swamps and acres of skunk cabbage growing in it.


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Tuesday, November 1, 2022

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #323
Tongass, #323:  
This island habitat is very wet and swampy, as a consequence there are not a lot of big trees, but there is a dense understory of ferns and the ever-dangerous Devil’s Club, whose every branch and leaf are covered with thousands of sharp spines. It is not a good idea to try and navigate this terrain.


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Tuesday, October 25, 2022

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #322
Tongass, #322:  
Here is an island at low tide, revealing several connections to what appear to be smaller islands at high tide. There is also a substantial kelp covering and a lot of exposed shellfish. Because many rainforest natives live a subsistence lifestyle, the Tlingit have a saying, “When the tide is out, your table is set."

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Tuesday, October 18, 2022

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #321
Tongass, #321:  
In the 17,000,000 acres of the Tongass rainforest, there are more than 1,000 islands. Some are very large, some are quite small. Most interesting to me, however, is that they are very different from one another. Over the next few posts I am going to show you how widely these habitats differ. In this image, I am on a relatively small island, the entirety of which is completely covered by a variety of mosses. There is no soil showing anywhere.

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Tuesday, October 11, 2022

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #320
Tongass, #320:  
On this relatively small island in the Tongass rainforest EVERYTHING on the island is covered by deep layers of plushy moss, even the trees. This image is of a rock, buried beneath multiple layers of differing mosses each growing over the other. It is a strange, spongy world in which to walk around.

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Tuesday, October 4, 2022

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #319
Tongass, #319:  
On this island in the Tongass rainforest it is very swampy with numerous blackwater ponds, and lots of moss growth. Some of the blackwater is so still you can walk into it without realizing that you have.

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Tuesday, September 27, 2022

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #318
Tongass, #318:  
Although there are about 17,000,000 acres in the Tongass rainforest, spread across 1000+ islands, there are many different habitats that vary widely from island to island. This image was made on Chichagof, part way up a mountainside where tundra meadows host small ponds, and lots of stunted trees. Quite a beautiful little microniche.

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Tuesday, September 20, 2022

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #317
Tongass, #317:  
Climbing down from the top of the rock dome on Chichiagof Island we encounter numerous, small tundra ponds, and verdant meadow complexes, all of it very squishy underfoot, like walking on a sponge.

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Tuesday, September 13, 2022

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #316
Tongass, #316:  
This is my wild child, pondering the landscape of the rock dome where we have climbed. I love the hair!

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Tuesday, September 6, 2022

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #315
Tongass, #315:  
Besides numerous kayak trips and river floats, the best way to get around in the vast expanse of the Tongass rainforest was aboard one of the small luxury yachts of The Boat Company. Carrying around 30 people, guests and staff included, the boats were capable of motoring into fjords and other places cruise ships could not go. On this particular trip, we anchored deep in the middle arm of Chichagof Island’s Kelp Bay, where we did some fishing, and went on a couple of day hikes. In this image, we have scrambled up through some tundra meadows to the top of a rock dome. To Travis’ right, you can see our boat in the distance, and we got to the base of where we are now by using the much smaller shore boat.

photographs) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2022,
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Tuesday, August 30, 2022

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #314
Tongass, #314:  
The torrential rain never let up, so dinner was a stand-up affair under the cover of our blue tarp. Water flowed off the tarp in every direction, and the roar of the rain hitting it was so loud, it was difficult to have a conversation. The ground upon which we were camped had become a 1” pool of water. When our meal was over, there was little to do, so we all crawled into our tents that, thanks to great tech, remained reasonably dry. The fierce rain continued throughout the night, and got even harder with the dawn of the next day. We were due to be picked up, but we knew that was not going to happen because it was raining so hard you could barely see the shoreline in front of our camp, and it was only about 20ft. away. Knowledgeable campers always pack extra meals besides those planned for the days of camping, so we had food, and little else to do but eat it to stay warm. The rain never let up, and we tired of standing around in camp, so we took a very squishy hike in the forest behind us. That night when we all retired, the rain was still pounding down, but sometime around midnight, it began to break off, and the next morning it stopped. Visibility was good, and we knew our friends with the boat would be coming as we were a day overdue for pick-up, so we broke camp, and had just finished disassembling the kayaks when they appeared. The ride back to Petersburg was brief (and warm) and our friends informed us that it had rained 9” in the last 48hrs. We were all glad to have dinner in a restaurant, and a comfortable, dry bed to sleep in this night.

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Tuesday, August 23, 2022

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #313
Tongass, #313:  
The outgoing tide was sucking the ice pack with it, and because of the curvature of the southern shoreline of the arm, it offered us some relative protection from the flow of ice. We made fairly good progress, but when we rounded the walled shore to a place in the bay where you could see the glacial face, it was clear we were not getting much further. The Le Conte glacier was in VERY active retreat, and was calving massive amounts of ice which blocked the arm from shore to shore. Although we could see the glacier, it was still a good distance away, and there was no chance we could get through the ice cover and get any closer. So, we sat and watched for awhile, and had some snacks to keep ourselves warm, finding it amazing that the rain just kept getting harder and harder. During this down time, the tide turned, and began to flow back into the bay,..bringing with it all the outbound ice. Because we were watching the glacier, we did not notice this inflow for some time. When we finally did, it was almost too late as we were getting locked in, so we quickly turned our kayaks around, and got against the rock wall of the southern shore, where we could creep along slowly, and work our way towards the mouth of the bay. It took a good bit of time as navigating the ice had to be done carefully, but eventually we put most of the pack behind us, crossing the mouth of the arm, and heading back to camp. The rain was still relentless.

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Tuesday, August 16, 2022

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #312
Tongass, #312:  
Before our boat pick-up from Petersburg, we had planned one more day to explore Le Conte Bay. It was a short paddle from our crescent cove camp, around the peninsula at the mouth of the bay, where we hoped to work our way through the ice pack and get closer to the glacial face. By the time we entered the bay, it was pouring rain, and the bay was REALLY choked with ice. We picked our way through the pack, trying to take advantage of any open holes we could find, and we found we had the greatest success by staying close to the southern wall of the arm.

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Tuesday, August 9, 2022

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #311
Tongass, #311:  
It rained really hard throughout the night, but was kind enough to break-off for awhile so we could have breakfast. Our plan for the day was to paddle around the crescent hook of our beach camp, and enter the mouth of Le Conte Bay. Not long after breakfast the rain started up again, but that did not change our plans, so we geared up, and got into our kayaks, and set off on our adventure for the day. At the far end of the bay there was a large, and actively calving glacier and it was filling the bay with an impressive amount of ice. Nonetheless, we planned to work our way through cautiously, and get as close to the glacial face as we could to see some calving.

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Tuesday, August 2, 2022

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #310
Tongass, #310:  
It had been relatively clear and sunny on the day of our paddle down the North Arm of the Stikine river, to our new camp at the mouth of Le Conte Bay, and at dinner we were greeted with a spectacular show of late light (last post), and then a blazing sunset. We were enjoying the evening so much, we paid little attention to dark clouds settling in on the horizon. However, by the time we were ready to turn-in, they had moved over us and a light rain had begun to fall. During the night, the falling rain became a downpour that hammered away at our tents.

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Tuesday, July 26, 2022

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #309
Tongass, #309:  
The main branch of the Stikine river enters Frederick Sound near the town of Wrangell. We had alternative plans, however, and we turned to float up the North Arm so we would have a chance to explore Le Conte Bay Following two nights of camping at the mouth of the bay, we have scheduled a pick-up from some of our fishermen friends in St. Petersburg, a little further to the north. There was plenty of current in the North Arm so it was an easy transition, and about 3pm we merged into the waters of the sound, and the iceflow out of Le Conte Bay. We paddled through the ice to reach a beautiful beach cove on the north side of the bay, where we found a flat, protected, and very comfortable place to pitch our tents at the edge of the high tideline. This is our view from camp as we prepare dinner.

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Tuesday, July 19, 2022

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #308
Tongass, #308:  
On this particular evening, there was just enough moisture in the air, that when the sun dipped below the ridgeline of the mountain, a faint spectral rainbow appeared, and lasted for about half an hour.

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Tuesday, July 12, 2022

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #307
Tongass, #307:  
Here is one of our evening camps. The huge tree trunk has become our gear bench, and a table for our “kitchen”. If you look, in the distance you can see a portion of the river, and it is worth noting, that we have carried our kayaks up onto our sandbar, a considerable distance from the water, taking no chances that a fluctuation in the river might reach them.

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Tuesday, July 5, 2022

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #306
Tongass, #306:  
Because the Stikine river volume grew during the warmth of the day, and then shrank in the cool of the night, the immediate shoreline was regularly transformed. I walked those banks in the early mornings before the flow would come up, and found many graphically beautiful designs created by the current, and things it deposited.

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Tuesday, June 28, 2022

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #305
Tongass, #305:  
Another feature of the Stikine river environment is the river constantly changing its elevation. On some cold days the fluctuation is negligible, but on hot days it may be significant. On this particular day, we took a break from our float to hike up to a glacier. Our camp was on a sandbar in the middle of numerous braids, and when we left for the hike in the morning, we walked through very shallow water to get to the shore, and go inland. The water was never close to our boot tops. The day was hot, and we lingered at the glacier to have lunch. On our hike out, we arrived at the same place where we crossed that morning, to find everything had changed. The flow of the river was much faster, and the water was significantly deeper. All of these changes occurred because the heat of the day dramatically increased the melting of the many glaciers that feed into the river, adding to considerably more volume. Because we were wearing packs, we needed to proceed as cautiously as possible, so to steady ourselves we got some sturdy debris branches. What was previously was ankle-deep water, was now thigh-deep, and flowing with enough force to sweep you off of your feet, so the branches allowed us a supportive tripod. Once we reached our camp sandbar, we had to remove our boots, pour the water out, and wring out our socks. A portion of our sandbar was now underwater, also.

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Tuesday, June 21, 2022

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #304
Tongass, #304:  
As you can see here, this is the remains of a very large tree with a massive rootwad. Once this debris was grounded, the river piled tons of silt around these collected logs, and if you look past this, you can see that further down on this same sandbar, many other log jams are embedded similarly. Within the myriad of braids in the Stikine, the shores are lined with hundreds of these river-created landscapes.

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Tuesday, June 14, 2022

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #303
Tongass, #303:  
The Stikine river meanders widely, undercutting tree-lined riverbanks, and dropping those trees into the river. Carried along by the swift current, they are tumbled, broken, in some cases, literally shredded, and many then get lodged in shallow water where sandbars begin to build around them. They also capture other logs floating by, and a damming effect is created. Some of these sandbars are huge, broadening to hundreds of yards wide, and extending for great lengths along the riverside. When we would camp on them, I spent a good deal of time exploring the many features of this landscape.

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Tuesday, June 7, 2022

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #302
Tongass, #302:  
In the last post, I said we had a nice big fire every night while floating the Stikine River, fed easily because there was so much driftwood available, so I thought you should see this to know that I am not kidding. You could have a fire every night of the year and not exhaust supplies like this. OMG!

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Tuesday, May 31, 2022

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #301
Tongass, #301:  
Sandbars are everywhere on the Stikine River, and they literally line the banks. There were no accessible forests to camp in, so we used the sandbars every night. They offered lots of room to spread out, made for comfy, flat tent floors, and we could safely have a big fire every night, which was easy to do because there was so much driftwood available.

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Tuesday, May 24, 2022

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #300
Tongass, #300:  
After our multi-day visit to the Thunderstorm homestead, our merry band of adventurers assembled our kayaks and began our float down the Stikine River. The Stikine is wide, and fast flowing, with a gazillion braids, and lots of debris. Choosing the right channel to stay in the deepest water is critical because lots of the lesser braids are laced with shallow sandbars, and getting a heavily loaded kayak stuck is a nightmare.

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Tuesday, May 17, 2022

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #299
Tongass, #299:  
Off the mountain, we hit the road leading back to the Thunderstorm homestead just as it got dark. Shortly thereafter, we had another good meal, and then went to bed early because the next day we would assemble the kayaks, and begin our float down the Stikine River, With kayaks prepped, and packed, Carey is making last minute adjustments to her paddling wardrobe, and then we are off. The river has a strong, fast current, so we move right along, but it will still be 10-days before we reach the Tongass, and southeast Alaska.

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Tuesday, May 10, 2022

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #298
Tongass, #298:  
The summit behind the Thunderstorm homestead was a long, and steady, ascent that finally offered a fantastic view of the Stikine River valley, and the surrounding mountains. Without a cloud in the sky, the day remained sunny and warm, so we had a leisurely lunch, and lay in the soft grasses drinking in the view until quite late in the afternoon. Finally, we had to get going so we could be off the mountain before dark, so it became time to strap the packs back on, and start the descent. The dog appears to be unmotivated to do anything other than sleep in the sunlight, although Leaf is saying, “come on, let’s go."

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Tuesday, May 3, 2022

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #297
Tongass, #297:  
After a huge dinner of venison stew, and a ton of fresh vegetables from their garden, everyone retired early because it was decided that the next day would be spent summiting the mountain behind their homestead. In the morning the skies were clear and the day was warming, so we began creating a lunch stash, and packing our daypacks. Of their several children, most were too young to make the all-day climb, but the oldest of them, Leaf (to the left), would join us. Neighbors came over to watch the other children while we were gone, and of course, everybody had a dog,..or two,..or three, so there was quite a posse in yard as we prepared to depart.

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Tuesday, April 26, 2022

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #296
Tongass, #296:  
To maintain their large subsistence garden, some work must get done everyday. As it is now late in the fall, Lynn Thunderstorm is busy harvesting the last of the edibles, and tilling the organic debris left over back into the soil. At the moment she is pondering what to do with this last extravagant section of her crops. Some of it will appear on our plates tonight. You can’t be more farm-to-table than that!

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Tuesday, April 12, 2022

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #294
Tongass, #294:  
Our flight has carried us over the ranges that border the Stikine River, and now we have dropped down low to fly up the valley and land at the small town of Telegraph Creek. We will spend a few days at the Thunderstorm homestead before we begin our downriver float back to the Tongass, and the Thunderstorms will pick us up at the airfield, and bring us to their home which is outside of town. To let them now we are arriving, we overfly their complex which you can see here. They live almost entirely subsistence lifestyles, which takes a lot of farm work to sustain enough food for a family of four, and occasional guests.

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Tuesday, April 5, 2022

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #293
Tongass, #293:  
Across the top of the icecap of the Stikine River Valley, we are now on approach to our destination, the small town of Telegraph Creek, and we are beginning to drop in altitude. The river is once again visible, and serval miles south of our destination, one last large glacier winds its way out of the mountains and down to the shore of the river. In 3-4 days, once we start our river float, we will encounter this glacial face and have to deal with ice it is calving into the fast moving waters of the Stikine, one of many things floating around us that make the river tricky to navigate in kayaks with rubberized shells that can be easily punctured.

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Tuesday, March 29, 2022

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #292
Tongass, #292:  
Suddenly, the turbulence is gone, as are the clouds, and we arrive at the top of the ranges in full sunshine. It is blindingly white, and expansive snowfields and glaciers extend in every direction. As earlier in this flight, the summits of numerous mountains jut up through the ice, but what you see is only 800ft. of a 4,000ft. mountain, the rest is buried beneath the glacial fields. Our pilot says that many of these peaks only recently emerged because the warming climate is melting the icecap.

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Tuesday, March 22, 2022

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #291
Tongass, #291:  
Flying above the ranges of the Stikine River Valley, the extensive icecaps generate their own weather. We will have brief sunny periods, and then encounter something like this. It is not dangerous as we have good visibility, but it does make for some unusual views of the landscape, and there is a fair amount of turbulence given the mixing of cold and warm that is generating the various cloud formations.

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Tuesday, March 15, 2022

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #290
Tongass, #290:  
On our flight up the Stikine River to the small town of Telegraph Creek, Canada, we are above the mountain ranges that define the southern shore of the river, and it becomes clear why the river flows with such volume. The ranges are smothered with ice fields from which numerous glacier descend into, or drain into, the river valley. This makes for some very dramatic whitewater on the river, and spectacular flightseeing above it.

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Tuesday, March 8, 2022

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #289
Tongass, #289:  
As our small plane climbs slowly up into the ranges that form the southern shore of the Stikine River Valley, glaciers and expansive ice fields extend in every direction. Just the tips of numerous large mountains stick up out of the ice, although some rise 3,000ft+ from the valley floor. That is quite a deep icecap. Also, as it is much colder up here, these fields of ice generate their own weather, which we begin to encounter as we fly farther north.

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Tuesday, March 1, 2022

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #288
Tongass, #288:  
The Stikine River meanders hundreds of miles from its headwaters in Spatsizi Plateau Wilderness Provincial Park in Canada to its mouth in southeast Alaska’s Tongass rainforest. It is also a broad river, that moves a large volume of water at a relatively high flow rate. As a consequence, there are many classified whitewater sections on the river. We are headed to a small town in British Columbia called Telegraph Creek, where we will spend a few days at the home of the Thunderstorm family, and then John Siske, Carey, and I, will float over 60 miles of the river back to Southeast. As our flight take us farther up river, numerous large mountains define the southern shoreline.

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Tuesday, February 22, 2022

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #287
Tongass, #287:  
After our adventures in Tenakee Springs, Carey and I, caught the weekly ferry back to Juneau, and began organizing our gear for a kayak trip down the Stikine River with our friend, John Siske. From Juneau we would fly south towards Wrangell, where the muddy delta (above) of the Stikine pours into Frederick Sound. Then, we would turn north, and follow the river many miles into the mountains to a small town called Telegraph Creek. In Telegraph Creek we would spend several nights with the Thunderstorm family, before beginning the paddle back down the river to the mouth. Because the trip will cover miles and miles of river, even paddling with the current will still take us at least 10-days to complete the journey.

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Tuesday, February 15, 2022

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #286
Tongass, #286:  
One day we spent kayaking around Tenakee Inlet, occasionally getting out to stretch, and wander along the shoreline being exposed as the tide was dropping. Being with Craig Mapes, and his partner, seemed to attract large animals to us. On our walk in the forest (last post), we encountered the evidence of a big grizzly, but while kayaking we met some even bigger residents of the inlet. Not far from home, we were pointed toward the shoreline, when a pod of Orca broke the surface in front of us. There were three, or four, of them, and Craig said we should change the angle of our kayaks, NOT to get away from them, BUT TO INTERSECT THEM. Carey, and I, thought that sounded like craziness, but we all found ourselves adjusting the angle of our paddle. As we got closer, they got bigger, and Craig suggested we lay into a couple of powerful strokes, and then take our paddles out of the water. Our glide path took us right into them, and at one point, we had porpoising Orca on either side of our kayak, so close we could have reached out and touched them. They were clearly aware we were there, but they were busy fishing, so they just went on about their business.

photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2022,
@RbtGlennKetchum @RobertGKetchum @LittleBearProd #LittleBearProd

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Tuesday, February 8, 2022

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #285
Tongass, #285:  
Carey, and I, were going to take the next ferry to arrive in Tenakee, back to Juneau, but that was still several days away, so in the meantime, Craig Mapes, and his partner, took us on some hikes, and we also kayaked around the inlet. One day we followed a trail next to a beautiful river, that led us to a small lake where we did a little fishing. We knew there were bear around, so we were armed, and we made a lot of noise while we walked. We fished for awhile, and then ate lunch, before starting back to Tenakee. There were berries everywhere, and we would occasionally stop to graze on them. The trail was muddy, and on the way in we saw no prints, but on the way out, we discovered a huge, berry-filled poop in the middle of the trail, with some gigantic paw prints next to it. Time to be heading for home.

photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2022,
@RbtGlennKetchum @RobertGKetchum @LittleBearProd #LittleBearProd

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Tuesday, February 1, 2022

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #284
Tongass, #284:  
Lastly, this part of the Kadashan forest is right out of Jurassic Park. This is a blackwater swamp festooned with mosses, and fostering skunk cabbage patches. On this day that we visited, there was no wind in the forest, and this blackwater was dead still, with perfect reflections. When I went to set up my tripod for this shot, I discovered I was 6” deep into the swamp, and did not even know it, because on approach, the complex reflection camouflaged the actual water’s edge.

photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2022,
@RbtGlennKetchum @RobertGKetchum @LittleBearProd #LittleBearProd

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Tuesday, January 25, 2022

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #283
Tongass, #283:  
Other parts of the old growth Kadashan forest are menacingly impenetrable. The large green and yellow leaves that appear to be floating about in this image are Devil’s Club. The leaves are connected to those long stalks, and every inch of those long stalks are covered with vicious spines. Even the leaves have spines. There is no going through this, it is part of the terrain to be avoided as much as possible, and further exploring requires a work-around.

photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2022,
@RbtGlennKetchum @RobertGKetchum @LittleBearProd #LittleBearProd

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Tuesday, January 18, 2022

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #282
Tongass, #282:  
The old growth forest of the Kadashan drainage is spectacularly diverse. Beneath the huge trees, the understory is a patchwork of micro-niches. Where there is flowing water, there are lush mosses, and a world of tiny plants and ferns. The forest floor is spongy, and blanketed by various forms of absorptive vegetation. There are a lot of squishing noises while we are walking around.

photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2022,
@RbtGlennKetchum @RobertGKetchum @LittleBearProd #LittleBearProd

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Tuesday, January 11, 2022

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #281
Tongass, #281:  
Ashore, and with the boat now anchored, we ate a brief lunch, and then began to walk the banks of the river, back into a dense old growth that lay at the foot of some considerable mountains. As we walked, the tide began to drop, and the shore upon which we were walking grew wider and wider. Thankfully, it was not salmon season, so we did not encounter any grizzlies on the beach. After a mile or two, Craig determined that it was time to leave the river’s edge, and thrash our way into the understory of the forest. And thrash we did!

photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2022,
@RbtGlennKetchum @RobertGKetchum @LittleBearProd #LittleBearProd

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Tuesday, January 4, 2022

THE TONGASS:  Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #280
Tongass, #280:  
Kadashan Bay will give us access to some primal old growth forests, but it will also expose us to a huge tidal flux, and a lot of grizzly bears. The above is a low tide aerial of the bay. At high tide, everything in the picture, except the shoreline trees, will be underwater. To get as close to the forested area in which we will hike, we enter the bay at the highest tide, and drive our boat well up into the treed shoreline. Since it will be a lowering tide when we finish our hike, Craig uses some Alaskan ingenuity to keep the boat from being left high and dry. Called an “Indian anchor”, Craig placed the boat anchor on the bow of the boat. Then he attached a long line to it. He then pushed the boat out from the shore where we were, letting it float until it drifted over the deep main channel of the river, at which point he jerked the anchor of the bow, positioning the boat about 400yrds. away from us, into the bay.

photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2022,
@RbtGlennKetchum @RobertGKetchum @LittleBearProd #LittleBearProd

Follow Robert Glenn Ketchum's Photographic Activism Online:
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