Bright Angel Campground

Ron NiebruggeArizona, Photos, Travel 6 Comments

We just spent a wonderful couple of nights camped along Bright Angel Creek – the brown tent is ours although we put it away for the second night so that we could sleep under the stars.

Staying in good shape is a requirement of the occupation of outdoor photographer, and we try to either run, ski, bike or hit the gym daily.  Unfortunately Janine and I have both battled some kind of lung infection and haven’t been able to work out at all for a couple of months.  Despite looking forward to this hike for months, we almost pulled the plug fearing we couldn’t pull it off.  At the last minute, we decided to suck it up and do it, hoping our prior conditioning would be enough, and we are both so glad we did!

I’ll share more about the trail in the future, but it is challenging.  The top is over 7,200 feet and morning temps were near freezing.  At the bottom, almost 4,800 feet down, the afternoon temps reached 97!  Like most hikers, we spent a good portion of the afternoon sitting in the creek to cool off.

We hiked down on the South Kaibab Trail, but returned on the Bright Angel Trail.  At over nine miles, the hike out on the Bright Angel Trail is two miles longer then the hike in, but offers more shade and water – two very desirable qualities!  Like most hikers, we got up at 4:30 to pack for the hike out – this was key, especially coming from Alaska where we aren’t used to the heat.

The campground is just across the Colorado River and a short distance up stream on Bright Angel Creek.  It was so peaceful and relaxing listening to the creek, and watching that deer the frequented our camp.  The stars at night were the icing on the cake!

Sea Otter

Ron NiebruggeAlaska, Chugach, Photos, Travel 5 Comments

A Sea Otter from last week in Prince William Sound.

We arrived into Phoenix at 2:00 this morning – now packing for the Grand Canyon.  Some weather change!

May?

Ron NiebruggeAlaska, Chugach, Photos, Travel Leave a Comment

I haven’t had internet, heard the radio or seen a TV in over a week – I have to get caught up on recent events, hopefully I didn’t miss much!

We have had crazy weather on this trip.  As you can see here, a full on snow storm!  This was the end of April, but we had plenty of cold and snow in May too.  But, we have a great group and have seen lots of awesome stuff including one of the biggest glacier calving I have ever seen at Surprise Glacier.

After crossing Prince William Sound last week, we have now spent the last few days in Cordova.  Today we are flying over the delta which should be an interesting view of the massive shorebird migration.

Grand Canyon, Slot Canyons and More!

Ron NiebruggeArizona, Photos, Travel 10 Comments

As I mentioned yesterday – Monday I take off for Prince William Sound and Cordova.  Ten days later, I fly to Anchorage.  Dump my rain gear and Xtra-tuff for shorts and Tevas and fly to Arizona for a month!

Really excited about this trip.  We were able to obtain some hard to get back-country permits to hike and camp down in the Grand Canyon.  We spent one cold winter night there almost a decade ago, and ever since then I have wanted to return with the time to really explore and photograph this beautiful National Park.  Unfortunately, even months ago, reservations for campground and hotels for the North Rim were already full, so we will concentrate on the South Rim.  Didn’t think the North Rim would be the hard one for reservations.

From there, we will spend time in Page, Arizona where I plan to explore more slot canyons and other attractions in the area.  We have also rented a boat for some Lake Powell exploration.  Not a fancy house boat, but a little Lund skiff – big enough for tents and sleeping bags for some beach camping under the stars!

Finally, we will end the trip with a short visit to one of my favorite National Parks – Zion!

After that, it is back to Alaska for summer and it will be on!  The next 5 months should be very busy – just how I like it!

Alaska Shorebird Migration

Ron NiebruggeAlaska, Chugach, Photos, Travel Leave a Comment

Monday morning will be the beginning of 5 fun weeks of travel for me!  It will start co-guiding a trip across Prince William Sound for a week, and then 4 days in Cordova for the amazing shorebird migration you see pictured above.  Not only will we be seeing shorebirds on the delta, but there are many other things planned including a flight to Kayak Island, a place I have always wanted to see.

I’m excited for a few reasons – first, I’ll be working with 3 good friends and fellow staff members from last winters trip to Antarctica.  It is an unexpected treat to be hired to work with these great guys  again so soon.

Second, the shorebird migration is really an amazing thing to see.  At times there are literally tens of thousands of birds at one time passing through the area in thick flocks.

Third – it is going to be a treat to spend a week in Prince William Sound aboard a beautiful boat like the M/V Discovery.  I love the Sound – and as many times as I have been there, I have never seen it in May – it should look very different with all the snow still on the ground.

So after Friday, it might be a couple of weeks until I have the time and internet connection to post again – hopefully I’ll have some interesting bird images to share then!

Lemaire Channel, Antarctica

Ron NiebruggeAntarctica, Photos, Travel 2 Comments

This is looking back into Lemaire Channel after we had just past through it on our ice-breaker.  The mountains out of the frame to the left rise as high and are as dramatic as the ones you see here on the right side of the channel.  Hard to believe there is even room for a boat to pass through this spot!  This is my favorite area of Antarctica, and fortunately we pass through this channel twice – Southbound and again Northbound.

2014 Alaska Photo Tours

Ron NiebruggeAlaska, Lake Clark, Photos, Travel 3 Comments

A Brown Bear cub nursing from its mom.  It is not uncommon to see amazing moments like this on my Alaska Bear Photo Tour.

Since I don’t have anything available in 2013, and I have been getting many inquiries about my 2014 photo tours, we decided we better schedule dates for 2014!  I know it seems like a long ways away, but every year they fill earlier and earlier!

So the biggest change is to my Southeast Alaska / Inside Passage Yacht based Photo Tour.  Because bears have proven to be so popular, I have decided to position this to be a bear tour as much as it is a whale and amazing landscape photo tour.  We are still going to be spending time in some of the best whale viewing areas in Alaska if not the world.  We will also still visit some stunning tidewater glaciers – in fact we will be having a jet boat meet us so that we can get extra close to the icebergs and tidewater glacier in LeConte Bay.

But, we are now going to be spending time in some wonderful bear viewing places including the Anan Creek Bear Observatory where we will watch Black and Brown bears fish for salmon in a beautiful rainforest waterfall.  We will stop at Neets Bay for a visit to one of the best Black Bear viewing areas in the world!  And finally, we will be going to a bit of a secret Brown Bear location that my captain recently discovered.  So now, I believe this week long trip gives you a great cross section of many of the amazing photo opportunities Alaska has to offer.

As the first person to charter this wonderful yacht for the 2014 summer season, I had my pick of the liter when it comes to dates, and I believe we will be going at the absolutely perfect time at the end of July – an extremely popular time here in Alaska!  Follow this link to read more about my Bear and Whale Photo Tour.

Of course I’m also offering my two Alaska Bear Photo Tours to Lake Clark National Park.  The 2014 season will be my 5th year offering this wonderful photo tour.  I could go on and on about this amazing experience.  Being up close to such magnificent animals is hard to describe with words it really is.  That said, you can read far more about it here:  Alaska Bear Photo Tour.  You can also see a video preview I filmed during the August trip my first year of the tour.

Of course if you have more questions, please feel free to email or call.

We may offer some photo tours outside Alaska including my annual  Anza-Borrego workshop – stay tuned.