You are right about the necessity of hiking in order to see the Valley. As they say, it's one mile down and ten miles back up. It was also very cold in the morning on the way down and very hot in the afternoon on the way back up.
Kenneth Waller wrote:
A must-see location if one goes to Alaska.
Agreed. A must see if you're interested in wildlife. I've been there several times & thoroughly enjoy the unique photographic opportunity, but after several days I'm looking for more variety. There are only so many bear & fish images to take before they start to look alike. Last time @ Katmai there was no easy way to view the Valley of Smokes except by plane. Hiking with my equipment is out of the question for me. At Denali, all you have to do is catch a bus and you can have great photo opportunities right off the road.
Other than the salmon, at Denali you get all the animals you mentioned plus caribou, wolf, fox, ptarmigan, sandhill cranes, black bear, beaver and scores of others. Plus there is more wildlife interaction to be seen @ Denali.
Kenneth Waller
-----Original Message----- From: "Daniel J. Matyola" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: May 3, 2005 11:38 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: May PUG - "Cameras & Lenses"
The best spot I've found for photo ops, animal and scenic, is Katmai National Park in Alaska. The is a photo stand near the falls where you can photgraph the bears fishing for salmon in relative safety. It's a real opportunity to get close and personal with grizzlies. Bald eagles drop by to grab the snacks, and there are plenty of moose in the lake. At the other end of the park is the Valley of 10,000 smokes, willed with hundreds of meters of volcanic ash from an eruption almost a century ago that was much larger than Mt St Helens or Pinatubo. A must-see location if one goes to Alaska.
Kenneth Waller wrote:
Bob,
For two weeks last Aug/Sept, we worked THAT road every day for 8 to 9 hours/day, starting some 30 miles west of where the park buses turn around (Eilson visitor center). I have to say there are more photographic opportunities (both animal life & scenic) along that road than any other place I've visited.
