I’m finally getting around to this long overdue post about my travels to the far north last summer and fall. On my previous 2022 trip up to the Yukon and Alaska I was overwhelmed with the possibilities of locations to explore, but there was one region high on my list that didn’t fit into my itinerary: Tombstone Territorial Park and the surrounding area. There were a few reasons for this, mostly because I didn’t fight for the online backcountry permits in January or February when they go live. There was also so much for me to be doing in Alaska during the fall that it was hard to fit it all in. So, in early 2024 I was able to score some permits for the first week of September which is generally peak fall color for the area. It looked like another grand road trip to the north would be in order!
“Grizzly Morning” - A pleasant sunrise with a calm reflection on the last morning of the backcountry trip. Tombstone Territorial Park, Yukon - September 2024. E100 4x5, 75mm lens, 1/2 second at f32, 812 filter. Prints available.
It felt a little wild to be making such a trip just two summers after going so far north, but something about the extreme latitudes kept calling me back. I’ve never seen such a varied and long-lasting autumn as the one I experienced in Alaska, the taiga landscape with mixed spruce, berry bushes, and swamp birch all take on a mixture of color like nothing else. The whole area also has such a feeling of remoteness that really captivates me and is hard to replicate further south. The dwarfed trees, rugged peaks, and extremely clear air make it hard to judge the scale of the terrain, leaving the distance and size of the landscape up to the imagination. Streams, mountains, and glaciers can end up being much closer - or more often significantly further - than you would expect.
Of course I could have flown up there, but there is so much to see on the way up and I really enjoy the weeks in my van as well as getting out for some overnight backpacking trips. The drive took me through the prairies of Montana which give way to the Canadian Rockies and the endless forests west of the Continental Divide. The further north you go, settlements become smaller and less frequent, the trees get more sparse, and the vast taiga starts to reveal itself in far northern British Columbia. During the 2022 Alaska trip I spent 11 weeks on the road but this time I was cutting that in half, though with a good bit less total driving distance than central Alaska. My first overnight hike was in the Purcell Mountains of British Columbia, a stunning welcome to the grand vistas of Canada. It was late August and wildflowers still filled the meadows around a small lake. This would mark the end of summer photography for me that year as conditions started to quickly shift towards autumn as I continued north.
“Jumbo Flowers” - Purple flowers bloom at sunrise near a small alpine lake. Purcell Mountains, Canada - August 2024. E100 4x5, 75mm lens, 1/8th second at f22, 812 filter. Prints available.
With Yukon being my central goal I carried on and spent some long days on the road. There were a few more overnight hikes and a failed bikepacking attempt into a remote portion of the Canadian Rockies (endless knee-deep mud!), but mostly I enjoyed the quiet scenery of the Cassiar Highway as I drove up to Whitehorse, Yukon. I picked up my friend Jason from the airport and we made our way north to Tombstone Territorial Park the next day, just below the Arctic Circle. We were immediately greeted by grand vistas and hillsides that were starting to turn vibrant autumn hues in late August.
“Tombstone Canyon” - A creek cuts through a canyon lined with autumn foliage. Tombstone Territorial Park, Yukon - September 2024. E100 4x5, 200mm lens, 1/4 second at f22, 812 filter and 1 stop soft GND. Prints available.
The temperatures were already quite cold, a very dramatic change in the dozen or so days since leaving the hot summer of Colorado. We picked up our permits from the visitor center at Tombstone and spent a night in the car campground. Right away we both noticed the rather surprising number of humans around. I’m not going to say that it was full-on crowded, but after driving 4000 miles and having nearly every hike or vista to myself it was a bit of a shock to arrive at a full campground and to see the main trailhead parking lot packed with cars. Given the remoteness of this place, far down a dirt road at the top of the continent, it was almost jarring. It turns out that Tombstone had quickly reached international fame, especially during the brief couple weeks of autumn color.
“Yukon Spruce” - Spruce stand among a medley of autumn colors in the taiga. Tombstone Provincial Park, Yukon - September 2024. E100 4x5, 125mm lens, 1/2 second at f32, 812 filter. Prints available.
There are three backcountry campgrounds in Tombstone. Grizzly Lake is about 7 rather challenging miles (11 km) from the trailhead. Divide Lake is another 4 miles (6.5 km) with the very steep and aptly named Glissade Pass between the two lakes. Talus Lake, which has the main views of Tombstone Peak, is just another 4 easy miles beyond Divide. These mileages don’t sound very intimidating when backpacking, with the furthest point being only 15 miles from the trailhead - a distance I often cover in a single day in mountain ranges further south. It must be stressed that things are different near the arctic. Even though this is a well-traveled trail, it is steep and there are sections that involve hopping over extremely slippery rocks that frequently cause injurious falls to trekkers. Particularly challenging is the first day hike into Grizzly Lake. With a steep climb and lots of wet/snowy weather, it took us over 8 hours to cover the 7 miles. I seem to remember Jason’s GPS watch also reporting a mileage closer to 9, so there could certainly be a discrepancy between the mapped trail distance and reality.
“Grizzly Peaks” - The view from near the high point on the hike into Grizzly Lake. Tombstone Territorial Park. Ektar 100 4x5, 125mm lens, 1/4 second at f22, no filters. Prints available.
For this reason, the park does not allow backpackers to hike beyond Grizzly Lake on the first day of their trip. Many folks may see the short distances and think that it’s no problem to get all the way to Talus in a single day, but the staff at the park knows the reality of the hike and requires a stopover at Grizzly on the way in. I completely respect this regulation, but it is one of the main reasons why it’s hard to get backpacking permits for this park. Grizzly Lake has twice as much camping (recently increased to 18 or even 20 tent pads) than the other lakes, but since everyone needs to use it on their way in and some want to use it as a stopover on the way out it’s a bottleneck in the permit process. Grizzly Lake is also a beautiful destination on its own, so some campers just want to hike up to it and spend two nights before hiking out. While the campgrounds at Divide and Talus (each having 10 tent pads) may have availability, there’s no way to hike to them if Grizzly Lake is already completely reserved for the season.
Well, there is actually one more option: a helicopter. Just past Talus Lake is a helicopter pad for those who have the means to fly in. We met some people that flew in and just spent a few nights at Talus before being lifted out, and others who landed there and were going to hike out over the following days. The sites are much more available beyond Grizzly so people certainly take advantage of it if they want to spend about $2500 one way for the ride. This is also how many of the photography workshops travel, and it once again made the visit seem rather odd for a backcountry trip. Seeing people get airdropped into the wilderness felt a bit like visitors arriving from space after taking three days to hike in.
“Tombstone Sunset” - The sun sets in the valley beyond the Tombstone Range, with a carpet of autumn swamp birch covering the landscape in red. Tombstone Territorial Park, Yukon - September 2024. E100 4x5, 75mm lens, 1/4 second at f32, no filters. Prints available.
In a way this underscores my feelings about Tombstone. Yes, the scenery is truly stunning. However, as someone who will often hike for days without any human contact, this did not at all feel like a wilderness experience to me. The nearly 20 tent pads at Grizzly Lake meant that twice as many people were milling about as most groups were traveling with two to a tent. The three cook shelters and bear storage lockers were quite full and you could even experience lines at the outhouse. The single cook shelter at Divide Lake was more than full at dinner time, so we donned rain gear and used our bodies to shelter our stoves in the blustery mist. Since it’s a challenge to get permits for this hike I knew it would be at capacity, but there was no indication of just how many people there would be when booking. For me personally, this gives me little desire to return. I’m thrilled that I had the chance to see it, but when choosing locations to photograph I prefer to seek out more solitude. It just works better with my creative process.
“Divide Lake Autumn” - Fog swirls around peaks, reflecting in perfectly calm waters. Tombstone Territorial Park, Yukon - September 2024. E100 4x5, 75mm lens, 1/8 second at f22, 812 filter. Prints available.
That said, I’m very happy with the images from this place. We had a total of 7 days back there, spending two nights at each lake. Our itinerary went like this: Grizzly Lake, Divide Lake, Talus Lake for two nights in a row, then back to Divide and Grizzly again for the final night. Those 6 nights really only provided one “good” sunset, meaning that there was enough opening in the clouds for the sun to peek through and a couple of decent sunrises with some light. By far my favorite morning was the perfectly calm reflection of Divide Lake, while fog swirled around the peaks above. This image above was the true highlight of the trip and my personal favorite image from 2024.
“Spruce Reflections” - A hillside of spruce and autumn bushes reflect in a pond. Northern Rockies, British Columbia - September 2024. Velvia 50 4x5, 300mm lens, 1/2 second at f22, no filters. Prints available.
There were some good chances to find solitude as well, especially with the two-night basecamp at Talus Lake. One of the days had marvelous weather, starting with clearing fog and eventually mostly sunny skies. I took the time to wander around the tundra landscape on my own, exploring some nearby lakes, streams, and endless autumn color. There’s such a unique smell to the far north in the autumn, something that happens around the patches of wild blueberry bushes and reindeer moss. The earthy and fruity aroma immediately took my mind back to the Alaska trip two years earlier, to the memories of the land near treeline in Denali National Park. I snacked on ripe blueberries as I hiked, easily picking them from the small bushes on the ground.
Using a 4x5 camera back here was the right call for me. There were some challenges with quickly moving fog and weather that meant I missed a few shots due to the slow setup, but overall I was able to take my time and get the most out of the big sheets of film. The weight of the pack was significant and the park-required bear can is never fun to fit into a backpack with large format gear. With cold weather gear, a week of food, and a three-lens large format kit I had a 100 liter backpack stuffed to the gills. The warm layers and waterproof boots were particularly important, as during the first week of September the temperature dipped below freezing each night as we awoke to frost every morning. Weather changed quickly from snow to spitting rain to sun and stiff breezes.
“Kelsall Autumn” - Clouds and fog dance among the mountains above a valley of autumn color. Coastal Range, British Columbia - September 2024. E100 4x5, 125mm lens, 1/4 second at f32, 812 filter. Prints available.
The hike out from Grizzly seemed a lot easier than the way in, as we had more hospitable weather and the majority of the route is downhill. It was incredible to see how much the autumn color had progressed over a week, nearly all of the greens and yellows and switched to oranges and vibrant reds. The top priority after backpacking was a shower and a meal not cooked on a camp stove, so we spent the night in the historic town of Dawson City on the banks of the Yukon River. After getting cleaned up and resupplied we went right back down the Dempster Highway, past Tombstone to the next mountain range north. This region had much less rugged peaks, but even more intense autumn color. The combination of red and yellow mixed with deep green spruce was sublime and resulted in some very productive photo time for a few days.
We then pushed on south, back through Whitehorse and then West to Kluane and Haines, Alaska. Here we were able to get some views of distant river-like glaciers as we approached the coastal mountains, something that you don’t see in the drier inland ranges such as Tombstone. Color was still outstanding at the higher elevations, with areas below treeline showing yellow aspen. As we descended to sea level in Haines it felt more like late summer and all the foliage was in shades of green. Jason caught a ferry to Juneau and I turned around and started the long journey back south to Colorado. From that point on it was mostly just miles of highway for me, with a few overnight hikes and a long drive through the prairie of Alberta and Montana.
Now that an entire year has passed, I already find myself yearning for the next northern escape. Yes, I’ve written this blog post to share the images and journey with you, but also to look back on the experience for myself and remember the fond moments. These articles get me flipping through the binders of developed film to take another look at the sheets, and I always find a few more gems to scan and share. There’s a magic up there that isn’t matched anywhere else to me. It’s harsh yet inviting, remote and incredibly vast. Once again, I’m certain it won’t be my last time up north.
If you enjoyed these images, please leave a comment below and let me know. It’s always nice to hear about any favorite photos, or any other ideas you may have for helpful articles. Perhaps it’s time to share my latest backpacking setup for long adventures with a field camera? After all these years I think I finally have it dialed in!