Longhorn Loc: Austin, Texas

Just completed a land-sea cruise in which we flew to Anchorage, traveled to Danali National Park, took a 12 hour tour into the park, train back to Whittier and cruise ship through the inside passage to Vancover. I took three lenses--16-35mm, 70-300mm, and 150-600mm Tamron. I had the Tamron 2 months before the trip and had practiced using it in order to get some good shots of wildlife on the trip. Inside Denali National Park conditions prevented me from using the lens which was a huge disappointment. The day was cloudy and misty. Only school buses are used to make the tour. The bus was crowded and you could only shoot photos through the top open window and everyone struggled to get to an open window on the side where wildlife was seen. The lens was too big and heavy to shoot through the open window and difficult to change in the crowded bus. We saw several moose, doll sheep, caribo, and a grizzly with two cubs. I settled on the 70-300mm for the Park photography. I think if I could do it over, I would have purchased a SX50 for photography in the park-small with a great range and sharp lens.

The Tamron was great for use aboard ship, shooting photos from our balcony and on some tours at different stops but it was a big disappointment to be unable to use it on the Danali tour. My choice of the other two lens was right on. The lens I used the most was the 70-300mm.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

That's a very good evaluation of what to bring and use.

Lenf Loc: Strasburg,PA

Looks like you had a wonderful trip, I had the same problem in Denali, Alaska can be beautiful ,crisp,clean or foggy.. Shooting the inside passage is fun.
Hope to see some of your photos.

Fkaufman3 Loc: Florida, LA ie lower Alabama

Just finished a similar trip with holland, we stayed in Denali then went to Dawson and Skagway for cruise back, nice weather, same about huge lens in Denali bus, used shorter more compact lens, either the bears are so far away or close in, will post some pics as soon as I can sort through several thousand

wingclui44 Loc: CT USA

I will start the tour with Holand too to-morrow,I will only bring with me the 24-50mm, the 70-200mm f4 and leave the heavy 50-500mm behind. I don't have any 300mm range lens. It's too late to consider one now! I can crop the images from my full frame sensor!

MtnMan Loc: ID

Sorry for that. We went this time last year. We took the Wilderness tour fist, and then an early morning bus and neither were very crowded. People were very friendly on using the windows. I had no troubles with my Sigma 150-500 on a Nikon D800. We also were blessed with fabulous weather. We drove up so were not with a tour group.

That said getting good animal pics from the bus was difficult. I did best by driving to the end of the pavement and walking to shoot some Caribou.

Here are a few of my pics. Mr. griz, shot on the Alaska Highway, won a blue ribbon at the State Fair. Denali an honorable mention.

http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-137439-1.html

Longhorn Loc: Austin, Texas

Thanks Jerry. When you fly, you become limited on what you take.

Longhorn Loc: Austin, Texas

I will post some soon.

Longhorn Loc: Austin, Texas

The people on the bus were great--it was just crowded.

Longhorn Loc: Austin, Texas

I am sure driving opens up many more opportunities.

MtnMan Loc: ID

It does indeed. We took the cruise two times to scope things out before we retired and had the time to take on the drive. We spent two months at it.

If we drive again we might actually leave Alaska out. We liked northern BC and the Yukon better and might just go there next time. The Yukon provides free firewood in the campgrounds. We might take the ferry one way but the drive along the Alaska Highway is an end in itself.

Apaflo Loc: Anchorage, Alaska

A little known fact that can really make a difference on a trip to Alaska... you can't drive to the most interesting parts of Alaska.

Get on a plane and go to Bethel, Nome, Kotzebue or Barrow and see the Alaska that is nothing at all like anywhere in the Lower-48. Or if you are really adventurous and resourceful, go to McGrath, Aniak, Unalakleet, Point Hope, Anaktuvuk Pass, or Kaktovik, any of which are even one step farther from anything in the Lower-48.

Just don't schedule a flight in on one day and a flight out on the next, because you'll miss most of it.

MtnMan Loc: ID

Yes, we concluded that is what we'd do if we go to Alaska again.

There are nice parts reachable by road but frankly we live in a better place (Idaho). One thing that really surprised me in Alaska was the lack of free camping. In Idaho we almost never to pay to camp. We camp mostly in the National Forest. Alaska doesn't have as many National Forest roads because of the swamp. And they spent millions putting "no camping" signs everywhere except the established campgrounds. Although the campgrounds were fine as far as campgrounds go we neither want nor need them.

Longhorn Loc: Austin, Texas

Time and resources affect any trip.

Apaflo Loc: Anchorage, Alaska

Because of "the swamp"?? There's more park land in Alaska than there is land in Idaho! But since there are only a few hundred miles of roads, and there are a million plus tourists every summer... well, you saw it! And that is the reason to get off the road system. On a highway if you can get to it, everybody else is already there.

Most of Alaska doesn't have campgrounds, and no signs about no camping either! :-) Just pitch a tent in a good spot. And leave some firewood behind for the next guy. Just be aware that on rivers all the coastal people camp on gravel banks so they can see, and all the upriver folks camp in the trees on the cut bank they they can't be seen. Rivers are our highways.

Here's a picture of some folks having a 39th birthday party for the lady on the left. The two gals in the center are from Fairbanks and I didn't learn much else. The others are from Charlotte NC. That guy with a baseball hat, no gloves, and his jacket open with a tshirt on is William Saganna. He's the tour guide. His mother was born just a few hundred yards from where they are standing (the no longer existing village of Nuvuk). It was about 35F, with a mild breeze.

The lady on the left and the one in the center holding a red towel both went wading up to their knees in the Arctic Ocean. William pointedly said he's "never done that on purpose". He did recount how a couple times he'd, not exactly on purpose, gone swimming. He's very much part of a whaling crew, and that is an adventure.

http://apaflo.com/gallery3/d8a_0734.s.jpg