Marsh skullcap (Scutellaria galericulata) is a marsh-dwelling, purple-flowering herb in the mint family present across much of the northern hemisphere. It thrives in wetland habitats and is known for its distinctive hooded flowers.
Bird vetch (Vicia cracca), also called tufted or cow vetch, is a climbing perennial in the pea family, with one-sided racemes of blue-violet flowers and branched tendrils that let it scramble over other plants. Native to Europe and Asia, it...
Arctic gentian (Gentiana algida) is a low, white-flowered perennial of Arctic tundra, alpine meadows, and stony slopes, ranging from Alaska and the Yukon across northern Asia and south into the Rocky Mountains and Himalaya. Its creamy, blue-streaked flowers are named...
Cassidy over the Harding Icefield I've never hiked the Harding Icefield Trail in good weather. Neither Cassidy nor Elliott had hiked it at all. So when a window opened in the forecast, we left Homer for Seward. Arriving in the...
Narrowleaf arnica (Arnica angustifolia) is a low, yellow-flowered perennial of Arctic tundra, rocky slopes, cliffs, and seashores across the circumpolar north, from Alaska and Greenland to Fennoscandia and Central Asia. One of the far north's classic sunflower-family daisies, it was...
Cassidy, Elliott, and I planned to spend a couple of days backpacking at Hatcher Pass before the climbing team came down for our annual climbing trip. We spent one very wet night at the Gold Mint Campground, checked the forecast...
Our last day to do something outside before heading back to town, and the weather was finally changing. We didn't quite know what to do with our limited time, with rain falling in some areas of the range. We landed...
These caves are running out of time. Every year, I follow the trail of dead ice farther up the valley. Each one I find is gone in a handful of seasons. I go looking for these caves anyway. The ground...
Day one of three in the Alaska Range. We followed the Gulkana moraine past where I'd been before, found the season's first saxifrage, and let the trip have no plan at all.
Our party at the Windchimes near Mt. Prindle In early June, five of us took off for Nome Creek for an overnight trip to Mt. Prindle in the White Mountain National Recreation Area. The plan was to head to Mt....
Descending the Granite Tors Trail in mixed snow conditions In late May, I spent a couple of days at the Chena River State Recreation Area with Cassidy, Chenoa, and their dogs. I guess it was closer to a day. We...
The seasonal wetlands pond at Creamer's Field | Prints and Wall Art The light is back. The snow is gone in town, and is quickly disappearing in the mountains. I've been working long days through the spring, banking the hours...
A late-season hike on the Savage Alpine Trail in Denali National Park, more snow than usual, great company, and a snow surface covered in wind-sculpted sastrugi and ripples worth stopping to study.
In the same morning after humanity sent astronauts around the Moon, a president threatened to erase a civilization. We have to choose which path we're on.
A torn muscle in Bend, an 8-mile hike at Smith Rock anyway, missed aurora, and a March that didn't go as planned — field notes from a long month in Fairbanks and Oregon.
A black and white photograph made in a narrow schist canyon near the Worthington Glacier at Thompson Pass — no tripod, no ND filter, barely a place to stand. A short reflection on working within constraints and what a difficult...
A late March 2015 winter camping trip up the Granite Tors trail, miserable snowshoeing, a failed hike, and what may have been the best aurora I've ever seen. A reflection on hard work, failure, and pulling something good out of...
A winter evening walk on the UAF trails in Fairbanks, Alaska; record cold winter, deep snow, moonlit spruce forest, and a much-needed escape from the news.
A late-summer weekend on the Kenai Peninsula, wildflowers on the Harding Icefield Trail, fog rolling across Exit Glacier, and a decade of glacial recession made visible in a single photograph.
Nutzotin milkvetch (Astragalus nutzotinensis) is a mat-forming perennial of gravelly ridges, braided stream bars, and glacier margins in eastern Alaska and northwestern Canada. Named for the Nutzotin Mountains and the Athabascan people who called that region home, this cream-to-pink flowered...
A photograph taken at 6:15 am on my first overnight trip to the Granite Tors, with the Alaska Range visible on the horizon 90 miles away. A reflection on first encounters, familiar places, and what gets lost when a landscape...
A close encounter with a Dall Ram near Savage River in Denali National Park, photographed during a late summer hike in the Alaska Interior.
Snowshoeing and skiing up Miller Creek to the Canwell Glacier ice caves, with winter light, ice crystals, and a quiet return under blue hour and moonrise.
A photograph made in 2012 along US Creek Road in Alaska’s White Mountains, revisited as part of my Photo of the Week series. A short reflection on first encounters with place, return, and why some images continue to matter long...
A strong geomagnetic storm carried over into January 20, 2026, producing an intense and rapidly evolving aurora display over the Goldstream Valley near Fairbanks, Alaska. Within minutes of arriving on the trail, bands and rays filled the sky and built...
Last night, a fast coronal mass ejection struck Earth’s magnetosphere, triggering a strong geomagnetic storm and a widespread aurora display. I hadn’t been following space weather closely, but it quickly became clear this was no ordinary night, with intense activity,...
The 2026 Alaska Wall Calendar features photographs by Lee Petersen, showcasing glaciers, aurora borealis, wildlife, and landscapes from across Alaska. Each month highlights a different scene, from Denali National Park to glacier caves and autumn tundra. Available now through Lulu,...
Late summer on the Gulkana Glacier reveals icefalls, moulins, meltwater streams, and the dramatic retreat of the Gabriel Icefall, with the sounds, textures, and shifting character of the ice captured up close.
Late summer in Interior and south-central Alaska: forests, lakes, and close-up details of mushrooms and plants reveal stillness, meaning, and quiet beauty.
On August 2, I returned to Wickersham Dome after wildfire closures lifted for a quiet, post-work hike. I wandered west of the summit, found ripe blueberries, pulled some moves on a climbable boulder, and watched golden light sweep across the...
A spontaneous Friday afternoon decision leads to Mt. Prindle's summit through deteriorating weather and thick fog. Calculated risks, orographic lift, and ghostly tors emerging from the mist—captured in photos and video from Alaska's wildest conditions.
The view from the high point on the Angel Rocks to Chena Hot Springs Trail The day after hiking the Granite Tors loop in a storm, I was back in Chena Hot Springs State Recreation Area for another evening hike,...
Testing a recovering knee injury on Alaska's Granite Tors Loop: 15 miles, thunderstorms, and the mental game of pushing through both weather
Reflecting on training, depression/anxiety, more training, and coaching during a multi-day climbing trip to Hatcher Pass, with insights into rebuilding strength.
A recent evening hike to the Granite Tors revealed better-than-expected trail conditions, striking golden light, and a brief double rainbow. Snow and postholing remain near the upper loop, but the lower trail and Rock Creek area are mostly clear. Includes...
Potentilla arenosa (bluff cinquefoil) is a small perennial herb with yellow, five-petaled flowers and deeply toothed leaves. It thrives in Arctic and alpine habitats, often on sandy or gravelly soils. Identification can be challenging due to similarity with related species.
