Four Journeys into the Wild Edge of North America

I have returned to Alaska four times, and each journey revealed a completely different wilderness.

My first encounters were along the coast, travelling from Homer and Seward into Prince William Sound, where humpback whales introduced me to the scale of Alaska's marine world. From there, a small aircraft took me into Katmai, where the salmon runs brought enormous concentrations of grizzlies to the rivers. Watching them fishing and competing in the rushing water was one of those experiences that stays with you long after the camera is put away.

Another journey took me much further into isolation, to St. Paul Island in the Bering Sea. Puffins and other seabirds filled the cliffs, while Arctic foxes and Northern fur seals added completely different encounters to this remote landscape.

Autumn brought me to Denali and Fairbanks, followed by an expedition along the Dalton Highway, deep into the northern wilderness in search of musk oxen and the Arctic.

Then came Kaktovik, and the polar bears. Dense fog grounded our aircraft and kept us there for three unexpected days. There was nothing to do but wait. And perhaps that was Alaska's greatest lesson: the wilderness decides when the story begins.

Four journeys gave me only glimpses of this immense land, grizzlies, whales, puffins, foxes, musk oxen and polar bears. Each encounter was different, but together they created my personal image of Alaska: vast, unpredictable and wonderfully beyond our control.