Contrary to what quantum physics tells us, when late summer rolls around, time seems to move at an accelerated rate at higher elevation. Even if you just go into the Chugach Mountains outside of Anchorage in late August, you'll find the foliage changed by the ravages of fall: the fireweed is past when it goes to seed, the flower-bearing stem is completely gone, and the leaves appear, fittingly, to be ablaze. When I saw this on my lone Flattop expedition this year, I was upset - how could fall be here already?
Fortunately, I came back down to sea level and found that life was as it should be, and some fireweed still had blossoms that hadn't reached the pinnacle of the stem. These were the last fireweed that I photographed for the season, and though we're in the best part of winter with lots of fresh snow and temps in the mid-20s (perfect!) seeing them makes me nostalgic for summer.
