Scott Chandler
Wildness is a necessity- John Muir
- Joined
- Jan 4, 2014
- Messages
- 1,099
The greatest tragedy of our natural world is playing out in Alaska folks.
Alaska is a massive state, full of a variety of landscapes and wonder. While working in Katmai for the summer, I never wandered more than 30 miles from where I lived. Compared to every other time in my adult life, this still amazes me. I've never been so "stagnant" for so long. It was an amazing summer, don't get me wrong, but I didn't do near as much as I envisioned when I thought "I'M GOING TO ALASKA!!" So when the season ended, a group of us decided to take a little time before returning to the lower 48.
Thus began the "Family Vacation to See Alaska's Dying Glaciers!"
After a day in Anchorage seeing society, visiting spots Katmai visitors had lead us to believe were amazing, eating food, and watching some 30 Rock, five of us piled into a rental car and started to drive south. Our destination was the coastal gateway town of Seward. We'd heard great things, and wanted to affirm them.
Despite stormy conditions, the drive south was a great lifter of our excitement levels. Tall mountains, fall colors, lots of water and glaciers. Driving can be so awesome!
Arriving in Seward can only be described as dreamlike. The town isn't necessarily amazing, but it was far nicer than the bush towns of King Salmon and Naknek. It felt small, rustic and touristy, as opposed to run down, remote and... run down. Massive mountains with glaciers clinging to them and Resurrection Bay sure helped the atmosphere. It was what I thought of when I dreamed of Alaska.
The view south from Seward
After a night of enjoying a cookout (we could have food outside!!) we started out our trip with what was our main draw to the area: Kenai Fjord NP's Exit Glacier and the Harding Icefield. We had all seen glaciers before, but they were all of the alpine variety. We wanted to see a big one, see what real ice was like.
Driving down the road shows enough to drop the jaw.
Exit Glacier has to be one of the most accessible glaciers around. The park has developed a great trail that at one time took you right up to the mass of ice. Signs line the walk, documenting where the ice had been in the past, all the way until the end of the walk, where the glacier has receded beyond even poking it with a stick.
I won't lie, I broke down and got pretty emotional here. Something about glaciers really gets to me. They are simply masses of ice, and yet they seem so alive. They have lived for thousands of years, slowly being pulled my gravity, sculpting the landscape beneath their ginormous weight. Many of the landscapes I am extremely fond of: Glacier NP, the Bighorn Mtns, the GYE, the Wasatch; have all been heavily influenced by glaciers, and yet their presence is nearly negligible in those environments now. Here was one of these creators, dying before my eyes. I had a similar experience at the foot the a glacier on Mt Magiek in Katmai, yet that experience was so odd that it was here at Exit Glacier where the sadness of the whole story really hit home (click here if you haven't read that story.) This glacier, and so many across the world, are disappearing at a tremendous rate. It could very well be that there won't be glaciers like this in a few generations, and it is our fault. It was incredibly moving.
Yet I couldn't stay and cry all day. We had ambitions to hike up to the head of the glacier, up at the Harding Icefield. A huge glacier sounded mindblowing, what about 30 square miles of ice?!? We had to go see. That did mean hiking four miles and gaining 3000' in elevation after a summer of losing fitness, but we figured we could make it.
The hike up had amazing views of the glacier and the valley below the entire way. I would say this trail ranks up there with the best I have ever hiked.
Dynamic skies made the view and ever evolving wonder.
As we ate, and tried to ponder what it truly was that we were seeing, clouds moved in and wiped out our view. After a while we roused for some group picture time in the cloud. But as the picture was taking, the cloud was moving out. This happened for about five pictures until the Icefield was behind us.
Then being spry young people full of wonder and inspiration, we decided to go down and check out the ice. Now, if the glacier felt like something dying, the icefield felt like an innocent babe, ignorant and waiting, for its time to come. It's crazy to think that before too long, it will be a requirement for people to hike up here to experience glaciers.
With time ticking away and weather moving in, reluctantly we trudged back up to the trail so we could get back to town. Along the way we got significantly waylaid by clouds moving through.
Wow. WowowowowowowowowowowowowowowWOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
That is pretty much all I could think of as we descended the mountain. This trip was so incredibly worth it I can't articulate the feeling. All the wonder, excitement, boredom, aggravation, and joy of my summer in Katmai was blown away at that moment. As I look back Katmai has seemed much better than it was at the time, but Exit Glacier and the Harding Icefield inspired me to love Alaska.
I don't throw the descriptor "amazing" around lightly. I don't use it for people for instance. It has to be an extremely influential person to actually deserve being called that.
This was AMAZING.
It puts all else to shame.
And it is going away folks...
Alaska is a massive state, full of a variety of landscapes and wonder. While working in Katmai for the summer, I never wandered more than 30 miles from where I lived. Compared to every other time in my adult life, this still amazes me. I've never been so "stagnant" for so long. It was an amazing summer, don't get me wrong, but I didn't do near as much as I envisioned when I thought "I'M GOING TO ALASKA!!" So when the season ended, a group of us decided to take a little time before returning to the lower 48.
Thus began the "Family Vacation to See Alaska's Dying Glaciers!"
After a day in Anchorage seeing society, visiting spots Katmai visitors had lead us to believe were amazing, eating food, and watching some 30 Rock, five of us piled into a rental car and started to drive south. Our destination was the coastal gateway town of Seward. We'd heard great things, and wanted to affirm them.
Despite stormy conditions, the drive south was a great lifter of our excitement levels. Tall mountains, fall colors, lots of water and glaciers. Driving can be so awesome!
Arriving in Seward can only be described as dreamlike. The town isn't necessarily amazing, but it was far nicer than the bush towns of King Salmon and Naknek. It felt small, rustic and touristy, as opposed to run down, remote and... run down. Massive mountains with glaciers clinging to them and Resurrection Bay sure helped the atmosphere. It was what I thought of when I dreamed of Alaska.
The view south from Seward
After a night of enjoying a cookout (we could have food outside!!) we started out our trip with what was our main draw to the area: Kenai Fjord NP's Exit Glacier and the Harding Icefield. We had all seen glaciers before, but they were all of the alpine variety. We wanted to see a big one, see what real ice was like.
Driving down the road shows enough to drop the jaw.
Exit Glacier has to be one of the most accessible glaciers around. The park has developed a great trail that at one time took you right up to the mass of ice. Signs line the walk, documenting where the ice had been in the past, all the way until the end of the walk, where the glacier has receded beyond even poking it with a stick.
I won't lie, I broke down and got pretty emotional here. Something about glaciers really gets to me. They are simply masses of ice, and yet they seem so alive. They have lived for thousands of years, slowly being pulled my gravity, sculpting the landscape beneath their ginormous weight. Many of the landscapes I am extremely fond of: Glacier NP, the Bighorn Mtns, the GYE, the Wasatch; have all been heavily influenced by glaciers, and yet their presence is nearly negligible in those environments now. Here was one of these creators, dying before my eyes. I had a similar experience at the foot the a glacier on Mt Magiek in Katmai, yet that experience was so odd that it was here at Exit Glacier where the sadness of the whole story really hit home (click here if you haven't read that story.) This glacier, and so many across the world, are disappearing at a tremendous rate. It could very well be that there won't be glaciers like this in a few generations, and it is our fault. It was incredibly moving.
Yet I couldn't stay and cry all day. We had ambitions to hike up to the head of the glacier, up at the Harding Icefield. A huge glacier sounded mindblowing, what about 30 square miles of ice?!? We had to go see. That did mean hiking four miles and gaining 3000' in elevation after a summer of losing fitness, but we figured we could make it.
The hike up had amazing views of the glacier and the valley below the entire way. I would say this trail ranks up there with the best I have ever hiked.
Dynamic skies made the view and ever evolving wonder.
As we ate, and tried to ponder what it truly was that we were seeing, clouds moved in and wiped out our view. After a while we roused for some group picture time in the cloud. But as the picture was taking, the cloud was moving out. This happened for about five pictures until the Icefield was behind us.
Then being spry young people full of wonder and inspiration, we decided to go down and check out the ice. Now, if the glacier felt like something dying, the icefield felt like an innocent babe, ignorant and waiting, for its time to come. It's crazy to think that before too long, it will be a requirement for people to hike up here to experience glaciers.
With time ticking away and weather moving in, reluctantly we trudged back up to the trail so we could get back to town. Along the way we got significantly waylaid by clouds moving through.
Wow. WowowowowowowowowowowowowowowWOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
That is pretty much all I could think of as we descended the mountain. This trip was so incredibly worth it I can't articulate the feeling. All the wonder, excitement, boredom, aggravation, and joy of my summer in Katmai was blown away at that moment. As I look back Katmai has seemed much better than it was at the time, but Exit Glacier and the Harding Icefield inspired me to love Alaska.
I don't throw the descriptor "amazing" around lightly. I don't use it for people for instance. It has to be an extremely influential person to actually deserve being called that.
This was AMAZING.
It puts all else to shame.
And it is going away folks...
