Walking on a glacier. How unbelievable is that? Not an opportunity you have every day. And sadly, not one that folks 100 years from now may still have.
Glacier hikes are probably pretty common here in Alaska – after all the Alaska Almanac estimates there are 100,000 of them here and 616 of them are officially named. So this activity was a “must-do” from the get-go. Here, in the remote Wrangel St Elias National Park is a great place to do it.
After checking with several tour companies, St. Elias Alpine Guides was chosen. All the tour companies seem to go to the same places and charge the same amount, but this company was recommended both by Trip Adviser and the Kennicott Lodge, so we decided to go with them.
After signing the long and convoluted contract basically stating that they are not liable for anything, even if they are grossly negligent ( common form we have found ), and that we acknowledge the inherent danger( and paid the fee of course ). We were then fitted for the gnarly-looking crampons we would need to hike on the glacier.
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This crampon similar to what we wore
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We were told it would be cold on the ice, so we each carried backpacks with lunches, raincoats, hats, mittens and polar fleece. We were wearing thermal underwear under our mid-weight tops, so needless to say on this above- normal, 80 degree day, we were sweating like crazy!
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Our guide
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As we walked down the main street we could see the glacier in all its glory, which I understand doesn’t happen that often! We were blessed with good luck again! We passed the Kennicott Mines while the 20-something male guide who looked just like a mountain climber ( 90% of the town did ) told us a little about the town. The trail got a little steep and treacherous as we got close, but the cool breeze blowing off the ice was welcome relief.
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As we walked, we were lucky to have a clear view of the glaciers
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At we hiked down the moraine, we could finally feel the welcoming cool air from the ice.
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Arriving at the glacial edge, we donned our crampons and headed out. It took a few minutes to get used to the new footwear, but soon our confidence grew as we trudged across the slippery surface, marveling at the icy vista in front of us. Soon we were walking as if on pavement as the crampons dug into the ice, providing vital traction as we made our way down slopes toward bottomless crevasses. It was a little unnerving, to say the least – especially when the guide told us how one man got too close, fell into a crevasse, never to be seen again! Now THAT kept us from venturing too near the edge without him holding on to us, I tell you!
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The guide held Norm tightly so he could see the deep crevasse up close. Hold on! I didn't take a turn - There's no way I would let this guy literally hold my life in his hands!
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During the next hour we looked down crevasses, viewed blue pools, waterfalls and canyons. We walked through shallow rivers running across the top of the glacier while the guide explained the geological reasons of how each feature came to be. At lunchtime the guide spread out yoga mats for us to sit on and made hot chocolate for us as we ate.
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There were some people who ventured out on the ice without a guide, which is allowed, but probably not smart.
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There is ice under this dirt, which surprised us. It is very complicated how it got there over the centuries, but I couldn't possibly explain it.
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After lunch it was more about killing time as we meandered our way back. At this point it was really hot, and because he had another tour that afternoon, he nearly ran the two miles back. (at least it seemed that way ). We stopped for a pee break and most people used this opportunity to strip off layers of clothing before we resumed the grueling trek. He refused to let us go at our own pace – saying something about a legal reason for it. Laughing, we couldn’t understand how that could be since we waived all out rights.
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Walking through town we checked out all the deserted buildings
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As we walked back, we took pictures of the town and mining buildings, and gratefully hit the showers back in our rooms.
That evening we had a family-style dinner at the lodge, where they had us sitting with 4 other couples. We all shared stories and got to know each other a little as we passed the food around the table. After dinner, Norm, Dennis, Vickie and I attended a slide show given by a National Park Ranger that was rather interesting. After that the night was still pretty young, but boy, we had had a long and very eventful day.
In my heart I wanted so badly to go down to McCarthy and attend the Open Mike night, but the hassle of getting there, and Norm’s definite disinterest, had us hanging around the porch talking to some other travelers before reluctantly heading back to the room for the night.
July 8th, 2016
After enjoying the lovely buffet breakfast the lodge served ( we got the meal plan ) we headed back across the street for our final guided tour of both here and of our vacation. St.Elias Alpine Guides has the sole rights to guide people INSIDE the 14 story Kennecott Mine concentration building.
As we headed down into the town of Kennicott and up the steep mountainside where we entered the building, our guide told us stories of what it was like to live and work in this formidable land during one of the richest copper strikes in history.
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Walking down the only road in Kennicott. The building at the top of the hill is 14 stories tall!
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In 1938 the Kennecott Copper Corporation suddenly abandoned the mine, leaving it a virtual ghost town with all equipment, buildings and even personal belongings left as they were. We learned how the equipment was used to melt the copper and how they prepared it for transport.
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Everyone was fascinated as they learned how copper was ingeniously mined,processed and shipped back in the early 1900's
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After lunch we got the shuttle back to the McCarthy airport to fly back to Chitina to our waiting RV’s. As we handed our back-packs to the pilot ( the same guy as the other day ) I waited to see if he would inquire if anyone had bear spray in the luggage. I was surprised he didn’t since he went crazy the other day when we flew with them inside the plane.) When we took them out of our packs, he then duct taped them to the struts of the plane. Never can take too many precautions, in my opinion!
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Our bear spray canisters were duct taped to struts to make sure they would not accidentally go off inside plan.
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Wrangel Mountain Air plane
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We have been so blessed to have such fabulous weather! The clear blue sky afforded us such incredible views of the mountains, valleys, rivers and glaciers below.
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Flying away, we could see a couple of glaciers below
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After returning to the RV’s we drove a short distance to the next campground for the night,
Tolsana Wilderness Campground.
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Our final view of the Copper River as we head west toward Anchorage.
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