Standing on a Glacier
Exit Glacier
Exit Glacier
Exit Glacier is a quickly retreating glacier on the Seward side of the Kenai Fjords National Park in Alaska. It is also one of the easiest to access. There is camping nearby, a visitor center, and about a mile long trail that loops through the forest to a couple of overlooks where you can see the glacier in all of its fading glory. Sign post that dot the drive in tell you where the terminus of the glacier was at certain years in the past. It is pretty remarkable to see how far the glacier has retreated.
Heidi and I walked the trail to the last overlook which is located on the hillside next to the valley carved away by the glacier. You can see up the glacier into the massive Harding ice field which is the driving force for all of the glaciers on the peninsula. Exit glacier was so-named because it provided an easy exit for intrepid adventurers exploring the ice field above.
Glacial Melt
While we stood admiring the glacier we noticed some people down by the face of the glacier where the meltwater streamed out from under the glacier. We decided to go off trail and climb/slide down the hill to the valley floor. We made it and were rewarded with views right up the face of the glacier. Heidi even broke off a small piece of hundred year old ice to hold up as a size reference the the expansive glacier behind her. Instead of a vertical wall of ice which I'm used to in Southeast Alaska glaciers, Exit glacier comes down to a sloping point, which makes standing in front of it, and on it a bit safer.
Glacier and Alaska pictures at www.daimarsphotos.com
We followed the glacial melt into the forest where it streamed through the trees