Exit Glacier on Kenai Peninsula
The Exit Glacier is a glacier in motion. You can walk right up to its base - and even climb on it - and see how far it has moved, decade by decade.
Driving to the glacier is beautiful in and of itself. As you get closer to the glacier, the landscape becomes mountainy. At the turnoff for Exit Glacier you can stop and see salmon swimming in a stream, being watched by a bald eagle. The road becomes a dirt road along a drying river, and eventually you'll hit the ranger station.
Exit Glacier is truly a sight to behold. The glacier comes down from the Harding ice field, one of the largest in the world, and is simply huge. Even more amazing is that only 100 years ago the Exit Glacier used to be much bigger. Along the path to the glacier, the rangers have the years marked out, where the glacier was in 1960, marking the moments in time.
Here's a photo I took of Exit Glacier in 1998. It's difficult to get a sense of just how massive this glacier is. Look closely at the very front of the glacier, where there are tiny dark dots. Those are people, walking up at the front of the glacier. The green things on the right that look like little shrubs are actually massively tall trees.We hiked up to the glacier and were able to stand on it. It was very, very cold - you could feel the coldness radiating off the surface. The ice itself was fascinating, with a deep blue tint. It was very interesting how shapes were carved in it by the melting process.
As you can see by the photograph, this is not a great trip for someone who has trouble walking. There is a lot of non-smooth terrain to cross, and the muddy parts can become quite muddy. However, if you are fine with casual walking - and do not mind travelling a fair distance to get up close, I highly recommend making this trip. Most of the time you can only see glaciers from afar. This is a perfect opportunity to get right up on top of one, and to see they up close.
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