Seward, Alaska: Exit Glacier

It was mid-day in Seward, our first day, before we got settled in and decided what to do. Jan and B got on board the good ship Hope and headed out for some serious salmon fishing, during which time they ran out of camera batteries and did not take any photos.
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I managed to take a few before they left.

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The rest of us headed up to Exit Glacier for a short hike to the top. The bay, the rivers, the mountains, this was all still so new to us, we drove in amazement, pulling over here and there, spilling out the car in giddy fashion, snapping photos.
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The water coming off the glacier is milky, almost gray. Doug just had to go down and taste it. This is resurrection river that comes off the glacier and feeds into Resurrection Bay which merges with Prince William Sound and pours into the Gulf. The water becomes an emerald/aqua color in the bay and then midnight blue in the gulf.
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Arriving at Exit Glacier, I left my coat in the car and went in the Visitor Center. It was full of great info. to read while Tom and Doug made friends of strangers. Picture this: extended hand, "Doug Busbee. South Carolina. Nice to meetcha." It became a theme to our trip and imagine our surprise when miles & miles, hours & hours of driving later, Doug meets up with people he knows 'cause he met them at a previous town. Anyway, we made our way out to the trail and began the hike. Three hikes are offered: A hike to some low spots at the glacier's foot, A hike to the edge of the glacier (30 min. hike) or an 8 hour difficult hike above the glacier to see the Harding Icefield. We took the 30 min. one to the glacier's edge.

"Doug Busbee. South Carolina. Nice to meetcha."
"Yessss." Gritted teeth. "I know."

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The hike was a little longer than I thought. We should have taken water and bugspray (the mosquitoes are notoriously huge and popular in Alaska, but they aren't by the sea). Jackie became short of breath and had to stay back while Doug, Ethan, Tom and I soldiered on. It was a moderate hike, it seemed odd that Jackie couldn't make it, but she had a nasty cough, too, that didn't help. The next morning she went to a local dr. and discovered she had walking pneumonia; hence, the low oxygen, she was climbing with only a 92% oxygen level.
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Tom's fascination with maps reveals itself once again.

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I found a lovely bench at the trail's end where I could see the glacier in full glory as well as the sediment and braided rivers at the glacier's foot. I tried to imagine Harding Icefield at the top, just out of my sight. The icefield is huge with many glaciers crawling off it's edges. Tomorrow we'd be taking a boat out to some of the other glaciers and even see one calving, which I caught on video for you. They crackle and pop like thunder, it's a beautiful thing.

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Ethan and Tom:

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Looking down the glacier towards the braided rivers. The settling of the sediment divides the water flow, making these braids. Eventually, enough sediment can build up and force part of the glacier underneath. We saw this later, from the air, in Talkeetna.
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We descended the trail, met back up with Jackie, jumped in the car and headed back to the harbour to see Jan and B roll back in. They came off the boat carrying bags of fileted salmon. While the Busbees took some time arranging for the fish to be shipped home, Tom and I headed back to our place at the point and walked around. We all met for dinner around 9 or 10 pm, absolutely shocked it was so late and way past dinner because it was still so very light out!
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And that, my friend, is how every night in Alaska rolled in: us bewildered and surprised at the late hour, looking for a restaurant that would still serve dinner, screeching through the doors, ravenously hungry and sliding into our seats before they closed.
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Travel Info:
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The Fish House. Fishing charters and a general mdse. store.
Wild Nature Photography. Professional photos of the area. If your family's taking a trip out here, why not arrange for a photo shoot and get a new family photo for your mantle. (we did that one year in Moab, Utah)
Major Marine Tours. Great tours of the bay. Take the long one.
Seward Waterfront Lodging. B&B. Excellent people, Excellent food, Excellent view. Musty, old rooms, quaint, difficult for allergies, but excellent in every other aspect. The staff is helpful with your touring reservations and plans.
Mt. Marathon, Seward, AK.
Seward Trolley.
The Drive to Seward.
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My other Alaska Posts:

The Seward Highway
Kenai: Dipnetting
Kenai Fjords
Alaska or Busted