Glaciers! 7-31-2021

To celebrate our recent wedding anniversary, we took the weekend to enjoy some of what Alaska has to offer.

We booked the 26 Glacier Cruise offered by Phillips Cruises and Tours. We've done some Prince William Sound glacier cruises before, but not this particular one. 

This trip is aboard the M/V Klondike Express or the M/V Bravest. Both boats are well laid out. A meal of salmon chowder, vegetarian chili or a hot dog is offered and there's a bar in the back for soda or drinks. There's also plenty of room on the deck for taking pictures and multiple restrooms. Your ticket includes an assigned seat. The cabin has large windows for great views.

You start your journey by traveling to Whittier. Whittier is accessed via the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel. This unique tunnel, carved through Maynard Mountain during World War II as a train tunnel. (Read the history here...) For decades, travel through the tunnel was by train only. In the late '90s the tunnel was expanded to allow one way traffic. Traffic goes in shifts from one side the other, so you have to be there for a scheduled opening from Bear Valley. We went through the 10:30 opening and got one of the last parking spots in Whittier.

We got checked in and at the appointed time, boarded the M/V Bravest. Shortly after leaving Whittier, you pass by a Sea Loin rookery, which would be amazing enough; but the surrounding scenery takes it up a whole other notch.

In the course of your cruise, you pass by 26 different glaciers. Some are tidewater glacier, meaning they terminate into the ocean. You spend time in front of two glaciers, Havard Glacier at the head of College Fjord and Blackstone Glacier. We only saw minor calving on our trip.

We had perfect weather for our trip, but it's not always that way. Prince William Sound sits at the northern edge of a temperate rain forest. So be prepared for the weather in how you dress.

You have a great view from the comfort of the cabin, seated at your assigned table. Or you can stand out on deck and embrace nature in it's fullest. The boat has a catamaran hull and travels quickly for such a big boat. Inside are several screens with a GPS display, showing the boat's speed. The catamaran hull also allows for a smooth ride and Phillips Cruises and Tours offers a "no sea-sickness" guarentee.

Rather than head home, after our cruise we continued south to Summit Lake Lodge. For years I've driven by this spot and always thought about stopping. The rooms are rustic and small, but clean & comfortable. Breakfast was included and was delicious. The lodge is surrounded by amazing views and is well worth the stop.

The next day we continued further south to Skilak Lake. The journey across Skilak Lake Road was not as impressive as I've heard, but we did get some amazing views of miles of Fireweed growing in the aftermath of the Swan Lake fire from a couple of years ago.

And as a bonus, here's a video from a visit to Blackstone Glacier a few years ago where I caught some amazing calving. We visited Blackstone on this trip, but there was no calving like this. 

Sunset - Arches National Park on May 25th, 2021

 

Arches National Park is one of favorite spots. We made our second visit in May of 2021. This time we spent 3 days here. Our last visit was just about a day & a half long and we knew we needed more time.

As we came into Moab that afternoon, we checked into our hotel & dropped our luggage in the room. Then we headed into Arches to get these pictures.

Arches National Park is extremely popular these days. In the morning, if you aren't through the gate by 8am or so, the Park can fill up and they close access until the afternoon. But coming for these sunset pictures was no problem as the park empties out in the evening.

We were parked about here, off of the Windows Road for most of these pictures. The snow capped mountains in the distance is the La Sal Mountains. 

Hatcher Pass 6-2-2021

 Documenting snow levels in Hatcher Pass on June 2nd 2021. Temperature at the bottom was 59 degrees, at the mine it was 49 degrees.

The Little Susitna River at the entrance to Hatcher Pass.

From the Gold Mint Trailhead

Archangel Road. The gate is still closed, so a Reed's Lake hike would start here. This area had several large avalanches this winter and they did some road damage. Use caution when driving.

The view from the Fishhook Trailhead parking area.

The road up to Summit Lake and the April Bowl Trailhead and over Hatcher Pass. The gate is still closed. Typically DOT opens the road on July 1st.

The views from the parking lot below the mine. The gate to the mine was still closed. People were walking/hiking where the ground was clear of snow.

Grandview on the Alaska Railroad

 In 2017 the wife & I did the Spencer Glacier trip on the Alaska Railroad (you can read about there here...) and loved it. But I wonder what it would be like to stay on for the train for the trip up to Grandview.

 I think the Alaska Railroad has some of best looking rolling stock.
The blue & gold is representative of Alaska's color as seen on our flag & the Alaska Marine Highway ferries.
And the Chugach Explorer is the perfect name for a train that explores the Chugach National Forest, America's 2nd largest National Forest.

The train was a collection of various makes of rail cars. You are assigned a seat, but there was plenty of seating available if you wanted to move around some.

And for the portion of our trip past Spencer Glacier Whistle Stop, we went to the 2nd level of the dining car for even better views. I'm not sure if this seating is normally assigned, but there was plenty of open spots with a table in between.

Actually, let me divert you for a bit... On our way to the Portage Rail Depot, we took a detour into Girdwood to the Virgin Creek Falls. It's a short walk through a temperate rain forest of Sitka Spruce trees and the falls are like a spot of paradise. If you are making the trip, I highly recommend making the detour.

So as I've said, we've done the Spencer Glacier stop before. And that was our intent this time. But as we approached the Spencer Glacier stop, we decided we to stay on and go to Grandview.

As you pull away from the Spence Glacier stop you can see the lake and icebergs floating on it.

And in the distance, beyond the footbridge on the Spencer Glacier trails you can see the Spencer Glacier itself.
If you get off at Spencer Glacier, you can hike or take a kayak or raft trip or even camp overnight in the area.

The train follows a river that runs below the tracks for a while.

There's also some waterfalls along the way. And then you enter the Loop area. When the tracks where first laid through there in the early 1900's, there's was a large loop that allowed the train to gain elevation gently. Now the track does a series of switchbacks to make the trip.

In the distance we could spot different glaciers and waterfalls. There was so much to see you almost feel like you wear yourself out whipping your head back and forth to take it all in.

At the Grandview Whistle Stop, the train stops for about 30 minutes. This gives you time to walk up a 1/4 mile trail to a viewing platform where you can see back to the train.

After we loaded back up, we continued south to another set of waterfalls before heading north back towards the Spencer Glacier to pick up those who had gotten off to explore there.
It was a great way to enjoy the day in the beauty of Alaska, accessing an area that can not be accessed via the road.