Alex and Julie's Travels: 2015 Summer Journey Alaskan Crossing, part 20

2015 Summer Journey

Alaskan Crossing, part 20

Matanuska Glacier Walk

July 26, 2015

We planned on staying the night at Matanuska Glacier and walking it in the morning and the night got very cold, this would be another one of those times I ran the generator all night to insure the batteries stayed in top condition while running the heater all night.

The view from our camper door made it all worth the cold night, not that we were cold in the camper.

Despite it being cold, there was a abundant of plants.

Some facts about Matanuska Glacier: It’s approximately 24 miles long, 4 mile wide at the terminus. This glacier is known as a valley glacier, it sit in a valley and advances approximately one foot a day. Because Matanuska glacier is in what’s called a cold pocket there has been no change in the glacier’s mass for almost 20 years. Moraine debris, Moulins and crevasses can be seen all over this glacier. It’s the largest glacier that is accessible by a vehicle in the United States. Just a note, don’t make the mistake of entering the State park that’s nearby you can’t access Matanuska Glacier from there, can only see it from a platform.
Matanuska Lodge

A video of our walk out on Matanuska Glacier

Julie and I dawn our jackets and started our glacier trek.

During our walk out there were good examples of “End or Recessional” terminus.

The staff had laid out the walking path with orange cones and grates over many of the small crevasses for us tourist

Our rig was looking pretty small.

Julie and I made our way to a group of fellow glacier travelers, surrounding a picnic table; here we’ll put on our Yaktrax ice cleats.

Julie approaching a crevasse in the glacier.

Julie decided she was supergirl.

We’re standing next to a pointed ice spur that was forced upward by colliding fronts of the glacier.

Earlier a climbing class had passed us up, we caught up with them.

Even on a unguided tour as we are taking one still has to be careful, deep crevasses are everywhere.

We moved on deeper into the glacier.

As the further you when the more blue ice was showing up. This blue color is caused by the ice being so dense that only the blue light is reflected while the rest is absorbed, seeing blue is a good thing.

A group of climber was moving on to deep territory of the glacier.

We moved on ourselves to a photographic location in front of the near by “ice castle, “look at all that blue!

It was time to head back to our rig, pasting by some pools of water, we filled a couple water bottles out of one of them, the water was the best I’d ever tasted!

Way off in the distance our rig awaited for us.

Stopping by one of the many crevasses, this one had a large rock stuck in it as water cascaded down behind it, I couldn’t see the bottom only a darkness below.

Nearing the lonely picnic table once surround by happy voices. It wouldn’t be lonely for long despite a light rain was beginning to fall people are still coming out.

Back at our rig we could see it had the company of fellow TCs.

We took a depart photo, glade that we stopped here, how many times does a person get a chance to drive right up to a glacier and walk on one of the wonders of the world!