Alaska-Part V Exit Glacier/Harding Ice Field

This is Exit glacier, one of the most accessible glaciers in KFNP. Most people just walk around the glacier but Pat and I decided to hike up to the Harding Ice Field which is the source for all the glaciers in the park.

A view of the glacier from the road.

The trail climbed 3,000 feet in 3.5 miles but at first the weather was pretty nice.

We saw a park ranger who warned us that there were many black bears in the area. But, we only saw a "marmie."

Pretty soon, the trail became mostly snow. It was slippery and slow go. As we gained elevation, a dense fog rolled in, and it was one of the spookiest hiking experiences I've had.

By the time we got to the Harding Ice Field, visibility was very poor. And, it was freezing.

I took this picture of Pat for all our friends at Luke's Locker in Fort Worth where Pat used to work (he is wearing one of their t-shirts).

On our way down, I took some more pictures of the glacier.

A view back down the valley.

That night, we stayed in a lodge in Moose Pass, AK. I took a picture of these float planes from our window. It seemed very Alaskan.

There were fishermen (and women) everywhere, and we really wanted to seeing the salmon spawning. We kept stopping at "fishing viewing" areas like this one but we never even saw one fish!

On our way to the airport, we stopped at a place called Potter's Marsh. Look closely, and you can see the salmon!