Brown Bear

This picture was taken on a penninsula off Lynn Canal outside of Juneau by someone Mike works with.
I understand you don't want to mess with the Brown Bears. They are sure cute to look at, but they can be very hazardous to your health!!!

Sunday, January 25, 2009

A Hike to the Glacier...

Today we had an adventure! We hiked all the way up to Mendenhall Glacier on the lake. It was about a mile to the glacier from the visitor's center and what a RUSH!
Above is a picture of Mike & Aly when I said I didn't want to walk further because there were some pretty big cracks in the ice.

(You could see down about 1½ feet in some of them and that spooked me)
Here is my foot next to some of the cracks in the ice... see what I mean???

Anyway, I started to walk back and then decided that I wouldn't trade this moment, so I went back to meet Mike & Aly and we walked the rest of the way up. I was wearing 'spikeys' on my shoes and so I was able to walk normally, but Mike & Aly had to shuffle their feet like they were skating to keep from falling down.

Here is Alyx next to a 'tip of an ice-berg' that had fallen off during warmer weather and floated downstream.

Mike next to a very large ice berg...

Aly next to a giant ice berg


And here are some awesome pictures of the Mountain of ICE
(up close)
It was a strange feeling because you could hear the constant cracking of the ice and the shifting sound the entire time. There was even a little mini avalanche on the mountain next to the glacier and there was a big poof of white snow that lingered like smoke. It was awesome to see!!!
See how the ice on the lake at the bottom of the glacier is choppy? That is due to the movement of the glacier. It is constantly moving and pushing the ice down toward the ocean, so it causes the frozen lake to chunk up into pieces at the base.
The ice is different every where you turn, you see a different view! Wow, that was just facinating to see!

Here the ice looks like it is a wave of water!


Here is Aly as we were hiking (1 mile) back to the visitor's center.

It was a great day and we had an opportunity to see up close how massive that glacier is. We met lots of interesting people along the way today, along with a fellow that just got home from Iraq 2 days ago. (We thanked him) We also met some people that have been in Juneau for years and they said the lake doesn't freeze well enough to hike out to the glacier every year, so we were blessed to have this opportunity!

And finally, Here is a video of Aly goofing around and falling down on the ice...

2 Comments from Great People:

Marsha said...

I love photos of blue ice! I was amazed when I first come to Alaska how gorgeous the ice could be in huge hunks! Great photos! The other love I have is of pink snow on top of the mountains when the sun is rising or setting. My kids tease me because I'm always going, "ooooh, pink snow!"
Marsha

Candy H said...

Looks like you get to spend alot of time with Alyx. That's wonderful! I am glad that you are enjoying your time in Alaska. Missing you in Arizona....

Come visit us in Alaska!!!

Black Bear & Cubs 7/23/09