boogielander
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Day 12 - MOM! I'M ON A GLACIER!
One thing I wanted to do when I started planning this trip was to climb a glacier. Glaciers are shrinking, no doubt, so I want to take advantage of that before I have to hike further in to get to them.
That's one of the reasons why I came out to McCarthy and Kennecott (in addition to driving McCarthy Road). Root Glacier is the one that checks off both items off the list.
So... I woke up at 7AM to get ready for the guided hike. The first 2 miles or so was through Kennecott Milling Site and through forest. We were trying to get ahead of everyone else, so we hiked really fast (by my standard)
Finally, we arrived.
Still distance away from the glacier. We had to go all the way down to the bottom of the "canyon."
We then put on our crampons at where the ice meets the rocks. And off we went.
The brown portion right at the beginning may seem like they're dirt, but they are actually ice underneath.
How does it feel? Crunchy. Like when you're chewing on a piece of cookie. With regular shoes, it is guaranteed that you will slip. But with crampons, the metal "claws" dig into the ice and give traction. Every step is accompanied by the "crunchy" sound. It was fun for the first few minutes, then I got used to it.
We hiked a mile or so in, before we saw this:
A small blue pool hidden underneath. This one was shallow and small. Can't jump.
So we hiked more. And found this.
This one's deep. So deep that we can't see the bottom. There's no way to get any closer. So, no jump.
This one's shallower, also no way to get down.
We walked more, and it was lunch time.
We sat down on the glacier and had our lunch.
I looked around and found this
Nested in the peaks is one of the mines of Kennecott. This one is Jumbo Mine.
I sat there and soaked in the view. It's hard to believe that 12 days ago I was still in the desert of Southern California and now I'm on the glacier.
That 4000 miles of driving was worth the trip.
Our guide said when Kennecott was operating, glacier was right next to the milling site. Now it's 2 miles in after ~100 years and continue to shrink. So in the future, people will need to hike further in to get to the glacier.
I'm glad I did it this time.
The blue hue of the glacier is only visible under shade or when it's cloudy out (other than the blue pool).
Close up of the glacier.
One thing I wanted to do when I started planning this trip was to climb a glacier. Glaciers are shrinking, no doubt, so I want to take advantage of that before I have to hike further in to get to them.
That's one of the reasons why I came out to McCarthy and Kennecott (in addition to driving McCarthy Road). Root Glacier is the one that checks off both items off the list.
So... I woke up at 7AM to get ready for the guided hike. The first 2 miles or so was through Kennecott Milling Site and through forest. We were trying to get ahead of everyone else, so we hiked really fast (by my standard)
Finally, we arrived.
![IMG_6909.jpg IMG_6909.jpg](https://5thgenrams.com/community/data/attachments/188/188112-8fac186cf74cfd65dbc3407a3b9a5980.jpg)
Still distance away from the glacier. We had to go all the way down to the bottom of the "canyon."
We then put on our crampons at where the ice meets the rocks. And off we went.
The brown portion right at the beginning may seem like they're dirt, but they are actually ice underneath.
How does it feel? Crunchy. Like when you're chewing on a piece of cookie. With regular shoes, it is guaranteed that you will slip. But with crampons, the metal "claws" dig into the ice and give traction. Every step is accompanied by the "crunchy" sound. It was fun for the first few minutes, then I got used to it.
We hiked a mile or so in, before we saw this:
![IMG_6939.jpg IMG_6939.jpg](https://5thgenrams.com/community/data/attachments/188/188113-24a985d856d5c26afedead92934e4059.jpg)
A small blue pool hidden underneath. This one was shallow and small. Can't jump.
So we hiked more. And found this.
![IMG_6956.jpg IMG_6956.jpg](https://5thgenrams.com/community/data/attachments/188/188114-57fe14f2cfd7077cab08b3abbe351a90.jpg)
This one's deep. So deep that we can't see the bottom. There's no way to get any closer. So, no jump.
![IMG_6967.jpg IMG_6967.jpg](https://5thgenrams.com/community/data/attachments/188/188115-5041d861439a82cb1228d3e34ff199fe.jpg)
This one's shallower, also no way to get down.
![IMG_6970.jpg IMG_6970.jpg](https://5thgenrams.com/community/data/attachments/188/188116-ec4a076c9678f261c0029bd8eecab718.jpg)
We walked more, and it was lunch time.
We sat down on the glacier and had our lunch.
I looked around and found this
![IMG_6977.jpg IMG_6977.jpg](https://5thgenrams.com/community/data/attachments/188/188117-3919947f63d7fa4cb1b06af09e0b5c3e.jpg)
Nested in the peaks is one of the mines of Kennecott. This one is Jumbo Mine.
![IMG_6990.jpg IMG_6990.jpg](https://5thgenrams.com/community/data/attachments/188/188118-cd8844f19e950e50a7a8d40812d3ca3b.jpg)
I sat there and soaked in the view. It's hard to believe that 12 days ago I was still in the desert of Southern California and now I'm on the glacier.
That 4000 miles of driving was worth the trip.
Our guide said when Kennecott was operating, glacier was right next to the milling site. Now it's 2 miles in after ~100 years and continue to shrink. So in the future, people will need to hike further in to get to the glacier.
I'm glad I did it this time.
![IMG_7000.jpg IMG_7000.jpg](https://5thgenrams.com/community/data/attachments/188/188119-3dbc7cfbb88a010edaaa39251962e8d3.jpg)
![IMG_7020.jpg IMG_7020.jpg](https://5thgenrams.com/community/data/attachments/188/188120-4f3bf3ec1ecbd3ffc00ab70ab40fd19c.jpg)
![IMG_7030.jpg IMG_7030.jpg](https://5thgenrams.com/community/data/attachments/188/188121-e6f3b4fbfe6a6a44884df76aad2873a1.jpg)
Close up of the glacier.