We
headed up the Gakona river drainage until we hit the foot of the
glacier.
The photos below are what we saw.
At the
upper end of the river drainage we encountered the foot of the
glacier and saw a set of ice caves.
Roberto
took a photo of me in full gear (less gloves). In the
valley, the sun was strong and the wind was minimal resulting in
us cracking a light sweat.
The
daily melt water freezes at night to form interesting icicles.
Walking
through the cave was both interesting and scary. We could
hear the ice cracking from the movement of the glacier.
In the
summer, the tunnel is filled with runoff. The combination
of the water flow and the melting produces interesting cups in
the ice surface.
There
was another, deeper cave up the canyon from the first cave.
The
floor of the cave was ice but it did crack under weight implying there is flowing water below.
Note the frost on the roof.
The roof
of the cave had interesting frost-cicles that result from
condensation of water vapor.
The ice
formations reminded me of an underground cave.
The
walls of the ice carried a large amount of rocks and debris that
have been scoured from the floor of the valley.
Dan, Kai
and Roberto. I am behind the camera.
Glaciers
move a tremendous amount of material with them as they flow to
the sea.
The
debris ranges from small dirt to pebbles to huge boulders.
Kai spun
out on the ice and rolled his ski. He hurt his shoulder,
but was able to right the machine unassisted.
We
traveled to another set of cliffs on the edge of the
glacier. The dark bands are debris that has been dug up by
the movement of the glacier.
Note the
bedding in the ice and the valley in the center.
This
cliff shows some of the folding that happens as the ice flows
downhill.
There is
always a possibility of an icefall when close to the cliff.
We made
it back to the cabin and had a nice view of the mountains from
the deck.
Kai
works the grill for asparagus.
Dinner
was a glutton's delight with tons of King Crab legs, asparagus,
salad and wine.
Roberto
set up his 7D on the patio and managed to get a photo of the
northern lights. The focus was off, but it surely conveys
the essence of the situation.
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Photos and Text Copyright Bill Caid 2014, all rights
reserved.
For your enjoyment only, not for commercial use.