Visiting Eklutna Glacier

On Wednesday my friend Dan and I took his four wheeler up to Eklutna Lake and glacier.

Anchorage gets much of its water from this large, pristine, glacier fed lake.

It is ten miles from the end of the lake to the beginning. Notice all the dead trees in this photo. There was a forest fire some years ago.

There is a rough road that leads from the top of the lake towards the glacier.

There were some hardy bicyclists along the way.

By the way my own bicycle was stolen the same day. My third stolen bicycle in the last few years. All were locked, one even had a flat tire. They were stolen anyway.

Half of the week is open to off road vehicles, the rest of the time is for hikers. There were lots of big mud puddles from recent rainfall.

We got ready and plunged in. We got wet.

Gradually the canyon narrowed. You can see the top of the glacier from here.

The waterfall may look wimpy but it is quite long.

This is where the road ends and the hiking trail begins.

We scanned the lofty hillsides for wildlife and spotted a few distant Mountain Goats.

The narrow trail follows alongside the Eklutna River.

The river is truly wild and very cold so close to the glacier.

You can see how the receding glacier has scoured the rocks.

Hardy plants managed to establish themselves between the cracks in the rocks. They are already taking on their Fall colors.

Eventually the trail became more treacherous and the late afternoon was soon turning into evening. These two old men decided that it was time to turn back. We have seen plenty of glaciers anyway.