West Glacier Trail

I had the most amazing walk today.

When I woke up I spoke with both my oldest boy and my Mountain Boy about "stuff" - my scavenger son came down to the house in Tennessee to see what belongings of ours he and his wife could make use of in their new home that they are moving into, in just a few weeks.

I have heard many stories for months now about what a piece of junk townhouse they are renting, and it takes me back (way back) to my first homes.  The stories are all the same - a right of passage into adulthood it seems.

He spent many years in school determined to become an athletic trainer, got married between his undergraduate and graduate degrees, and is now a man working in his chosen field.  Good for him.  Very very good for him. 

He is making the transition well, and I am more proud of him than I can ever describe.  I miss his goofy, intelligent, sarcastic, athletic self..........

After my phone calls I called someone I know to see if she wanted to go hike.  No answer.

With the day shaping up to be beautiful, warm and sunny I quickly got dressed, geared up and rushed out the door and headed for the West Glacier Trail.

I walked part of this trail with the same lady I left the phone message for this morning.  We did not get far before having to turn around due to time pressures a few weeks ago, but I had read a lot about the views of the Mendenhall Glacier that were waiting for those willing and able to make the climb, and today was the day.   On this sunny Sunday I wanted to see them.

I carried a 44 Ruger with me for the first time, the last time I was on this trail.  There have been bears reported on all of the glacier trails so the firearm on my hip, the kabar duct taped to the strap of my pack and the bear spray in an outside pocket of my pack all provided a measure of comfort and security.

Because I only have a hip holster though, I spent too much of my attention while we were walking last time, pushing the barrel of the gun down whenever it wanted to slide forward, which was often.

This time around I fished a piece of rope through a tag located in the back of the holster, then tied it around my leg.  It worked.  But I will be glad when my shoulder holster arrives - at the same time my Mountain Boy arrives next month.

The first mile of this trail is polite and flat, and on a wide open and easy-to-walk dirt surface.

After the first mile, the trail begins to climb.  And gradually, as I continued to walk and climb, the footing became more and more challenging, quickly moving to become either a rocky trail or just many rock steps.  I have two Juneau trail books, both of them indicated that this trail was labelled as "difficult", and they were correct.

For some of the trail, I had to climb serious rocks, but then the trail would level out.  For a while climbing then walking along the flat ridgeline was common.

But increasingly I needed to use both hands and feet to scramble over large completely rocky areas.  I was working hard, the trail was becoming increasingly technical and increasingly difficult, and I loved it.

As I continued to climb higher there were more overlooks, and the trail books were again correct in their descriptions.  The almost non-stop climbing was worth it. 

It was so beautiful that words do not do it justice.  And neither do pictures. 

How do you describe not just looking at and enjoying them from afar, but actually standing and looking face to face at the mountains?  Or the view of the valley below?  Or the glacier?

I have lived in many beautiful places over the years.  I am a gypsey - just as my parents were. 

And I have lived all over the world - Norway, England, Australia, Canada, the south east United States, and now Alaska. 

Is Alaska the most beautiful place I have ever seen?  I'm not sure.  Is it that it is more beautiful, or is it that this is the first time I have ever slowed down enough to actually see it and feel it?

Again, I don't know.  If you move fast enough and long enough, there is no time and no energy left for such introspection.

But this place is beautiful.  So beautiful it takes my breathe away. 

It is wild, untamed, unvarnished, rugged.  And it fits.  With me.

The trail began along the lake.  As I continued to hike and continue to climb, it at times veered away from the lake and then the glacier.  But the trail always eventually found its way back.  The glacier, and the details of the glacier, became more and more visible as I continued my walk.

Lots of rock scrambling and searching for both footholds and hand-holds by this point

And creek crossings.  I wore Gore-tex trail shoes and happily managed to keep my feet dry during these crossings.

I stopped at this rock overlook for a few minutes, intending to turn back at this point.  A hiker on the way down though talked me into continuing for another 10 minutes, telling me that the views were even more beautiful just up the trail a little further.

Taken from the same overlook.....

The last part of West Glacier Trail is entirely rock scrambling.  Some of it was slick and the going was a little dicey.  Close to the end I saw pieces of cloth tied around trees marking the route.  Those markers were a great help, because by that point there was no obvious trail at all and there were a few route options hikers could have taken as they were making their way up.

I continued to climb, blindly following the markers and very much wanting to reach the views of the glacier that I knew were waiting for me. 

By this time the glacier was calling my name, and I felt a instinctive desire to answer.

And then I was there.

Looking down on the glacier.  Looking up at the mountains.  Looking across at the mountains.  Looking back at the ice field.  Looking down on the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center, and the Valley, and the civilization I was happy to have left for just a short while

This is the first time I have been close enough to see the fissures in the glacier.  Up close it is almost lunar in appearance.

There were a number of float planes and tourist helicoptors that flew around this area while I was sitting on a rock bluff eating, drinking, calling LC and taking pictures.

Three helicoptors landed and unloaded their tourists briefly while I sat and watched.  The thought of seeing this glacier by air is very exciting.  But right then, at that moment, I would not have traded places with the tourists.  I was very happy exactly in the place I was.

Look closely at the picture.  One of the choppers......

I tried to get a picture of all three helicoptors as they were landing close together on the glacier, but between the sun, the sky and the white of the ice I was shooting blind.  I caught one of the choppers coming in.

After spending a good deal of time on the rock bluff I decided to head back.

I did not have any problems climbing up, but had a lot of problems with my right hip on the way back down.

The going was very steep, slick in some places and my right hip hurt a LOT.  I was surprised how much.

I have had a reoccurring right hip problem ever since I injured my left knee 13 months ago.  But it hurt much more on the hike back down from the trail than it ever has, and I guess I had better go check it out.

Mt Jumbo Trail a few months ago was a fairly demanding trail. I got close to the top before having to turn around when I hit a wall of ice and snow that I could not get through.

But this trail was actually more demanding than Mt Jumbo. It was very steep, slick in many places, and on many occasions required me to use both hands and feet to scramble over lengthy rocky areas.

I have done this kind of trail many times over the years in races, but it has been a long time since my last encounter with scrambling. I loved it. I loved every minute of it. And I loved what I found at the top.

A very good day. On what is (to date) my favorite technical trail.

Next time I head out I would very much like to take on Mt McGinnis

Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves.........John Muir