The Mendenhall Glacier
In the middle of September Steve and I took a weekend trip to Juneau to do some sightseeing in Alaska's capital, and escape the tiny town of Skagway for a few days. We splurged on plane tickets rather than taking the 6 hour ferry so we could make the most of the time we had, and on our last day we woke up early and took a cab out to the West Glacier Trailhead to look for the ice cave under the Mendenhall Glacier.
The hike began on a relatively flat trail through the rainforest that provided occasional views of the glacial lake, still covered in early morning mist. About half a mile into the hike we left the main trail for an unofficial and "unmaintained" trail that, despite numerous warning signs about dangerous conditions, was just as easy to navigate as our previous route. We ascended and descended several rocky hills and crossed over several small creeks before emerging once more at the edge of the lake. As we moved farther down the path the vegetation grew smaller and sparser until the towering spruce trees were replaced by towering rock faces and thick undergrowth with massive boulders.
The hike began on a relatively flat trail through the rainforest that provided occasional views of the glacial lake, still covered in early morning mist. About half a mile into the hike we left the main trail for an unofficial and "unmaintained" trail that, despite numerous warning signs about dangerous conditions, was just as easy to navigate as our previous route. We ascended and descended several rocky hills and crossed over several small creeks before emerging once more at the edge of the lake. As we moved farther down the path the vegetation grew smaller and sparser until the towering spruce trees were replaced by towering rock faces and thick undergrowth with massive boulders.
The most difficult section of the trail was a rough scramble up a short but steep rock face, but at the top we were rewarded with our first good view of the glacier and we knew we were on the right path. From this point on the trail became slightly more difficult to follow as we descended back down into the valley that had been carved out by the glacier centuries before. All dirt had been replaced by stone, and everywhere was piled high with rocks of all sizes, a testament to the glacier's role as natures bulldozer. It sometimes took a minute to recognize the man-made piles of rocks, known as cairns, that previous hikers had left to mark the way. We were never in danger of getting lost, but following the cairns saved us the time it would have taken to find the easiest route around and over the numerous small streams and ravines between us and the glacier.
Entrance to the ice cave When we reached the toe of the glacier the location of the ice cave was not immediately clear. From pictures we had seen inside the cave we were expecting a rather large opening, but a small collapse near the entrance earlier in the summer meant we had to duck under a section of ice that was camouflaged by debris and dirt and walk several feet in an awkward hunched position. Once inside, however, we were immersed in a surreal landscape of water; frozen above us in stunning blues and greens, and rushing over the rocks beneath us in a crystal clear stream. Everything was bathed in an etherial glow as the incredibly dense ice above us absorbed all but the shortest wavelengths of light.
We spent close to half an hour inside the icy cathedral watching the melting water work its way, one drop at a time, through hairline tunnels in the ice before balancing precariously on the tip of the ceiling and then falling into the stream made of billions of droplets just like itself. The rush of water was an ever-present reminder of the constant melting of the glacier, and thus the temporary nature of the cave itself. Significant melting over the summer had already caused the entrance to collapse, and the glacier's steady retreat means the cave is bound to change or perhaps disappear entirely over the next few years. We felt privileged to get to experience such a fleeting wonder.
For more pictures, see the Photo post.
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