Seward, Alaska, United States
Drove down to Kenai Fjords national park and hiked the Exit Glacier/Harding Ice Field. The 8.2-mile round trip Harding Icefield Trail is a spectacular day hike. Starting on the valley floor, the trail winds through cottonwood and alder forests, passes though heather filled meadows and ultimately climbs well above tree line to a breath-taking view of the Icefield. Emily and I made it up to Marmot Meadow (2 miles up and 2000 feet elevation gain).
We decided we were going to let the boys hike to the Ice Field – another 2.5 miles and 2000 feet elevation gain. Emily and I went down to the edge of the glacier. We were at the point where the glacier stood in 2005. The glacier is melting very fast and the bottom part is closed due to the chunks of the glacier falling down. The trail was full of black flies. You couldn’t stop due to the flies swarming. The sign at the visitor center:
After the boys came down, we went down to Seward and ate our dinner along the Resurrection Bay Coast. There is a lot of camping all along the water front! We stopped for ice cream at The Creamery and went down to the docks to watch the otters.
We were told there are usually 6 otters, but we only saw 2. One was sleeping and the other was cleaning itself. They are quite mesmerizing to watch!
2023-12-04