ICE-YLAND (Kennecott, Day 11)

Root Glacier

Yay! Today we’re going to hike Root Glacier!  A glacier is a large body of ice. A guy from Wild Alpine Tour came to pick us from the metal bridge between McCarthy and Kennecott. It was drizzling. BAD day to hike outdoors. Cold!!! L

Anyways, we stopped at Kennecott, a small but interesting town to start our hike. We hiked a mile and a half or so to the edge of the icy Root Glacier in a muddy trail. Man, it was tough! Plus it’s raining! Phew….

Cramp-ons

Upon reaching, the guide gave each of us a pair of crampons, a metal thing with straps and sharp spikes that attach to your shoes to help walking on and prevent slipping on ice. J

With the crampons, we hike up at down through the glaciers. It’s SO bumpy that I kept twisting my ankle, even with the crampons on. L The ice are white, light blue, and brown with tiny streams flowing down. SO cold!!!

The cave

Finally, after hiking an hour and a half, arrived at THE CAVE, the place Shu Ying and I were waiting for…. The cave was HUGE and magnificent. It has high arcs, and fresh water dripping frequently. I got free fresh water by licking the clean ice walls. Mmm….. We ate a simple lunch there. J

We left the cave and hike much more. The guide showed us a deep, DEEP hole, like a mini waterfall. It’s very dangerous to go near it!!! CREEPY!!!

At 4:00 pm, we took a different route back to Kennecott(still a mile and a half). My feet!!!! OW!!! L

King Salmon, Day One

The Falls at Katmai

Finally, we arrived at Anchorage International Airport, Alaska. We slept there for about 7 hours, waiting for a plane to King Salmon. We boarded a tiny plane that can only fit in 30 persons. After an hour, we reached King Salmon’s small airport. We got lots of information there.

We planned to go to Katmai National Park to look at grizzly bears and the salmon run. We wen there by a float plane within 25 minutes. We spotted a bear wandering around the tall grass. After a Bear Talk, we hiked around, planning to go The Falls, the best platform to watch bears and salmons. After a mile walk, plus a 'bear jam', a jam that causes tourists to stop because of the bears, we arrived. We saw several bears and 3 salmons jumped only. The bears are huge, covered with scars. 

While we walked with a ranger back to the lodge near 5:00 pm, we met a bear 50 ft. away walking down the road. We were kind of nervous (except for the ranger maybe). We made a reverse back and hid at the woods. Luckily, the bear went to the other way. SCARY!!! Tomorrow we’re going to Katmai to watch bears again……

P.S.   If you are going to Katmai National Park, remember to bring binoculars.