Today we moved to the Stony Creek Campground near Seward, Alaska. Once setup at the campground we decided to visit the "Exit Glacier" in the Chugach National Park. Chugach is the second largest of the 394 US National Parks, second only to Alaska's gigantic 13.2 million acre Wrangell-St. Elias Nation Park and Preserve. Upon arriving at the Exit Glacier Visitor's Center we were just in time for a very interesting "Ranger Walk" where we learned how glaciers were formed and how they grow and recede. The Exit Glacier is formed as part of the Harding Ice Field and typically receives 150-200 inches of snowfall each year. As the snow melts it reduces and becomes crunchy (like a snow cone) and when additional snow falls it compacts the crunchy snow into ice which adds to the glacier's mass. The Exit Glacier has been receding for the last 200 years and as we entered the park today we had to drive through some flooded roads from glacier melt. After the Ranger Walk we hiked to the toe of the glacier and the trail was quite steep and rocky, however once there it sure was worth the hike.
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| VIEW OF MOUNTAINS FROM THE SEWARD HIGHWAY |
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| TOE OF THE EXIT GLACIER |
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| DIRTY COLOR ON THE ICE IS ROCK THAT'S BEEN GROUND-UP AS THE GLACIER MOVED |
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| DON & NANCY ON THE HIKE TO THE TOE OF THE EXIT GLACIER |
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| BONNIE & BEN ON THE TRAIL |
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| LOOKING INTO THE GLACIER'S TOE |
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