“Words cannot describe” is the best phrase to use to start this post, trying to describe flying over Glacier Bay. Unfortunately, the pictures can’t do it justice either. So I’ll just use some flat prose to describe what I saw today, and just take my word that this was pretty much an experience of a lifetime.
Drake Olson runs a flying service out of Haines Airport, taking people on flights over Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve in his Cessna. He also flies skiers and campers in to the mountains around here. Drake’s an interesting guy. He used to drive for Dan Gurney’s racing team. But he also loves the outdoors, and he wound up in Alaska, where he would fly his plane in to the backcountry for his own hiking and skiing, landing on mountain lakes or on snowfields and glaciers. Then, to support his own outdoor activities, he got his commercial license and started flying other people. Now, he says, the business has taken over and he no longer has enough time for his own adventures.
The flight starts from Drake’s hanger at Haines Airport. It’s not hard to find. There are maybe four small buildings at Haines Airport. His hanger is one of them. There’s no need to get to the Haines Airport two hours early for check-in and security. You park your car next to the fence, walk through the gate, and look for someone standing next to one of the 15 or so Cessna’s parked on the tarmac. If someone waves to you to come on over, that’s your flight.
The flight takes off next to the Chilkat River, then climbs up to the mountains to the west.
The flight goes right below the cloud cover and goes winding up the snow and glacier filled valleys and over the saddles at the top. A lot of the flight is with valley walls on both sides of the plane. Some of the flight gets to the top of a valley and does a u-turn as the mountain wall in front of you disappears into the clouds you’re flying below. Some of these mountains disappearing into the clouds rise over 14,000 feet.
The focus of the flight is the glaciers in the park. Glacier Bay is several million acres and has 16 major glaciers. From the plane, you can see some of the glaciers coming down the separate valleys, creating ice walls where the valleys join, then flowing down to the ocean. The mix of colors and textures of the ice is incredible. You can also see where they reach the ocean, calve, and create bays of ice and icebergs that flow out into Glacier Bay.
Many of the Alaska Cruise ships come up to Glacier Bay. We saw one down below. They don’t get anything near the view of Glacier Bay that I had.
You can’t discuss Glacier Bay without thinking about global warming. Drake pointed out one of the Glaciers (McBride), which had a major collapse in the last month. The bay below it was full of the ice that had broken away – ice which had formed at the top of the glacier thousands of years ago. Drake is convinced that the retreat of the glaciers is accelerating, and global warming may already have done damage that’s not reversible.
Not to turn the blog into a discussion over global warming, but here’s some context that says the issue is complex. Glacier Bay was discovered in 1799 by George Vancouver and the entire bay itself was covered by ice 20 miles wide, 100 miles long, and in some places 4000 feet thick. By 1879, John Muir discovered that the ice had retreated more than 30 miles and actually formed the bay. By 1916, it had melted back an additional 30 miles. Most, but not all, of the glaciers are still retreating.
The place is immense, and the forces affecting it are as well.
Tomorrow is another day off the road. I’m going to catch the morning ferry to Skagway, 20 miles or so down the Lynn Canal.
Courtesy of satellites, I get CNN on the TV here in Haines. As I write this, CNN is all over whether or not Hillary will retire from the campaign in the next 24 hours. I know we’re all on pins and needles for this one. Here on the street in Haines, Alaska, you can cut the tension with a knife.
Drake Olson runs a flying service out of Haines Airport, taking people on flights over Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve in his Cessna. He also flies skiers and campers in to the mountains around here. Drake’s an interesting guy. He used to drive for Dan Gurney’s racing team. But he also loves the outdoors, and he wound up in Alaska, where he would fly his plane in to the backcountry for his own hiking and skiing, landing on mountain lakes or on snowfields and glaciers. Then, to support his own outdoor activities, he got his commercial license and started flying other people. Now, he says, the business has taken over and he no longer has enough time for his own adventures.
The flight starts from Drake’s hanger at Haines Airport. It’s not hard to find. There are maybe four small buildings at Haines Airport. His hanger is one of them. There’s no need to get to the Haines Airport two hours early for check-in and security. You park your car next to the fence, walk through the gate, and look for someone standing next to one of the 15 or so Cessna’s parked on the tarmac. If someone waves to you to come on over, that’s your flight.
The flight takes off next to the Chilkat River, then climbs up to the mountains to the west.
The flight goes right below the cloud cover and goes winding up the snow and glacier filled valleys and over the saddles at the top. A lot of the flight is with valley walls on both sides of the plane. Some of the flight gets to the top of a valley and does a u-turn as the mountain wall in front of you disappears into the clouds you’re flying below. Some of these mountains disappearing into the clouds rise over 14,000 feet.
The focus of the flight is the glaciers in the park. Glacier Bay is several million acres and has 16 major glaciers. From the plane, you can see some of the glaciers coming down the separate valleys, creating ice walls where the valleys join, then flowing down to the ocean. The mix of colors and textures of the ice is incredible. You can also see where they reach the ocean, calve, and create bays of ice and icebergs that flow out into Glacier Bay.
Many of the Alaska Cruise ships come up to Glacier Bay. We saw one down below. They don’t get anything near the view of Glacier Bay that I had.
You can’t discuss Glacier Bay without thinking about global warming. Drake pointed out one of the Glaciers (McBride), which had a major collapse in the last month. The bay below it was full of the ice that had broken away – ice which had formed at the top of the glacier thousands of years ago. Drake is convinced that the retreat of the glaciers is accelerating, and global warming may already have done damage that’s not reversible.
Not to turn the blog into a discussion over global warming, but here’s some context that says the issue is complex. Glacier Bay was discovered in 1799 by George Vancouver and the entire bay itself was covered by ice 20 miles wide, 100 miles long, and in some places 4000 feet thick. By 1879, John Muir discovered that the ice had retreated more than 30 miles and actually formed the bay. By 1916, it had melted back an additional 30 miles. Most, but not all, of the glaciers are still retreating.
The place is immense, and the forces affecting it are as well.
Tomorrow is another day off the road. I’m going to catch the morning ferry to Skagway, 20 miles or so down the Lynn Canal.
Courtesy of satellites, I get CNN on the TV here in Haines. As I write this, CNN is all over whether or not Hillary will retire from the campaign in the next 24 hours. I know we’re all on pins and needles for this one. Here on the street in Haines, Alaska, you can cut the tension with a knife.
2 comments:
Sounds and looks awesome! Sure does beat the 90 degree heat and humidity in Charlotte. My shirt was soaking wet from just cutting the grass in the evening.
Love the blog!
Dave
Alan
The pictures look amazing. Thanks for spending the time recording all of your thoughts. Great to read all of them. We can talk about global warming and Hillary when you get back. lol
Maybe I will be a grandfather by then.
John
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