Hiking the Harding Icefield Trail | MUST DO in Seward, Alaska [S1-E13]

Are you ready to witness one of the wonders of the natural world? There is a place in Alaska where a day hike can bring you face-to-face not only with a glacier, but also the majestic ice field that feeds it. This is so rare on planet Earth. But what is an ice field? And what is the trail to reach this one really like? Strap on your boots and join us as we find out, journeying to Alaska's exit glacier and harding ice field. Imagine driving down the road, looking to your left, and seeing this. Just 10 minutes earlier, you were getting a coffee in Seward. That is where we are headed, but first, let's zoom out. This is Alaska's Kenai Peninsula, and this is Kenai Fjords National Park. It spans 1,047 square miles, 50% of which is covered in ice. In episode 12, we explored this park from the water, witnessing its staggering coastline. There are only two ways most people experience this park. Here from the sea, and here in the exit glacier area, where the park's only road and only maintained trails exist. At the end of this road sits the exit glacier nature center, and where this story begins. Today we are going to hike up to see exit glacier, which is one of the glaciers coming off of Harding Ice Field. We are doing this hike with little Anthony, our friend Dave, and our friends Fefa, Luis, and Leo from Smokey the Bus. Come join us for this awesome hike. We are going all the way here. So if you watched our video about the Athabasca Glacier in Jasper National Park, which if you haven't, you should definitely check out this link and watch it, there as well they show signs showing where the glacier used to be in given years. So they did the same thing here for exit glacier. So this is where the glacier reached to in 1951. Our band of travelers is ready to explore this land of ice, starting with the trek from the valley floor to Marmot Meadows. I see that there's two birds. Yes, there are two birds. And the main thing to look at is their feet. Today we are going to witness first hand how ecosystems and plant communities change so drastically with elevation. We are now in a temperate rainforest. Yep, rainforest. Receiving 80 to 150 inches of rainfall per year, the Kenai Fjords is part of a temperate rainforest system stretching along the western coast of North America all the way to Northern California. The lower elevations of the Harding Icefield Trail pass through this rainforest of trees, mosses, and ferns. It's hard to believe we are so close to a massive river of ice. Woo! It's perfect. Summit one. Before long, we are high enough to catch our first glimpse of exit glacier from the trail. Dave, look. There it is. It is surreal to slog through lush rainforest and then come upon this view. It's like two worlds colliding. Before long, we reach destination number one, Marmot Meadows. The Marmot Meadows lookout point is our first real look at exit glacier. We can see a good portion of the glacier, but we can't yet see what lies above, the ice field feeding it. For that, we will have to pay with a little more hard work and sweat. For now, we take in the opportunity to rest and soak up this view. And we are off to our second destination, Top of the Cliffs. It may be only one mile away, but we are looking at 1,300 feet in elevation gain. And it's not just mud we're dealing with now. Good job, Leo. You got it. Use that pole. Use that pole, kiddo. It's July in Seward, Alaska, and there's still snow on the ground. That tells you how fleeting the Alaskan summer is. It is amazing to be here with this view. Good friends. The word is gratitude. The landscape starts to talk to us, giving clues to its past. Like this U-shaped valley behind us and all these strange scratches on the rocks along the way. Hmm, what could it mean? We are now firmly in the realm of the alpine plant communities. Here, the temperatures are too low, the wind's too high, and the growing season too short to support mature forests like those down below us. All across the Kenai fjords, the tall shrub plant community forms a band across the mountainsides, right above the treeline. That's where we are now. Though it is quickly shifting to the realm of dwarf shrubs and low-lying alpine vegetation, this plant community covers the ground like a thick blanket, growing slowly with each fleeting summer. We even spot a marmot. These furry mountain dwellers live in burrows on the rocky mountainsides and hibernate through the winter. In summer, they are out in force, filling the air with their sharp whistle calls. Get him, get him! Go, bicho, go! Get him, Leo! And he retreats. He goes away. Very smart, Leo. After one heck of a climb, we finally come upon our destination number two, the top of the cliff's lookout point. You can take me high. Yeah, that's what you're supposed to do. You have to slide down. See? Oh, wow. Amazing! Now, that is the view of a glacier. And right up at the top is our very first glimpse of the Harding Ice Field, even though it's just a sliver peeking out over Exit Glacier. This is just a tiny preview of what's to come. In the meantime, we take in Exit Glacier. There are not many places in the world where one can get so close to a glacier in so little time. Down below, the Glacier View Trail gives you a peek of Exit Glacier in a short half a mile walk from the visitor center. Exit Glacier is one of over 30 glaciers that flow from the Harding Ice Field. Once upon a time, it stretched from here far into the valley below. How do we know? The landscape leaves us clues all around, like the U-shape of this valley, a shape that only glaciers carve, or those scratches on the bedrock left by rock fragments frozen in the underside of a glacier grinding over the land. The evidence shows it has been receding rapidly since the end of the Little Ice Age in 1815. Already, the glacier looks so different from this map. This is super cool. We are now embarking on an unexpected addition to our trip. We have decided to complete the entire Harding Ice Field Trail and make it all the way to the end of the trail. From there, we will have a full-on view of the Harding Ice Field. But it won't be easy to get there. Even in July, there is a lot of snowpack up here. A ranger told us that only recently did park staff deem this part of the trail safe from avalanche risk. We see this red on the snow and wonder what could have caused it. Come on, Anthony, you got this. Okay, then let's do this slow. We go slow, trying our best to maintain sure footing on the numerous snow crossings. There you go. Stick them in at the same time. Yeah, there you go. Stick your toe in. And use the other one to brace you. Slow. Stick and stick. Don't go too fast. That one time we need our jack tracks. We didn't bring them. Long gone are the tall shrubs. We are now in the realm where only the most low-lying vegetation and alpine tundra can survive. We strongly suspect that this plant might be the source of that red snow. It's pollen, perhaps? Careful. Stay on the rocks. Every now and then we hear the sharp whistle of marmot calls. They make their burrow homes here in these steep slopes. It is incredible to think of the remarkably different environments we have experienced in one day. By the time we reach the end of the trail, we will have traversed 2,960 feet in elevation all the while passing through drastically different ecosystems. The going is tough. Dave decided this stretch of the trail might be too much for his knees and we think he made the right call. It's a steep, often slippery trail. At mile 3.9 of the Harding Icefield Trail sits an emergency shelter. Unlike many of Alaska's public use cabins, this one is not for camping. It's here for those who find themselves in an emergency and need to take cover. Even way up here by the shelter, we see those glacial striations scouring the rock outcrops. Once upon a time, this entire area was under ice. From the emergency shelter, it is just a short hike up and over the very last hill and then we will finally get our first unimpeded view of the Harding Icefield. I have never seen anything like this in my life. This is amazing. The Harding Icefield blankets 700 square miles of Alaska's Kenai Peninsula. Exit Glacier is only one of numerous glaciers fed by the icefield, flowing down the surrounding valleys and fjords like icing down the sides of a cake. I have never looked out across an icefield like this before. This is a brand new experience and so humbling and absolutely incredible. It's just hard to describe. So what is an icefield and how is it different from an ice sheet, ice cap or glacier? An ice sheet is a vast expanse of ice spanning 19,000 square miles or more. Anything smaller is an ice cap or ice field. Ice caps completely submerge the landscape while ice fields have mountains punching through. And glaciers? Think of an ice field like a lake and glaciers the little streams that flow out of it. Both have flow and movement, but a glacier is smaller with a much more concentrated and defined flow. From up here we can see how Exit Glacier got its name. In 1968, a team of ambitious mountaineers crossed the Harding Icefield and found this glacier the most convenient way to exit the icefield. Finally, we head down the mountainside still in awe of what we just saw. We are perched about 3,500 feet above the valley floor and now we have to get back down. It's slow going most of the time, especially on the way down. You have to have very sure footing on these patches of snow and ice. Of course, why walk your way down a mountain when you could also butt slide? See you! Bye! Holy ----! You got a foot out! You did it! Now, when it comes to mountain butt sliding, some of us zip down the mountain, some of us tumble down the mountain, and some of us turtle. They call me Buzz. Now that we are soaked from the waist down, this band of adventurers descends the rest of the trail, guided and ever flanked by the magnificent Exit Glacier, sentinel of this dynamic and powerful land of ice. Hey guys! If you enjoyed this video, be sure to give us a like, subscribe to our channel, send us a comment below, and for exclusive content and a behind-the-scenes view of the Art We Day at Journey, join us on Patreon! See you over on Patreon!