The Advancing Meares Glacier, Alaska
My hiking group, feeling accomplished, after hiking to the face of Meares Glacier, here in Prince William Sound, Alaska. Meares Glacier is a beautiful, yet mysterious glacier at the head of Unakwik Inlet in Prince William Sound, Alaska. Unlike nearly all of the other glaciers around here, Meares glacier is advancing. It has steadily moved forward since it was first described in 1905. As it pushes a mound of earth in front of it, the glacier bulldozes through old growth forest, upending trees with abandon. Today this is the wild area that we were exploring on our expedition cruise. Even though it was late May, it felt like winter in Alaska has hung on a bit too long. That didn't dampen our spirits, in fact, after our morning adventure we all took a refreshing dip in the waters of the fjord. But first it was adventure time, and we could choose between kayaking, skiff tours, or a bushwhack hike through the forest, to the face of the glacier. The winter rains and snow melt made our f...