Alaska

The Frozen Upper Lagoon

Conditions are perfect for walking.

031.jpgThe three-days-worth of very wet snow is now frozen, forming a hard crust over the 4.5 feet of accumulated and packed snow. The low brush and irregular surfaces that make walking difficult in summer are buried, and we can tramp easily across the top of the snow without post-holing or needing skis or snowshoes. It can be a little slippery, but if you put all your weight on your heels when you step forward, you can get good traction.

So we canoed across the lagoon and walked up the glacial moraine to the upper lagoon. We canoed up here last summer, riding the incoming tide in and waiting for the outgoing tide to help us out.

021.jpgThere were a few alder thickets to navigate, but with the bottom four-plus feet covered, it was a snap.

041.jpgWe made it to the frozen upper lagoon in no time at all. The upper lagoon is where the Pedersen glacier terminates in the ocean. Chunks of ice calve off the end of the glacier, filling the lagoon with large icebergs.

051.jpgThese towers of blue ice are now frozen in the lagoon,

061.jpgcreating fun textures and formations,

07.jpglight and shadows.

We had lunch on an iceberg, listening to the thunderous cracks and rumbles of the glacier.

Categories: Alaska

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