Category: Glaciers

When I went to bed at the Bow Lake viewpoint on the Icefields Parkway Wednesday night, I had a comfortable feeling that I was almost home. Only another 1,400 miles to go. A few minutes after 05:00, I went for a bit of a wander to get the blood...

On Friday, my long journey home from Arizona to the Yukon began with a 04:00 wakeup call, and a 04:30 shuttle to the airport with a particularly friendly driver. By 05:45 when I shot this photo from the departure lounge at PHX, I was ready to get going, hoping...

Last weekend, I took the opportunity to show Cathy and Bobbie some of the natural wonders that Monty and I have been enjoying while they’re at work, We first went high into the mountains to an alpine glacier, and then down to sea level to see thousands of spawning...

Following my discovery of a spectacular road-accessible area above Tutshi Lake on Tuesday, I returned on Wednesday without my husky, Monty, so I could explore higher, more rugged valleys and ridges. Although my primary target of interest was a high non-glacial lake to the southeast of the glacial one...

On Tuesday, yet another spectacular hot day, Monty and I headed back into the high country, this time to a spot I’d not yet made it into. An old mining road leads into the mountains between Tutshi Lake and Lake Bennett, but it’s buried in snow for all but...

We got off to a very early start from the Mountain Sky Suites Hotel at Valdez on Monday, with luggage out and a continental breakfast served at 05:00. Check-in and boarding the ferries is an increasingly lengthy process even in a quiet port on a little 40-vehicle ferry such...

Yesterday our route took us on a route that is “off the beaten track,” from Tok to Valdez. In the early and mid 1990s I used to take tours to Valdez regularly, but haven’t been there in years, and I see few itineraries that include it. Most people like...

This is a recap of the past 3 days – a tour of Anchorage, the drive to Seward where the group boarded the Celebrity Millennium, and my drive home to Whitehorse. This was the view up 4th Avenue from my room at the Historic Anchorage Hotel on Thursday morning...

Glacier cruising days are often a major highlight of an Alaska cruise, whether you’re sailing Glacier Bay, Hubbard Glacier, Collee Fiord or Tracy Arm. But occasionally, heavy ice or other conditions can turn a potential highlight into a large disappointment, so I’m always somewhat anxious about this day. My...

Our short day in Skagway was planned to be a mostly independent day. I’d drive our Ontario friends to Fraser so they could take the train back to Skagway, then everyone was on their own. We had dropped our Tracker off in Skagway, and one member of our group...