Hiking - Grewingk Glacier Lake and Saddle Trail (Summer)

Grewingk Glacier and Lake

Stats

Distance:  4.5 miles                   Difficulty: Easy / Moderate                                 Time:  5 hrs

Summary

On 8 Jun 2013, the Kachemak Bay State Park had its annual “Trails Day”.  The purpose of trails day is to clean and repair the many managed trails in the park.  In addition to the maintenance hike, the state park also sponsors a guided family hike to Grewingk Glacier.  The hike started with a boat ride to the beach to take the Glacier Lake Trail to the glacier, the returned to the bay via the Saddle Trail.  

Since the start and end points are not the same, this particular route requires someone with a boat to drop you off and pick you up; if you don’t have a convenient friend with a boat, you can take one of the Water Taxis operated out of Homer.  This particular hike, as part of Trails Day, was sponsored and supported by Mako Water Taxi.

We did this hike before we started this blog, so we don’t have GPS maps of the route we took.  You can find good trail maps at the web site above.  We will upload a GPS track of the route the next time we take this hike.

Opinion

This is one of our favorite full day hikes; it is well worth the water taxi fee.  We also recommend planning a nice picnic lunch at the glacier.  The Glacier Lake Trail

Hiking - Byron Glacier Game Trail (Not Recommended)

Byron Glacier Game Trail

Summary

On 24 Jun 2013 we decided to go to the Portage Glacier and take the boat to the glacier front.  Our timing was off due to road construction on Sterling Hwy and we missed the boat.  However, on the way to the cruise loading area, we passed Byron Glacier.  It was lovely, so we decided to stop and take photos at the last scenic viewing area before the Portage Glacier Cruise parking lot.  That scenic viewing area had the best view of Byron Glacier from the road.

At the edge of the parking area was a large rock.  We saw a group of people come out from behind it talking about the trail they took, so we decided to investigate.

After exploring the trail, we came to the conclusion that this was a moose game trail and NOT an actual hike.

Opinion

We don’t recommend this hike.  Although it is interesting, it is just a game trail.  The alder forest it runs through is wild and low and you spend most of the time bent over weaving through the trunks and branches.  In addition, the game trail breaks in several directions and it is easy to get lost coming back.

Hiking - Byron Glacier Trail

Stats

Distance:  1.0 miles                                    Difficulty: Easy                                          Time:  1 hr

Summary

On 24 Jun 2013 we decided to go to the Portage Glacier and take the boat to the glacier front.  Our timing was off due to road construction on Sterling Hwy and we missed the boat.  However the trip wasn't a total loss; on the way to the cruise loading area, we passed Byron Glacier.  From the road, it looked beautiful so we decided to check out the Byron Glacier Trail.

The trail is part of the Chugach National Forest.  The official web site is http://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/chugach/recreation/hiking/recarea/?recid=6606&actid=50.  The trail is a 2-mile round trip and a very easy hike.  It brings you quite close to the face of the glacier and provides a very pleasant hike with a beautiful glacier at the end.


Opinion

This is the best easy glacier hike we’ve found so far.  The highlight of this trail are

Experience - Tidal Bore at Turnagain Arm Alaska

Stats

When: low tide below 0 ft                                                  Where: Pullouts along Turnagain Arm

Summary

According to the web, Turnagain Arm has the 4th highest tidal bores in the world.  These are fun and fascinating to watch.  

Opinion

This is a must see experience.  See the video!

Hiking - Exit Glacier

Stats

Distance:  3.0 miles                                  Difficulty: Easy                                          Time:  1.5 hrs

                                                                         Summary 

Exit Glacier

It was 12 Jun 2013 when we decided to try the Exit Glacier hike near Seward, AK. This hike is in the Kenai Fjords National Park Alaska. The link to the official web site is http://www.nps.gov/kefj/planyourvisit/exit-glacier.htm. This is a useful site that provides directions to the site, a description of the hiking options, and park alerts.

There are four hikes from only a mile to over eight miles that can be taken from the trailhead: Glacier View, the Toe of the Glacier, the Edge of the Glacier, and the Harding Ice Field. The trails are clearly marked and the distances for each are shown on each trail sign.  We hiked to Glacier View through the Cottonwood forest and from there to the Edge of the Glacier. 

Opinion

This is an easy, short, and very pleasant hike. It has good views of