Exit Glacier and the Harding Ice Field

After being rained out on our first attempt, the Rice family tried again. Patrick, Sara and Keegan had stayed up late with their friends and chose to stay in the RV and sleep. The rest of the Simsbury Crew got up early, visited the Exit Glacier and drove to Homer.

The hike to the Harding Ice Field in Kenai Fjord National Park was a 8.2 mile round trip with more than 3,500 change in elevation. It was a beautiful day and Conor, Michelle and Bill had an excellent day of hiking.

About half way into the hike, we came to an alpine meadow and ran into a she-bear and her cub walking near the trail. Conor had our bear mace out and the safety off. However, they left us alone and tried to catch Marmots. I was able to take lots of photos and we followed them up the trail being sure to stay out of their way.

At the end of the trail, we had a spectacular view of a large part of the Harding Ice Field which was the spawning ground for many glaciers in the national park.

The hike down was as challenging as going up, but at the end of the day we had a real sense of accomplishment for completing this trail.

At the bottom, the other kids joined us and we hike to see the Exit Glacier as well.