Hubbard Glacier

Do you want to experience God’s majesty, and the immense power of nature?  Then visit a glacier!

Now, I’m not a die hard naturalist by any stretch, but when you witness a glacier up close and hear how the size has visibly diminished over the last 10 years, it’s hard to not see that there is definitely something happening here.  Apparently this glacier has dramatically decreased in size over the past 10 years.  When looking at the land around the glacier, you could tell where there had been glacier activity in and around what is still present and now that ice is gone.

The height of the Hubbard has also diminished.  There were not many large chunks of ice floating, mostly smaller size, which we were told was an indication of the glacier’s reduction in size.

We were able to witness a bit of calving (the action of the chunks of ice falling off the main sections of glacier) and this sounds like thunder when the ice hits the water.  Not much wild life around today.  We were lucky the weather held and it was quite nice out.  VERY windy and cold as we approached, but once stopped, it was quite pleasant.

The captain pulled in about a mile from the actual front of the glacier.  That was about how far we could go without putting the ship in potential danger.  He then put the ship in a 360* turn so the entire ship would get a good view of the site. It was breathtaking.  The fjord was spectacular – the mountains surrounding it were so green and beautiful – a testament to the amount of moisture the area gets.  We spent a good two hours in and around the glacier before turning to head back out. I definitely recommend visiting if you ever the chance.

It reminded me of when my girls were small and we visited the Matanuska glacier and another near Valdez in 2002– we were in a little boat that time and were able to go much closer to the calving glacier.  Awesome!