GLACIER LANDING

GLACIER LANDING

  

 Alaska offers so many opportunities for exciting things to do and places to explore.  Our country's largest mountain is one of America's popular attractions.  It's common name is Mt McKinley, named for one of our American Presidents.  However, it has been called Mt Denali for many many years by the natives of Alaska.  There is a movement by the people of Alaska to have the mountain officially called Mt Denali.  The family of McKinley, of course, oppose this change, so the battle continues on both sides.

   Denali National Park is also the largest  National Park in our Nation, as well.  I believe it has 14 of the highest mountains in the USA, besides Mt Denali, the highest.  One can fly for many miles seeing nothing but snow covered mountains.  It is quite a sight!
   One of the things I wanted to do from the time I first read about it, was to fly into the mountains and do a Glacier landing.  Thus, Ron Pinkerton and I found ourselves laying $389.00 on the barrelhead for this opportunity.
   Talkeetna is a primary hub for Alaska adventures.  We arrived early for our 11:00 AM flight.  Our destination today will be the Ruth Glacier, a flat, snow covered Glacier a half mile wide and about 4 miles long.
   The flat, glaciated valley approaching the mountain range was mostly uninhabited. There were a handful of private cabins in the lush green tundra, dotted by a myriad of ponds, lakes and streams.  This area is best traveled in the winter when snow and ice covered the vegetation and freezes the water.  ATV's and dog sleds are popular as transportation into this area.  The cabins are primitive with no electricity.
  The tundra began to change to remnants of receding glaciers.  Eight passengers and one Pilot were on board this small single engine prop driven plane.  The landing gear was equipped with a pair of skis designed for landing on snow.  We sailed around varying heights of steep sided peaks and spires.   Flying in and around the mountains is difficult to describe.  It was beautiful.  Photographs failed to truly capture this experience and mere words cannot adequately describe it.
   This was an impressive experience and, I believe, was the high point of my Alaskan experience.