What a day! It's quite hard to believe that anyone can get paid for this!
Today we flew over the area to get a good look at everything and I witnessed some of the most beautiful and breathtaking views I will probably ever see in my life! First we went out over the Hubbard Glacier, which is the largest tidewater glacier in North America. 7 miles wide at its terminus, or where it meets the water, and 76 miles long. As we approached, you could see it calving, or dropping big chunks of ice off into the water. It was truly amazing, as you can see but pictures could never do it justice! When I start doing my interpretation on the cruise ships, the Hubbard Glacier will be the highlight of the cruise, so I'm also excited to see the view from the water as well. My first ship will be on the 18th.
Then, as if thats not enough, if you look just to the SW of Hubbard, you'll see Malaspina Glacier. Malaspina is the largest Piedmont Glacier this far south in North America. So large that it can only be seen in its entirety from space. It's like a big pancake that's bigger than the state of Rhode Island! It would also be considered a tidewater glacier if it were to end in the sea but instead it spreads out over the land into a massive sheet of ice.
Mt. St. Elias was another highlight of the flight with its summit over 18,000 ft. There are several other peaks nearby like Mt. Logan at 19,550 ft which is located just across the border in the Yukon.
All of this is abolutely amazing and thats without even taking into account all of the wildlife that lives in this area. It's one of the only places in the world where the ecosystem is still intact.

I've been trying to find a way to put into words just how unique this place is but I'm not sure it's possible! Alaska is home to some of the only remaining true wilderness that exists on the earth. This area is part of the largest expanse of protected land on the planet at 24 million acres! It includes: Wrangell-St. Elias, Kluane, Tatshenshini, and Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve. Wow!

As always, click the photo to enlarge.



The brown building in the center is my new home. Its very nice and has a great view!

Malaspina Glacier

Turner Glacier

Mt. St. Elias - 18,008 ft

Hubbard Glacier rises 300 ft above the sea level

Approaching Hubbard Glacier