6/11/13 Portage Glacier
The trail to Byron Glacier is before the parking area for Portage Glacier so we decided to take the short hike, along Byron Creek, to see the glacier up close and personal.
Byron Glacier descends from the same ice field that feeds both Portage Glacier on the lake and Blackstone Glacier in Prince William Sound. After out hike to Byron Glacier, it was on to Portage Glacier.
Portage Glacier completely covered its lake and reached into the valley in the 1800s. After steadily retreating over the 20th Century and exposing a chilly, 600-foot-deep lake between sheer mountain walls, Portage finally slipped from view in the 1990s. Its face is now behind the left-side mountain, about three miles from the lakeside parking.
Scientists say it appears to be currently stable and has not retreated much since 1999. Still, Portage remains a very active glacier, with its face regularly shattering and dropping great hunks of ice into the lake like a giant conveyer belt.
Rosie and Erless Burgess, owners of A Rosy Outlook B&B where we stayed in Homer. You can see the spit in the background.
Between Seward Junction and Portage Glacier on our way back to Anchorage from Homer to catch our flight home
Between Seward Junction and Portage Glacier on our way back to Anchorage from Homer to catch our flight home
Between Seward Junction and Portage Glacier on our way back to Anchorage from Homer to catch our flight home
Between Seward Junction and Portage Glacier on our way back to Anchorage from Homer to catch our flight home
Between Seward Junction and Portage Glacier on our way back to Anchorage from Homer to catch our flight home
Between Seward Junction and Portage Glacier on our way back to Anchorage from Homer to catch our flight home
Between Seward Junction and Portage Glacier on our way back to Anchorage to catch our flight home
Between Seward Junction and Portage Glacier on our way back to Anchorage from Homer to catch our flight home
Waterfall on the way to Portage Glacier
Tunnel to Whittier at Portage Glacier. The cruise ship docks at Whittier.
Susan and Mike with Portage Lake in the background. There is a short walk up to Byron Glacier that goes along Byron Creek that we will take.
The path to Byron Glacier still had snow on it
Byron Creek
Byron Creek with Byron Glacier in the background
Byron Creek and glacier
Byron Glacier
Mike along Byron Creek with Byron Glacier in background
Susan along Byron Creek
Funny truck in the parking lot
After our walk up to Byron Glacier we took a boat ride on Portage Lake to Portage Glacier
Waterfalls on boat ride on Portage Glacier
Portage Glacier
Portage Glacier in the background with ice still on the lake
Portage Lake and Glacier
Our boat was breaking up some of the ice, this is some of the ice that was broken
Susan and Mike with Portage Glacier in the background
This is a video of the boat breaking some of the ice
Portage Glacier up close
Portage Lake as we are heading back to dock