Early in the season, about half of the trail is covered in snow, but hikers with boots will have little problem walking through it. The Harding Icefield is located in the Kenai Mountains of the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska. Suba sa yelo ang Harding Icefield sa Tinipong Bansa. After climbing above the forest and through the low brush and alpine meadows, … Details: The magnificent Harding Icefield is the jewel of Kenai Fjords National Park (at least in my opinion!) Volume and surface elevation changes were calculated for six icefields throughout Alaska and British Columbia by differencing Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) that represent glacial elevations from different time periods. Description; Photos; Details; Frequently Asked ; Guests are in for a remarkable day hike on an 8.2-mile loop along the Harding Icefield Trail. Went all the way down to … Harding Icefield Trail A hike to the top of the Harding Icefield Trail gives you a glimpse of what much of south-central Alaska looked like during the last ice age. Feature Type: Glacier. The expedition left Homer on April 17, bound for Chernof Glacier; eight days later, they descended Exit Glacier and arrived in Seward. Length of the Harding Icefield Trail. The ice is so thick that it extends up to 6,000 feet of elevation. This trail is a tough day hike, gaining 3,000 feet of elevation in only 4 miles. Enjoy this site? The icefield spawns more than 38 glaciers some of which are tidewater, some of which terminate in lakes, and others terminate on land. USGS Topo Map Quad: Seward A-8 … Expect to encounter a variety of weather conditions while hiking the trail it is best to check on trail conditions before setting out for the icefield. DIRECTIONS: Kenai Fjords National Park is about a three-hour drive, south of Anchorage, Alaska. The icefield may be a remnant of the Pleistocene ice masses once covering half of Alaska. Both attempts were unsuccessful. There is a day parking area and a small nature center. Covering approximately 700 square miles, and at a maximum depth … Their trip remained a virtual secret for more than twenty years after they completed it. At only 4 miles to the end of the trail, hikers might assume that it is an easy hike; it’s not. Harding Icefield is displayed on the Seward A-8 USGS quad topo map. Elevation Gain: 3,070 ft (936 m) Location: Seward – Exit Glacier Nature Center: Map of Harding Icefield Trail (red) and Exit Glacier trails (blue) – map disclaimer and information. Not surprisingly, this accelerating ice melt is due to rapidly … The weather at Kenai Fjords is difficult to predict and can change rapidly. Harding Icefield, named for former U.S. President Warren Harding, is located in the mountains of the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska. The still air was heavy with moisture as I hiked up the Harding Icefield Trail in Kenai Fjords National Park outside Seward, Alaska. [2] The icefield itself receives over 400 inches of snow each year.[3]. We were blessed — such days are not common in this area. Hike it on your own or Leaves from the Exit Glacier parking lot. Seward Harding Icefield Hike Tour. All-Day Hike: The Harding Icefield Trail is strenuous! A definite must hike if you are in the Seward area. If you have visited Harding Icefield … Harding Icefield between Bear and Skilak Glaciers, Nunatak Plateau in background, Learn how and when to remove this template message, "Alaska Science Forum: "Harding Icefield's Loss is the Ocean's Gain." Two parties attempted to cross the icefield in the mid-1960s. Be sure to follow Leave No Trace principles. The latitude and longitude coordinates of Harding Icefield are 60.0180556, -149.9861111 and the approximate elevation is 4,488 feet (1,368 meters) above sea level. If you have visited Harding Icefield before, please tell us about it with a comment below. Be on the look out for mountain goats, black bear, and marmots--- they are common sightings up here. Few scenes in the world compare to the view across the frozen expanse of the 700-square-mile Harding Icefield. For those looking for an easier outing, the Exit Glacier can be viewed from an accessible trail that is about one mile in length. … 4.2 Miles – End of Trail and Breathtaking Overlook of Harding Icefield (3512 ft elevation) Weather. Retrieved December 14, 2006. Between the mid-1920s and the early 1930s, the increasing popularity of aviation had given a lucky few the opportunity to soar over the icefield. October 4, 2020. Throughout the … You'll gain approximately 1,000 feet of elevation with every mile so be sure to allow at least 6-8 hours for this trip. The trail offers a number of activity options and is best used from May until October. The hike up to the Harding Icefield is a strenuous, 7.7 mile roundtrip, hike that gains 3000 feet. The park is bordered on the west by Kenai National Wildlife Refuge and on the south by Kachemak Bay State Park. 4.2 Miles – End of Trail and Breathtaking Overlook of Harding Icefield (3512 ft elevation) Weather. Some of the more notable glaciers include the Tustumena Glacier, Exit Glacier, and McCarty Glacier. Ian Malone. Fin whale in Kenai Fjords. The area generally enjoys a relatively temperate maritime climate, primarily due to the influence of the Japanese current that flows through the Gulf of Alaska. Hike it on your own or take this guided tour . Overview. It is also partially located in Kenai Fjords National Park. The profiles were compared to U.S. Geological Survey topographie maps made in the 1950s, to obtain elevation and volume changes. This 500-square-mile frozen mass feeds almost three dozen glaciers, including Exit. Such a fun and beautiful trail. It accumulates high enough to cover … Seward residents generally ignored the huge icefield west of town before 1922. The strenuous 7.7-mile roundtrip Harding Icefield Trail starts on the valley floor and climbs through alder and cottonwood forest, and wildflower meadows before reaching the stark landscape of the icefield gaining approximately 1,000 feet of elevation with every mile. Alaskan pilot, Bill Quirk tells me, “Make a visit to Alaska to enjoy the best in ski flying operations. Hike the Harding Icefield Trail in Kenai Fjords National Park. … Guests are in for a remarkable day hike on an 8.2-mile loop along the Harding Icefield Trail. They hiked from Bear Glacier west to Tustumena Glacier. Harding Ice Field Trail, Kenai Fjords National Park: Address, Harding Ice Field Trail Reviews: 5/5. The Harding Ice Field is a bit more boring in its uniformity, in that most of its glaciers are retreating, he said. Photo by Emily Stone. View over Harding Icefield from end of trail. The snow covered unnamed mountain peak in the background is 5,900 feet on the western side of the icefield. The top of the trail is a window to past ice ages - a horizon of ice and snow that stretches as far as the eye can see, broken … Allow at least 6-8 hours for the hike. Coordinates: 60.0180556°N, -149.9861111°W It's probably 9 miles round trip, a little longer than the sign says, with plenty of elevation gain, but it is well worth it. The park contains the Harding Icefield, one of the largest ice fields in the United States. The weather at Kenai Fjords is difficult to predict and can change rapidly. Hiking back over the moraine. You will begin the hike to Harding Icefield in the Exit Glacier area. Anyone who is interested in visiting Harding Icefield can print the free topographic map and street map using the link above. Indeed, much of it is more than a mile thick. With a mixture of longing and trepidation I studied the patterns of crevasses that wrinkled the surface of … Hiking. Harding Icefield is ~80 km long and 50 km wide, covering an area of ~1800 km2. Ang Harding Icefield nahimutang sa kondado sa Kenai Peninsula Borough ug estado sa Alaska, sa amihanan-kasadpang bahin sa nasod, 5,400 km sa kasadpan sa ulohang dakbayan Washington, D.C. 1,369 metros ibabaw sa dagat kahaboga ang nahimutangan sa Harding Icefield.. Ang yuta palibot sa Harding Icefield kay kabungtoran sa … Harding Icefield is displayed on the Seward A-8 USGS quad topo map. Although, an Alaskan local did tell me that bear spray wouldn’t do anything if you encounter a grizzly and that I should be carrying a fire arm, I still decided to carry some. In about 1000 ft elevation the forest disappears to allow a hike that overlooks the Harding Icefield. Camping is allowed along the Harding Icefield Trail, but you must travel at least 1/8 mile from the trail on bare rock or snow before setting up your camp. Elevation Gain: 3,812 feet. We need all that ice. Elevation Gain of the Harding Icefield Trail. Up there, just out of sight, sprawled the Harding Icefield. 8.2miles or 13km return. Some of it melts but a lot of it does not, and it’s compressed into dark blue ice over the next three or four decades. Answer 1 of 4: I understand that hiking out to the Harding Icefield is one of the best day hikes in Alaska. In 1983 Roman Dial and Jim Lokken skied from the edge of the Skilak Glacier to the Tustumena Glacier edge in a single day and in 1984 Dial skied from the Skilak to the Chernof solo in one day as part of the Alaska Mountain Wilderness Classic. There are Ranger led Harding Icefield hikes from 9am on Saturdays in July to August. Winding through the valley floor, the trail passes through a forest of alder and cottonwood, over meadows abundant in heather with a climactic ascent above the tree line to a stunning vista of the Harding Icefield. However, there are no glacial channels at the middle of the icefield so the new ice has nowhere to go. I read online that the Harding Icefield Trail is the most beautiful trail in the National Park system, and it very well may be. It's probably 9 miles round trip, a little longer than the sign says, with plenty of elevation gain, but it is well worth it. Guests are in for a remarkable day hike on an 8.2 mile loop along the Harding Icefield Trail. The Harding Icefield, pictured Saturday, July 2, 2016, spans 700 square miles and feeds over 30 glaciers, including Exit Glacier, according to the National Park Service. The Harding Icefield Trail is easily one of the most stunning and photogenic hikes I’ve ever done. The magnificent coastline of Kenai Fjords is steep valleys that were carved by glaciers in retreat. A short hike up the trail affords impressive views of the valley floor and Exit Glacier's terminus. This report comes from the National Park Service. Harding Icefield, named for former U.S. President Warren Harding, is located in the mountains of the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska. The Harding Icefield trail can really be broken up into two sections: hiking out of the forest to the cliffs for an amazing view of Exit Glacier and then climbing on up to the Harding Icefield above it. It feeds at least 38 glaciers, including Exit Glacier. Harding Icefield is ~80 km long and 50 km wide, covering an area of ~1800 km2. Travelers gain nearly 1,000 feet of elevation with each mile, putting this day hike firmly into the “strenuous” category. Leaves from the Exit Glacier parking lot. The construction of the Spruce Creek trail that year, however, made it possible to view the upper portions of the icecap, and President Harding's promise to visit the territory was sufficient to bestow his name on the feature. Harding Icefield Trail Hike. The meadows about halfway up are amazing and then at the top its otherworldly. There is a day parking area and a small nature center. Harding Icefield Trail: 8.2 mile round-trip adventure with 3800 feet of elevation gain. View from the end of the Harding Icefield Trail. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Harding Icefield, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Harding_Icefield&oldid=942295482, Bodies of ice of Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles lacking in-text citations from November 2009, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 23 February 2020, at 20:33. The trail is well developed but steep with nearly 3,000 feet of elevation gain. Hiking conditions are best from June to September. The latitude and longitude coordinates of Harding Icefield are 60.0180556, -149.9861111 and the approximate elevation is 4,488 feet (1,368 meters) above sea level. Take the Seward Highway … Although the view from the top is well worth the effort, you need not hike all the way to the top to experience the wonders of this trail. The trail starts climbing … The Harding Icefield Trail is an 8.2 mile round trip trail in Kenai Fjords National Park outside of Seward, Alaska. All-Day Hike: The Harding Icefield Trail is strenuous! The Harding Icefield trail can really be broken up into two sections: hiking out of the forest to the cliffs for an amazing view of Exit Glacier and then climbing on up to the Harding Icefield above it. The trail ascends steeply over the 4.1 miles, gaining around 3500' of elevation. The other big thing we wanted to do in Kenai Fjords National Park, besides glacier kayaking, was hiking the famous Harding Icefield Trail.. The Harding Ice Field is a bit more boring in its uniformity, in that most of its glaciers are retreating, he said. About 1940, two Kenai Peninsula residents, Eugene "Coho" Smith and Don Rising, apparently were successful in their attempt to cross the icefield. After I had such an awesome time at Exit Glacier with mom, dad, and Matt (photos to come...sometime), I couldn't wait to get back to Seward with Daniel to hike the Harding Icefield trail, a 7.8 mile round-trip, 3000 ft. elevation gain trail of wonders. The Trail. This trek climbs 3000 feet alongside Exit Glacier as it passes through several climatic zones. Although the view from the top is well worth the effort, you need not hike all the way to the top to experience the wonders of this trail. Retrieved December 14, 2006", Kenai Fjords National Park - Exit Glacier (U.S. National Park Service). Harding Icefield Trail at about 1 mile of the hike and 1000 ft elevation gain Above the treeline, thick wildflowers start to appear, and the combination of alpine glaciated peaks, the forest below, glaciers, river flowing across the valley floor and wildlflowers made it feel like almost hiking in heaven. The day we started there were bear sightings along the trail, so make sure to buy bear spray ahead of time. Comparison of the changes for the different glaciers shows no significant correlation … Would you hike to the Harding Icefield? They are accessed from the Herman Leirer Road (also called Exit Glacier Road) off of the Seward Highway about four miles north of town. They are free to join. ... (141 m) elevation is 4b with an average annual extreme minimum temperature of -20.3 °F (-29.1 °C). Up to this point, however, people had walked only on the icefield's margins. Though the elevation profile is not always even, each of these sections is right around 2 miles so it breaks the day up nicely for objectives. The Exit Glacier, however, is the most accessible of the glaciers being reached by a spur road off of the Seward Highway. Be on the look out for mountain goats, black bear, and marmots--- they are common sightings up here. For the Harding Icefield on the Kenai Peninsula in southcentral Alaska, United States Geological Survey (USGS) DEMs from the 1950s were differenced with Shuttle Radar Topographic … Travelers gain nearly 1,000 feet of elevation with each mile, putting this day hike firmly into the “strenuous” category. Airborne surface elevation profiles of the Harding Ice field, south-central Alaska, were made in 1991 and 1996. My Arctic Tern at 4,000 feet elevation ASL on the Harding Icefield. After securing a homestead, he returned to Seward, and in late July he hiked up the Lowell Creek drainage toward the icefield. The trail's summit … The 8.2-mile out-and-back hike along Harding Icefield is a spectacular outing. Cresting the final ridge of bedrock and loose debris, I wasn’t sure what to expect. At only 4 miles to the end of the trail, hikers might assume that it is an easy hike; it’s not. Overview. Harding Ice Field Trail is a 8.2 mile heavily trafficked out and back trail located near Seward, Alaska that features a waterfall and is rated as difficult. Along the way, the party made a first-ever ascent of Truuli Peak, a 6,612—foot eminence that protrudes from the northwestern edge of the icefield near Truuli Glacier. Unfortunately, Daniel is a trail master. Hiking Tip. If you want to stay here overnight camping is allowed as long as you set up camp at least 1/8 mile from the trail on bare rock or snow. This report comes from the National Park Service. That’s some serious ice. The Trail. It is named for United States President Warren G. Harding. The Harding Icefield hike is a must-do hike in Kenai Mountains. From cottonwood forests on the lower trail, the trek takes you through some rocky terrain, to green alpine meadows overlooking the blue, crevassed Exit Glacier, past mountain cascades up to a vista of the endless sea of ice that is the Harding Icefield. NPS Photo / F. North. I have never so many sitting on the cliffs just staring out at nature for so long. Kenai Fjords National Park is dominated by a glaciated landscape. Harding Icefield is the largest icefield located entirely within the United States. Elevation wise its all uphill with no flats whatsoever. The hike to view the Harding Icefield is about 4 miles (oneway) with 3,500 feet elevation gain. Though the elevation profile is not always even, each of these sections is right around 2 miles so it breaks the day up nicely for objectives. The day we started there were bear sightings along the trail, so make sure to buy bear spray ahead of time. Lush trees, bears, and vast icefields of Exit Glacier. You'll gain approximately 1,000 feet of elevation with every mile so be sure to allow at least 6-8 hours for this trip. This strenuous trail climbs approximately 1,000 feet every mile, but spectacular views along the way make it well worth the effort. Some of the more notable glaciers include the Tustumena Glacier, Exit Glacier, and McCarty Glacier. Ten people were involved in the crossing, which went from Chernof Glacier east to Exit Glacier. Can someone who has done it estimate the time it takes ? That is just a little over 1000ft per mile, making the trail very steep and suitable only for hikers in good condition. The trail is strenuous! Length of the Harding Icefield Trail. I took my time and soaked it in. The Harding Icefield Trail is an 8.2 mile round trip trail in Kenai Fjords National Park outside of Seward, Alaska. Expedition members included Bill Babcock, Eric Barnes, Bill Fox, Dave Johnston, Yule Kilcher and his son Otto, Dave Spencer, Helmut Tschaffert, and Vin and Grace (Jansen) Hoeman. The trail ends overlooking the massive 700 square mile Harding Icefield, which is a leftover of the last major Ice Age. The eight mile (round-trip) trail begins by following Exit Glacier, but then climbs steeply and eventually ends overlooking the massive Harding Icefield, the largest icefield entirely within the US, which feeds Exit Glacier and about 40 other glaciers. Dense clouds hung low and fingers of fog crept up the valleys. In the spring of 1968, the first documented mountaineering party succeeded in crossing the icefield. If you have visited Harding Icefield before, please tell us about it with a comment below. As noted above, Yule Kilcher, Dave Johnston, Vin Hoeman, and Grace Hoeman were veterans of previous attempts; of the ten, only four–Bill Babcock, Dave Johnston, Yule Kilcher, and Vin Hoeman–hiked all the way across the icefield. The icefield spawns more than 38 glaciers some of which are tidewater, some of which terminate in lakes, and others terminate on land. Would you hike to the Harding Icefield? The Harding Icefield is an expansive icefield located in the Kenai Mountains of the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska.
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