Happy Birthday from Canada Glacier

Earlier this week (before coming to Bonney) Amy, Anna, Cliff, Karen and I hiked over Canada Glacier from Lake Hoare Camp to Lake Fryxell Camp to retrieve something Amy left there last week. We had perfect weather and plenty of time, and returned to Hoare by hiking around the front face of the glacier. The whole hike took about five hours. The sunlight is dropping by thirty minutes a day and casts long shadows of the mountains across the valley. I’m writing this after midnight and it is still quite light outside, but you can definitely notice the difference from last week. Last night we saw the first star.

March 1st was my wife Katie’s birthday, and I tried to be cool and tell her happy birthday from Canada Glacier using this great echo we found off the mountains—too bad my camera didn’t catch the echo! Anyways, Happy Birthday Katie! The hike follows a dramatic route up the curving mass of the glacier, in a notch between the ice and a steep talus slope along the lateral morriane. When it levels out higher up we make a right turn onto the glacier itself and head across to Fryxell. This is the same glacier we got our “berries” from a few days ago.

On the hike we found two mummified seals. They wander into the valley and cannot get out. Because of the cold, dry air, the bodies are preserved for a long time–some are almost 3,000 years old. We also see a medium-sized ventifact—a rock that has been shaped by the wind. Usually they are very smooth with unusual curves.