Harding Icefield

Winter is coming a bit sooner than I had expected here in Alaska...The tops of the Chugach mountains are officially covered in snow, and...it's 26 degrees out on October 8.  The heat in our apartment is already on full blast.  Thankful we have a warm place to stay, and warm clothes to wear. 

Since we knew we didn't have long before the roads are covered in ice, we thought we'd make one last trip to Seward to hike to the Harding Icefield.  This has been on our bucket list for awhile.  

We left after Pete got off work one day last week.  It was weird driving down to Seward in the dark as the three other times we've been down there were during the summer when it basically never gets dark.  

We ended up staying at a hostel in Seward for the night.  

Seward without rain....who knew

For anyone who took the Kenai Fjords tour with us.  Recognize the boat?

The Harding Icefield Trail

We're almost there after 4 strenuous miles

We happened upon an emergency shelter cabin.  Luckily didn't need to use it. 

The icefield.  A panoramic would give you a better idea of how big it actually is.  

Walking on an icefield doesn't work with hiking boots just in case you were wondering.

A black bear off in the distance.  We weren't too worried, there were 8 sheep maybe 150ft above where this bear is grazing.  

And, as usual we rewarded ourselves after the hike with a most delectable pizza.