The Guided Tour of Davidson Glacier

The locals kept telling us how lucky we were. The weather was perfect. As we had heard the night before, we could expect the temperature to hit 80 (forty in the morning and forty in the afternoon). It was well past that with the temperature up to the mid seventies (low twenties for the Canadians reading this). We were to canoe up to the Davidson Glacier – within a hundred feet of the ice and snow. The run off from the glacier had created the river we paddled up, which was amazing. The view behind us of the coastal mountains was amazing. And the glacier itself? Well – it was amazing too.

Because it was so warm, there was a strong wind coming off the glacier as the hot air from the sun collided with the frigid air rising from the snow and ice. What we initially thought was mist blowing down the river was actually very fine dust, ground up through the years by the relentless advance of the ice. Within minutes, we all had grit in our teeth. The glacier itself had retreated several miles over the past few decades. It used to flow out to Lynn Canal when John Muir wrote about it in the late 19th century, but now it was at the head of it’s own river that ran a few miles to the sea. It was exciting to think this body of water did not exist at all just a century ago.
The tour consisted of the sixty of us trundling from boat to bus to canoe. A short hike was also thrown in for good measure. With our very affable tour guide straight from Texas shepherding us along, it was very enjoyable.