Tired and sore, I look forward to dinner and my sleeping bag. Valdez Glacier and Icebergs The get up close blue ice experience. It remains the most accessible glacier hike left in the state and there’s no fee for entry. To approach the base, hike up the rock covered glacier for several miles until you're on bare ice at around 4000 to 4500 feet. The large ice chunks in front of the ice cave have completely melted in the 08/24 photo. Now it's just a giant arch. Worthington Trek, Valdez Tour Beyond the Trail. Some parties might want deadmen/snow pickets for pro, but not all groups use these. Once we reached the top, the clouds opened to reveal a breathtaking view of a ridge and the valley. This glacier hike takes you across one of the longest suspension bridges in Alaska. Click here for more glacier photos. Take the Richardson Highway to milepost 217 where you will find the main trailhead to the glacier and its ice caves. If you are looking for a 2-3 hour good hike then look no further than here! What makes this one special, even borderline famous is it’s massive ice caves; some of which runs 500 miles deep into the heart of the ice. Getting There. Travel upon the glacier is not recommended. The hike to the Castner Glacier is roughly 2.2 miles round trip and includes stunning mountain views. High today: 63 Low today: 35 My goal of this day was to get Aviva and Jud to a glacier, special request by Jud. Castner Glacier 04/14/14. The Gulkana Glacier Trail is a great afternoon hike–about X MILES long—complete with two swinging drawbridges to cross before you reach the glacier. But as I hike the last part of the ridge I keep scanning the north wall of the Castner Glacier valley. In 1952 the snout of the glacier was quit close to the road. In 1952 when I was 18, I got a summer job with USSR&M in the gold fields north of Fairbanks. Details. Passo Rolle, Dolomites, Italy. On my return I stop for short rests frequently. Worthington Glacier. Nearing the glacier, we saw some overflow on the surface. One highlight has been getting stuck in “quickmud” near Child’s Glacier and Jackie getting stuck another time (and Jon video taping it). Valdez Winter Ice Climbing. One of the most popular Alaska destinations for exploring glacier ice caves, though, is the Mendenhall Glacier, a massive body of ice located about 10 miles from downtown Juneau. I love starting at Savage River then hiking into the high tundra then coming back down into a forest. The closest major city to the glacier is Fairbanks, roughly 2.5 hours away. What a change in 4 months! NW of Paxson, Alaska Range. Protection Rope up for the glacier. Be careful when going near the ice caves! What a change in 4 months! Richardson Highway, southeast of Fairbanks Years ago many a mountaineering adventure used this access route to enter the mountains, but the popularity of recreational snowmachining has driven mountaineers to quieter areas. Hike up the rock-covered Castner Glacier until the south, M'Ladies Branch veers off. Follow the obvious West Ridge for about 4000ft to the summit. All the pics were taken with my phone so I'll apologize now for any pixelated images. Jeremiah Harrington walks up the Castner Glacier during a camping trip during the Labor Day holiday. Pushing our way out of the drainage to stay dry, we followed a gentle moraine to the top of the northern terminus of the Castner. A 1/2 mile hike leads you to the Castner Glacier. The diversity of this hike is enough to make me want to come back and do this hike often. [1080x1350] [OC] An unknown peak near Castner Glacier, Alaska [4368x1872] [OC] ... We decided to go for a hike in the late afternoon despite the bad weather. Cold Morning. Castner Glacier 04/14/14. Trail or route conditions, wildlife sightings and highlights: We had a great hike to Castner Glacier. We were in the midst of a warm spell so I decided to go visit an easily accessible ice cave in the Alaska Range with my son. This trail is found along the Richardson Highway and can be combined with the Castner Glacier hike on the same day. Town to Glacier Traverse. The hike to the glacier’s face follows Castner Creek; the creek is fast-flowing, brown, and fed by the melting glacier. Buy. When we woke up there was a dusting of snow on the tent and the air was crisp. The southernmost named glacier among them is the Lilliput Glacier in Tulare County, east of the Central Valley of California. The large ice chunks in front of the ice cave have completely melted in the 08/24 photo. There is a good chance that if you’ve done any research about Glaciers hikes in Alaska you’ve heard about the Castner. My trip to the Castner Glacier was unexpected and short, but provided an interesting perspective on something I had yet to witness in person. Yesterday we went on a great hike up Castner Glacier and we got to look at some pretty sweet stagnant ice deposits under sunny skies. About heads on White Princess, trends NW and SW to its 1934 terminus at head of Castner Creek, 27 mi. Thank you for signing up for the newsletter! Hike the Alaska Range in all its glory—but without Denali National Park’s crowds and heavily regulated backcountry—in the Delta Mountains, a hundred miles east of the park’s main entrance. You will be shuttled about 2 hours south from Eielson to Castner Creek where we will then hike the relatively easy 1 mile hike along Castner Creek. This unimproved road is located at mile 217.3 on the north side of Castner Creek. Backcountry Basecamps Stay out in remote isolated Alaskan wilderness, without intense hiking required. This finally convinced me that the entire section I had been walking on was a part of the active glacier. Amazing views of the mountains all around were punctuated with glimpses of the broad and broken expanse of the Lower Canwell Glacier just below us. Castner Glacier from Mapcarta, the free map. I was going to take them to the Gulkana glacier, since I am familiar with that one, but decided to try to get to the ice cave at the Castner glacier, mentioned to me by Dea, since it was on the way south.She skiied it with a few others about a month ago. If you want to experience a fun glacier hike, the Gulkana Glacier trail near Paxson, Alaska, will take you across a cool suspension bridge. This is a list of glaciers existing in the United States, currently or in recent centuries.These glaciers are located in nine states, all in the Rocky Mountains or farther west. Join Eielson Outdoor Recreation for a hike of the Castner Glacier Trail which leads to the Castner Ice Cave. The road ends after 1/2 mile, turning into an unimproved foot path heading up the side of Castner Creek. A sort of ‘side canyon’ formed along the South end of the Castner Glacier where the ice has melted faster than what was covered in moraine on the main flow of the glacier. We had a beautiful hike in, then it started raining. The hike to the glacier’s face follows Castner Creek; the creek is fast-flowing, brown, and fed by the melting glacier. That’s where the “type II” fun started. Supraglacial stream on the Canwell Glacier. You will like it. After about three miles, we rounded the shoulder of Canwell Point for better views of the clean glacier ice higher up the valley. It is also cheaper, shorter and less strenuous than the Exit Glacier hike. Met a guy that wanted to climb the White Princess up the Castner Glacier. For our full interactive trail guide using Google Earth, please download by clicking here. Summer Ice Climbing. I finally finish the hike more than 13 hours after I had started. A nice camp overlooks the West Ridge from at about 6000ft. The summer of 2017 started with yet another long drive from Utah to Alaska. Castner Glacier ice caves January 25, 2020 by Paxson Woelber « Trip Reports on Winterbear.com Castner Glacier Ice Caves Three Jan-Feb 2020 trips to the Castner Glacier ice caves January 25, January 30, and February 4, 2020 The word “otherworldly” gets used a lot when describing outdoor places, and it’s … This trail is not maintained and not marked. Castner Glacier is a glacier in Alaska and has an elevation of 3287 feet. and than canoed back to the pier. Most of the tongue of the Castner is debris-covered, very bumpy, and partially vegetated. Castner Glacier a glacier in Alaska. Castner Glacier . View on Map Coordinates Latitude: 63.184179 Longitude: -145.541555. Matanuska Glacier is really nice, but you don't gain much if any elevation, so the views are not as spectacular. The hike followed a jeep trail left over from mining operations. “ Connor also took us on a short educational hike in the rainforest, we had a delicious homemade snack (salmon spread & jam were the highlights!) If you don’t have Google Earth, use the map below to view trail descriptions. From the north, go over the gentle Isabel Pass and pass the Richardson Monument, then turn left on the gravel road at mile post 197.5. The Richardson Highway was clear, we had no travel problems, and parking was also clear. Remnants of an ice cave on the Castner Glacier. Here you can find tons of crystal clear ice, artistic shapes made by nature through millions of years, and soft sunbeams that barely pierce frozen walls… Looking at this miracle, only one thing may come to mind: it truly is a palace for a Snow Q I had mountaineering experience in Washington State, and we met a third guy and set out for the climb. This is actually from November 2019, Thanksgiving weekend. 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