Hubbard Glacier
A beautiful, mostly sunny day with temperature around 12C saw us arriving in Yakutat Bay around 1:00pm. This is about 302 miles from Whittier and 226 miles from Juneau. After picking up the Alaska pilot proceeded in towards Hubbard Glacier. This is located about 30 miles north off the coast of Yakutat. Hubbard Glacier straddles the border of eastern Alaska and Canada’s Yukon, flowing out of the immense icefields around Mount Logan in Kluane National Park and descending to sea level in Wrangell–St. Elias National Park and Preserve. Its icy front meets the ocean in Disenchantment Bay near Yakutat. It is the longest tidewater glacier in the world. Dramatically massive at about 7-miles wide, 76-miles long and as tall as a 30-story building above the waterline, it’s the largest river of ice in North America. One of the most intriguing aspects of Hubbard Glacier is that it is advancing, not retreating. While the overwhelming majority of glaciers in Alaska have thinned and receded over the past century, Hubbard has thickened and pushed forward at its lower reaches. As we proceeded into the bay we eventually came to a sea of ice blocking any further safe passage. At this time of year the glacier calves so much ice that it usually fills the whole bay making it unsafe to approach any closer. Spent around 1 hour observing the glacier from a distance before heading back out into the bay by 3:00pm and continuing our journey south.
