Saturday, August 30, 2008

The Bomber Traverse

Ry and I started down the Gold Mint Trail a little before noon, on a amazing blue bird day. All the way down the trail I marveled at how dry the bushes were, and how nice it was not to be soaked....the memories from the day David and I had a few weeks ago felt fresh in my mind....

The colors are pretty prime out in the alpine right now....and so are the blueberries!

Ry Hiking along the Little Susitna River

 


As we started to climb above the valley floor, glaciers began appearing tucked away on the tops of the high peaks all around us. We went behind the Mint hut and there is a very obvious path of weakness that leads up to the pass. An indescribably beautiful area on a sunny day.

A Panoramic View of the Mint Glacier Area

 


At the top of the Pass we descended a few hundred feet down to an unnamed glacier, traversed over the glacier through the snow to a pass that looked down onto the Bomber Glacier. From there it was a quick descent down amazingly crumbly steep terrain, and then onto the snow covered Bomber glacier.

The Bomber Plane

 
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Its a little bizarre to see an old bomber plane wrecked up on the glacier. Wires lay exposed on the ice, and the tires rolled down the slope and look like round rocks on the ice.

Ryan in a Massive Morraine Field


 


From the Bomber glacier we went up and over another short pass and were then above the Upper Reed Lake. As I looked down the 2,000ft plus morraine field I was again so thankful that it wasn't raining.

Overall a beautiful day and a thoroughly worthy hike. I would guess that its about 15-18 miles long, with about a 5,000 foot gain throughout the day. It took us 11 hours, but we spent about 3 hours chilling in the sun at various points....its way to beautiful to not take time to look around!

5 comments:

Karen Travels said...

Your pictures are awesome! I just moved to Anchorage a month ago. I really want to hike this one...although I am not sure if I am ready for the many miles! Wowser! But the views...where do I find this place?

May we each inspire one another to achieve all we dream of..... said...

Hello there! After seeing your photos, i'm so glad we turned around....I'll save it for a day like you had!! I love the slideshow!

VLP

Sherrie Soltis said...

Karen,
Its up in Hatcher's Pass. You can get there from going thru either palmer or wasilla. Its a fantastic place, one of my favorites in Alaska!

Sherrie

James Young said...

Really enjoyed seeing your pictures. My uncle and namesake (1st Lt. William James Schreffler) was killed in that crash, and we visited Hatcher Pass and the memorial plaque placed at Denali State Park with my wife, sons, and mother a few weeks before your post.

Sherrie Soltis said...

Hi James, thanks for commenting, I'm glad you enjoyed the pics, I never knew anyone was killed in that crash, I'm sorry it was your namesake. It is an amazing place, one of my favorites.