From Glacier to Glacier | Lost & Found EP.14
How in the world is this the second to last episode already?! Well, ready or not, lets get into it.
We simply couldn’t leave McCarthy until we’d accomplished our goal of doing a polar plunge on the glacier. We woke up bright and early and set off through town and back down the same trail we’d taken the day before.
The National Park sign going into Kennecott
Thanks to the scouting mission, we knew right where we needed to go to get to the pool we’d decided on the day before. As Owen was changing out of his clothes, a tour group saw what we were doing and came over to watch. They ended up getting so close that they’re in some of our shots in the video. One lady even asked if Owen would stand barefoot on the ice so she could get her camera out and take a picture of him while he was pumping himself to jump in…
Owen taking the plunge.
He was so stoked, this was his idea after all.
Owen had a text book jump into the narrow pool, and being that he was the first to try it, he had a bit of a challenge getting out of the water. He eventually got the hang of it and used the beached whale technique. It was pretty humorous to watch!
See, look at how happy he is!
It was surprising how hot we felt after getting out
We made sure to do this entire process one at a time. The reason being that if either one of us needed assistance, or something went wrong, the other could be ready to spring into action. I do feel the need to say that this can be a dangerous thing to do, and maybe not for the reasons you think. The ice that makes up glaciers is EXTREMELY sharp. If we were to kick the wall of the pool or a wrong step on the ice could result in some serious cuts. Having one person on high alert just ensured that the other was well taken care of.
All that being said, if this is something you want to do, I highly recommend gaining experience on a glacier, be a strong swimmer, and have someone there with you!
Once Owen was fully recovered from his plunge, it was my turn.
Clearly I did some overthinking.
But alas, I’d come this far, might as well get in.
This was not my first experience jumping into water that was barely not frozen. In high school I used to go to training camps for swimming. One such camp took me to the mountains of Austria twice a year to train at altitude. One of the tests our coach would make us do was to hike to an alpine lake where there was a cliffs edge to jump from, into the water. The time of year we were there (spring) meant that the lake was not fully thawed from winter. We’d have to jump in and try to swim as many butterfly strokes as we could handle. The water was so cold, that as long as you were in it, you couldn’t breath. It’s no surprise I’ve turned out the way I have.
When I walked to the edge, it felt like the whole world disappeared around me. In that moment, it was just me and the water.
1… 2… 3…
The next thing I knew I was hauling myself out onto the ice.
It was the most incredible feeling
With all of our clothes back on we made our way off the ice
I have yet to sufficiently find the words for the feeling that comes after being in water that cold. But, I will do my best.
Your body, never really feels cold. Instead, you feels the most unimaginable heat that comes from within. Not in a sweaty kind of way, but instead an internally generated glowing heat. All your senses are on high alert and you feel so incredibly alive. So alive, it felt impossible not to walk around with a smile plastered to our faces for the rest of the day. Polar plunges give you a total reset of perspective leaving you feeling happy and thankful for everything that drifts past your consciousness.
This adventure was powered by, li hing mui sour gummy worms.
Our plan for the rest of the day was to venture further onto the glacier than we had the day before. Instead, all we wanted to do was to sit there and soak in the day. Instead we sun bathed, eat our sandwiches, and cuddled on the ice.
Eventually we moseyed our way into town and onto the road to head to camp somewhere down the road.
Owen looking out over the still lake
View of the river near our camp
We drove as long as there was light in the sky, but stopped every time something caught our eye… which was often. The road to/from McCarthy is beautiful and dotted with lakes and streams that catch the light of sunset in the most spectacular way.
Every place does sunsets a little differently, this was a particularly lovely one.
The next day we started the long and arduous journey towards the US and Canadian Border. But we had our sights set on a road that we’d spotted on OnX weeks before arriving in this area.
Mountains above Canwell Glacier
Alaska doesn’t have a widely developed roadway system. However, when tracing the highway towards Fairbanks, we noticed what appeared to be a dirt road that turned up towards the mountains. As I traced it, I realized the road went up and alongside a glacier. In that moment I knew that we just had to check it out for ourselves.
If we’d blinked, we would have missed the turn off of the highway.
We followed the winding rocky road up and up until the glacier came into view. From what we’d seen on the satellite we suspected there would be one spot we’d be able to camp along the glacier. Thankfully, we had the place to ourselves. We spent the evening watching the light change over the ice, knowing that this would be our last “wild” camp spot in Alaska.
Join us next week, same time, same place for the series finale of Lost & Found.
Love, MAK
Thank you to our sponsors
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