Alaska | Red Hunt Travel

The Root Glacier Trail is a fantastic trail on the outskirts of Kennecott. As close, and easy, as it is to access the trail, it’s an adventure in of itself to actually get to Kennecott, Alaska!

Cut-off from the outside world for part of the year, Kennecott is one of those places where you can risk taking a wild ride by road to get to it, or take the quicker route and go by bush plane.

We took the plane route, as it was the end of the season for Kennecott, being the last visitors in town for the year (we timed our trip with the infamous Last Man Standing party).

Flying over the Root Glacier on our arrival, and seeing the amazing beauty of staring down at the Wrangell Mountains and Wrangell-St. Elias National Park was worth the trip on its own.

Hiking the Root Glacier Trail was tons of fun.

Starting off with a walk through town, there are numerous trails in the area, some exploring deep into the wilderness, others heading off towards the nearby glacier.

With our super spikey crampons packed and great guides from St. Elias Alpine Guiding, we set out for a day of exploring. It wasn’t long before we were actually standing on top of a glacier. How cool is that? (ha, literally!)

Putting on our crampons, we ambled along the icy surface with ease. There were some deep crevices, crazy coloured ice, waterfalls, and even a swimming spot that we encountered. Yes, some of people did choose to go swimming on a glacier in Alaska!

It was a beautiful blue sky day, so the brightness of the sun reflecting off the white ice was intense. Everyone was careful to make sure we put on enough sunscreen to keep ourselves from burning in the cold, but bright landscape.

Those contrasting bright colours provided for some great photography. I’d been to glaciers in other parts of the world like New Zealand, Greenland and Antarctica, but this was the most exciting glacier experience of them all. The hike was exciting, but not overly challenging. Being right on top of this enormous glacier helped put things into perspective, after seeing it from high above in a plane.

Nature is pretty awesome, and this was a big highlight from my travels in Alaska. Maybe even better than the wildlife spotting and hiking in Denali National Park!

Have you been to Kennecott, or glacier hiking anywhere?

I have a great appreciation for squirrels and love when I come across different squirrel species when I travel.

At home, in Toronto, we have eastern grey tree squirrels. SO ground squirrels I find extra interesting as they do not exist near Toronto.

This cute guy is an Arctic Ground Squirrel. I watched him scurry around his various hiding holes in Denali national Park, Alaska. These squirrels are, not surprisingly, found further north than any other ground squirrel species in North America. they also happen to be the largest ground squirrel species in North America.

Hibernating for as much as 8 months in a year, these guys actually achieve the lowest body temperature of any mammal in the world. They mange to “supercool” their bodies – below freezing! It may sound impossible, but that is how they survive the winter.

These Arctic ground squirrels eat mostly leaves, seeds and fruits but are opportunistic and will even eat meat if the opportunity arises. As cute as these guys are, they’re also a prime food source for a wide range of Arctic animals like grizzly bears, eagles and foxes.

Red Hunt Travel

Tag Archives: Alaska

Ice Hiking on the Root Glacier in Alaska

Wildlife Photos: Arctic Ground Squirrel

travel writer. wildlife photographer. beer geek.