wilderness

nathan, our glacier hike guide

i asked about some hikers trying to climb down a part of the glacier without ropes

yeh, them...just a matter of time before something bad happens.  we take people up there, but we're always on ropes.

and those holes in the glacier floor? 


if you fall in one of those, we cannot help you.  you will die of hypothermia or drowning.  there is no way we can get you out.




our flight from one village to another took off in iffy weather.

instead of flying at 750 ft we had to fly at 6000 feet

i had a cold and the pressure in my ears nearly made me cry

i couldn't really hear for 6 hours after we landed



i got lazy and didn't pick my foot up high enough

and fell on jagged rocks

i knew i gashed my knee when i saw the blood on my jeans



we get in and out of these in alaska like we get in and out of our cars at home

i rarely get nervous (thank you, God)

but when i hear about planes going down in alaska

and sightseers stranded on a glacier

i am reminded that although the Last Frontier is breathtakingly beautiful

it is, indeed, unforgiving

all good things are wild and free.

-henry david thoreau