Exit Glacier | Hiking & Natural History Guide, Seward Alaska [S1-E24]

Exit Glacier | Hiking & Natural History Guide, Seward Alaska [S1-E24]

Welcome to Alaska’s exit Glacier there are  few places on planet Earth where you can   stroll right up to a river of ice catch a  glimpse of The Humbling force that feeds it   and literally walk through a living laboratory  of natural history in the making here you can  

And as one of America’s most accessible  glaciers everyone can enjoy this natural   treasure with Trails for all levels and  abilities let us take you to this unique   corner of Alaska exploring the trails and Earth  stories to be found here along the flanks of exit

Glacier let’s begin by zooming out way out here  is our home of planet Earth and from way up here   we can see that Alaska is a land of ice the  Kenai Peninsula is dominated by it blanketed   by 700 square miles of ice that feeds over 30  glaciers oozing down the surrounding Mountain  

Sides most of these Glaciers are only accessible  by plane hiking Expedition or boat but one of them   is not the journey to exit Glacier begins on  the only Road entering Kenai fjord’s national   park for a national park of this size that’s quite  something Kenai fjord’s National Park encompasses  

1,47 square miles of the peninsula 50% of which  is covered in ice there are two main ways most   visitors visit the park on a boat tour out to the  Kenai fjords as we showed you in episode 12 and a  

Visit to exit Glacier as we drive up exit Glacier  Road we are actually traveling through a living   laboratory in which an important ecological  process is laid out in sequence right before   our eyes the land is telling us a story and we  just need to learn how to read it today we will  

Learn to read that story beginning here where  we catch our very first glimpse of exit glacier as far as Alaskan glaciers go exit Glacier is  actually quite small only about 3 Mi long and  

Up to a half a mile wide that does not mean it  is less significant in fact it is the perfect   place to study an important process ecologists  call plant succession if we were standing here   in 1815 we would be looking at a wall of ice  exit Glacier has receded significantly in the  

Last 200 years when glaciers retreat they leave  behind bare rock a completely blank slate for   plant life plant communities will then set  to work transforming that blank slate into   the mature forests that blank the Kenai  Peninsula but that transformation will be  

Anything but sudden it will instead happen  in phases each plant Community setting the   stage for the next in a very clear ordered  sequence hence the term plant succession   here at exit Glacier there are five stages  of plant succession and we will actually  

Walk through and witness each one as we hike  to the glacier’s edge today from this vantage   point we have a front row seat to stage four  of the sequence that of Rich Cottonwood forests these forests are actually the whole reason  we came to exit Glacier in September we hoped  

We would find this Forest Ablaze with  the colors of Autumn and we are not disappointed even the surrounding Mountain  sides are putting on a show the Alpine Tundra   is a wash in color especially thick patches  of Blazing Red Bear Berry if we could Peak  

Over the top of exit Glacier we would see the  vast Frozen moonscape of the Harding ice field   in fact let’s break with tradition for a moment  we’d like to take you back in time and just for  

A moment transport you to a spot high on the  mountain side before us a spot where after 4   hours of grueling hiking the view stretching  before you is enough to take your breath away this is the end of the Harding icefield  Trail where we brought you in episode 13 in  

That Journey we were able to see how the  ice field feeds the glacier seamless LLY   transitioning from a wide open expanse of ice  to the focused flow of a glacier on its slow   motion Journey out of the Alpine Heights  today we are taking on a different Trail  

But leaving from the same starting point in  fact the exec gler area is home to the only   maintained trails in all of Kenai fjord’s  National Park we’re making our way there now so we were here earlier in the summer and we  went all the way to the top to the Harding ice  

Field but this time we are going to do something  a little more mild but we can still get right up   next to the glacier three main Trails leave from  exit Glacier Center at the very end of the road  

The 1em Glacier View Loop Trail is paved and  handicap accessible it passes through cotton M   Wood forests and offers a view of the glacier from  below the 2m glacial Overlook Trail gains 300 ft   in elevation and ends at the glacier side and the  8mile Harding icefield Trail offers two Glacier  

Viewpoints and if you go all the way to the end  a glimpse of the ice field itself we are taking   on the middle of the road the glacier Overlook  Trail if we could travel back in time to 1917  

We will be right at the toe of the glacier right  now but it has receded so much that now we have   about a mile to the actual toe of the glacier  today in addition to plant succession the exit  

Glacier area is an excellent place to learn about  glacial landforms you might be curious how we know   that the glacier reached these points in past  years well it’s all there written in the land   glaciers transport a tremendous amount of rock  Frozen within the ice ice when the end or toe of  

A glacier melts the rock that was trapped in the  ice drops out and forms a pile that we call or   merine over the past 200 years exit Glacier has  receded about 1.4 miles leaving behind a series  

Of marins as we make our way along the trails  below exit Glacier we are walking through time   and every now and then we will pass right over  one of those Marines to the untrained eye it   will look like nothing more than a little Mound  crossing the path and so the park service has  

Marked them for us each sign tells us we are  passing over an old Marine of EX Glacier and   the year that that Marine was formed our March  through time is also marked by the succession of   plant communities that we are passing through  right now we are in stage four the Cottonwood  

Forest the only reason these forests could develop  is because of the work done by the plant community   of stage three small trees and shrubs like Willow  and Alder over time the shrub Community provided   enough organic material to build up soil  capable of supporting a forest the forest  

Below owes its existence to the enriched soil  created by the shrub community that came before it I think every single one of us who grew up with  seasons can relate to the crisp air and that the  

Sound of the dead and crunching leaves just that  feeling of fall it’s so nostalgic it just takes   me back to different time in my life and I think  all of us who grew up with those very clear Four  

Seasons knows exactly what I’m talking about we  make our way through the small tree and shrub   community and as as we climb we come upon more  and more bare rock it takes time to build up  

Soil and if you look closely you’ll see moss and  lyan start to make an appearance both play a key   role in the soil building process but before  we get into that there is a glacial landform  

Calling out below us from here we catch a glimpse  of exit glacier’s outwash plane a clear patch of   Rocky ground just below the glacier the water  that melts off a glacier will form from a river   and that River will always be packed with  sediments fine sediments remain suspended  

In the water and can travel pretty far larger  heavier sediments not so much they are quickly   deposited not far from the glacier and they  often form bars and dams that Force the river   to divert split and form new channels that is how  a braided river forms and as it weaves and moves  

Across the land depositing glacial sediments  as it goes the inevitable result is an outwash plane we are nearing the end of the trail and the  plant Community is Shifting once more there is a   great deal of exposed rock here and barely  any soil buildup at all this tells us that  

Not too long ago this area was dominated by Ice  just how long ago that was we are about to find out this is crazy the glacier came  all the way to this point in 2005   which is when I graduated high school  which yes is a while ago but not that  

Long ago and now the glacier’s  all the way up there check it out here’s where it’s time to get real friends  back in 2005 climate change was still a topic   that some felt was up for debate now it is  not the glaciers of Alaska are on the front  

Lines of the dramatic shifts taking place  right now on our planet and unfortunately   they are losing that is one reason the study  of plant succession here at exit Glacier is   so important we are now able to witness that  stage 2 plant community at work these Pioneer  

Plants are taking root where barely any soil  exists small dwarf fir weed and yellow dras   take root in cracks where lyans and Moss  built up a thin layer of organic material   larger Alder saplings can take root with  minimal soil because this plant has a unique  

Ability to fix its own nitrogen thanks to a  symbiotic relationship with bacteria in its   roots its nitrogen Rich leaves will introduce  a key ingredient for future plant life These   colonizers are laying the groundwork building  soil that will eventually support the shrub

Community here at the end of the trail we finally  see the first stage of plant succession here at   exit Glacier the Moss and lyans who are the first  to grow on Barren Rock laying the groundwork for   every stage that follows lyans excrete an  acid that helps break down rock and both  

Plant forms leave behind just enough organic  material to help support the Pioneer plants   who will follow at the end of the trail we also  catch a glimpse of a Telltale sign of glacial activity so you see these scratches  here these were left by the glacier  

Or more accurately by rocks  that were trapped in the ice   of the glacier as it was plowing over this  area they’re called glacial striations or abrasions look where were you in 2010 2010 I was inwa  this is crazy serendipitous in 2010 is when I  

Graduated college so this is how far the toour of  the glacier made it the year I graduated college   where were you in 2010 if you had been standing  here exit Glacier would have towered before you you may be curious what the final stage  of plant succession is here at EX Glacier  

Well Far Below Us in that Cottonwood Forest  Spruce saplings are taking root it will take   a long time but eventually they will outgrow  the cottonwoods choking them off from the Sun   unfazed by the thick Spruce canopy shade  tolerant Hemlock will then move in when  

We finally see a mature evergreen forest with  a well balanced mix of spruce and Hemlock we   will know that that land has been ice free for  at least 200 years that is why understanding   plant succession is so powerful combined with the  ability to read glacial landforms we can gain an  

Understanding of not only what happened here but  when it happened as we take in the landscape in   our own way Jose Luis through photography and me  through sketching all around us the land tells its story from the scratches on the Bedrock  to the shrub spotted slopes you now know  

How to read that story so sit  back with us read the land and   just take in this precious corner  of planet Earth while we still have it hey guys if you enjoy this video be  sure to give us a like subscribe to  

Our Channel send us a comment below and for  exclusive content and a behind the scenes   view of the art we there at Journey  join us on patreon see you over on patreon

Welcome to Exit Glacier, gem of Kenai Fjords National Park. The trails of this area provide a rare opportunity to walk through natural history-in-the-making. Learn why Exit Glacier is considered a living laboratory and a must-see for visitors to Alaska.

Headed to Exit Glacier? Check out this tour ON THE ICE!
🔹 https://bit.ly/ExitGlacierTour

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Art We There Yet Travel Vlog | Season 1 | Episode 24
🔹 Featured Places: Exit Glacier, Harding Icefield, Seward Alaska, Kenai Fjords National Park

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About ART WE THERE YET 🚌🌎
Art We There Yet is a project co-created by artist José Luis Vílchez and songwriter Cora Rose. Our mission is to create art inspired by the Americas, and to give back to communities along the way. Aboard a school bus converted into an art and recording studio, we are traveling 30,000 miles from Alaska to Argentina, touching 23 countries of the Americas over 7+ years! We create art and music that highlight the beautiful people and landscapes of the Americas. And we provide murals and workshops in schools and communities that lack access to arts funding. Because ART is meant to be SHARED! ❤️🎨🚌🎼❤️

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