Your glacial journey begins at our shop in “downtown” McCarthy, our guides will outfit you with a pair of crampons and a pre-trip orientation before we shuttle up to Kennecott. From the bus depot at the beginning of the Kennecott Historic Town Site, take a trek through the historic copper town while your guide explains the buildings and history of the Worlds purest copper. The 14 story Concentration Mill and the towering stacks of the old Powerhouse dominate the townscape, but there are many smaller buildings as well, your guides “insider” knowledge will help to illuminate the stories that once unfolded here. Well preserved as a National Heritage site, Kennecott is truly a unique place to begin your hike to the Root Glacier.
After the brief walk through town, our trail begins out to the glacier, trekking along the well-marked trail, check out wild-flowers alongside, maybe taste a few of the Alaska Berries along the way. The roughly 2 mile hike from bus depot to white ice provides for great photo ops and stops along the way to learn more about the glacier in front of us and the alpine mountains and the creatures that roam there.
Once at the glacier, pause briefly while we put on our crampons and your guide gives some key advice on walking in crampons safely and effectively. We’ll admit, walking on ice with the sharp spikes of the crampons on the bottom can be a little awkward at first, but after a little bit of “break in “ time and the sage knowledge the professional, you’ll find yourself immersed in an unbelievable, unique landscape. You’ll spend a few hours circling Moulin’s, traversing fields of ice, basking in the beauty of blue pools and truly getting a sense of the vastness and wildness of the Alaskan landscape.
From start to finish, the half day glacier hike can take between 4 & 6 hours and approximately 5-6 miles depending on your crew, motivation levels, and comfort. What makes our trips different? All of our full price trips are private tours(groups of 2 or more), that means we travel at your pace, we explore at your pace, and best of all, you get a private guide that you can ask far more questions and have them customize your trip to your needs.