Submitted by Anonymous on Wed, 07/29/2009 - 14:32
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High Arctic Change 09

Yessir Mr. Rhinard,

Wondering how the muck you're pictured wading in compares to the muck you might have found yourself wading in at a couple of spots along Idaho's Salmon River? Also, I'm really taken by the similarities between the eroded mountain in one of the pictures you've posted and that found in some of the canyons along the Green and Colorado Rivers. And, looking at the creeks, how much potential is there for some first descents where you're at? The boating season looks like it would be fairly short, however. Cheers from the Idaho river vermin. Looks like a great educational adventure. I'm following the trek.

M. Stewart

Thu, 07/30/2009 - 13:00

Mike Rhinard

Hey there Mike!  Say "Hello" to Cascade for me.Thanks for following along and thanks for asking some questions on the "Ask the Team" forum.
Let me tell you the difference between the "muck" here and the muck on the Salmon.  The muck on the Salmon is WARM!  The muck here has ice under it.  That's why we were in muck.  We were walking on top of what was left of the glacier.  Still several feet - oops meters, I'm in Europe now - of glacier ice.  But where we were walking in many of the pictures was along the "ablation zone", or area where the glacier is going away.  In this case, by melting.  All of the rock stuck in the ice from hundreds of years of flowing downslope and "plucking" out all sizes of rock pieces just turns to "muck" as the ice on top melts.    Some of the pics were from out in front of one of the glaciers in the meltwater/outwash area.
The glaciers we are actually doing our work on are called marine tidewater glaciers. The ablation zone on these glaciers is the high-walled end that breaks off, or "calves" into the ocean.  In our case that would be the fjord.  And that's how all the ice bergs in the fjord form.
But all around the fjord are other "grounded" glaciers that have receded back until the ends, or "terminus", is on solid ground.  I love looking at these glaciers and the eroded cirque basins and sharp peaks and can't help but imagine that's exactly what the Sawtooths and even West Mt. and Warm Lake basin looked like at one time. 
As far as boating goes here, well not much in the gravity form.  The streams are small and usually very muddy and full of sediment.  Though that one pic of the subglacial upwelling showed how it just poured thousands of gallons and carved a narrow, winding chute down through the ice that some really crazy kayaker might think about.   The main boating here is outboard Zodiacs or aluminum or plastic boats.  That and huge cruise ships that show up every 4-5 days.  It seems that this is the Alaska glacier cruise hotspot for Europeans.  Oh, a few sailing yachts show up here too.  But no Maravia's or Aire's.
Not sure if you read my note to Bob about plants here, but I told him about some fun waves we get to take on when some monster calving occurs at the glacier front.  Hope to have a video clip up soon of some of that.  So keep checking in.
Are you headed down the Main with Bob, et al in a couple weeks?  Sorry I'm missing it this year.  Love the Salmon R.  
Keep the q's coming and I'll keep the pics and journals coming too.  
Mike