Flute Glacier

The route to Flute Glacier splits from the Eagle-Symphony lakes trail at Eagle Lake, tracing the stream that feeds the lake back to its source, the glacier.

Alaskans have been criticized for building bridges to nowhere...

On the advice of a recent newspaper article, we circumnavigated the north side of the lake, which was contrary to the hiking guidebook recommendation. We made a poor choice, and had to suffer two miles of bushwhacking through head-high willow and alder along a steep slope. On the plus side, we did find the best blueberry patch we had ever seen.

We decided to climb up into this high valley on our return to avoid the nightmare bushwhack.

The impressive waterfall below the glacial valley could be a destination in itself.

Remains of a beaver dam.

We climbed up above the waterfall to the left to get into the high Flute Glacier valley.

Weeping walls 

Once we reached the high valley, the glacier is still another mile away. We hiked a little farther but did not have time to hike all the way in to Flute Glacier.

A thunderstorm quickly moved in and hailed for a few minutes.

The sun came out shortly after!

Crossing this stream was straightforward because the water was shallow.

I think the most difficult part of crossing silty glacial streams is keeping your balance when you can't see the bottom. The chocolate milk-colored water rushing past you can be really disorienting, and you have to feel carefully with each step to avoid slipping on uneven rocks.

We avoided bushwhacking around the lake by climbing into a hanging valley. We paused to pick blueberries while we crawled up the steep slope.

We saw two Dall Sheep rams climbing on this sheer rock face - crazy! Can you spot them in this picture?

This was the last ridge to crest, and then it was all downhill back to Eagle and Symphony lakes.

At the top - sunset.

We followed a mossy gully, with lots of good picnic rocks, back down to the ridge dividing Eagle and Symphony lakes.

I couldn't resist picking up a naive baby ptarmigan. Now it's afraid of humans.

At this time of year the mother is still close by, watching.

Bearberry leaves look like red tongues on the tundra

Sunset leaves some warm glow on the mountains. We got back to the car at 12 am on the dot (it was dusky dark by then).

Jewel Peak

View up the steep valley that runs from Girdwood to Crow Pass

Near the top of the pass another valley to the East is visible, and Jewel Peak is the mountain on the far right. That is our destination.

At the top of the pass, a clearwater stream meets a milky glacial-fed stream. The glacial stream easily overpowers it.

Neon green pond at Crow Pass

Looking back to the south, at the top of the pass

Raven glacier spills off the mountains

Looking down the outflow from Raven glacier, towards the north

Small tarns are scattered all across the moraine

We improvise and hike above Raven glacier to access the Jewel Peak valley

Snowmelt streams are rushing all summer 

As the snow melts, debris comes to the surface in swooping patterns 

Once we traverse the snowfield, Jewel Peak is an easy walk-up

The silhouette of a mountain goat appears above us!

From the base of Jewel Peak we can see huge snowfields

Lunch on the edge

The view of the Crow Pass valley from the top of Jewel Peak

The mountain goat followed us up to the top

…and stayed for a photo!

She had a cloud of bugs pestering her, causing her to constantly flap her ears like they were little wings

Our return was to loop back following the stream until it reconnected in Crow Pass valley. Twisted rocks edged the rocky stream near the confluence.

Hanging Valley

The fresh green of Hanging Valley is bright in the morning sun, greeting another day of adventure and blueberries!

A small lake along the trail is crystal clear

Fireweed is reflected in a still pond

Too quickly we get to the end of the valley, and our only direction now can be up

Caribou lichen is bright white

From the top of the ridge we spied a hidden lake, perched on a shelf high above the valley

…which turned out to be a not-so-hidden lake because we saw people jumping off the rocks into the cold clear water

The ridge we hiked on became knife-edged as it twisted higher

Nothing left to do but turn around and bound down to the lake

Shadow boxing is a friendly way to settle the score

Freeze-thaw cycles create perfectly round mounds in the vegetation

We tarried and picked blueberries, and didn't leave the valley until around 9. There is still plenty of light remaining, but the cool nights in late summer drive us to return home.