We headed over to the town of Kennecott on the 9:30 shuttle. We were looking forward to discovering this old mining town history and to hike out to Root Glacier. We lucked out and the weather was perfect. Our first day of clear blue skies and warm sun.
We started with the hike to the glacier. It is two miles out and two miles back. Most of the hike is pretty standard dirt trail until you come to the end. Getting down to the glacier is a bit more of a feat, with loose dirt, steep slopes, and many switchbacks going down.
The glacier is covered in sediment at the tip and looks like just piles of dirt. When you reach the end of the trail though you are greater with crunchy ice and if you continue onto the glacier you can reach much whiter picturesque area. This is where a lot of people set off across the glacier. We easily hiked onto it, luckily the sun was out and the ice solid so crampons were not needed. B was not feeling well and missed out on some of the glacier climbing but the other three had a great time exploring.
The hike back up to the trail was a bit exhausting and we were all running low of water. The walk back had us feeling very tired but happy to have walked on a glacier. Note to others there is no tap water in Kennecott so bring extra. B went back early but the rest of us stayed to explore. We ate at the Meatza Wagon food truck which had delicious sandwiches all of which can be made as salads for a gluten free version.
We explored the Kennecott Mine town and it’s history before boarding a shuttle back to McCarthy.
Our evening was filled with walking the McCarthy Main Street, enjoying a small play of the history of the town, and finishing Jr. Ranger books.
Our 6S Full Life 