[Paddlewise] Sunday Paddle on a Glacial Lake

  During a hike on Saturday I noticed that the ice had finally melted off
Mendenhall Lake, the terminus of the Mendenhall Glacier(
http://www.snowcrest.net/geography/field/mendenhall/glacier.htm).  I've been
somewhat of a saltwater snob since moving from the shores of Lake Michigan
to the to the wild shorelines of the Inside Passage in SE Alaska, but the
idea of paddling next to the 100 ft high wall of ice easily swayed me to
make a fresh water exception :-)  The next day brought clear skies and a
10-15 knot wind blowing down the glacial valley.  COLD wind.  The put-in was
deserted when I arrived at the southwest corner of the lake, but was soon
assaulted by an apparent wedding party - I tried to hurry as I donned gear
and outfitted the kayak because I didn't want to distract from the beauty of
the setting for these folks.  
  As I pushed away from shore in the icy waters, (33F) the 1 foot chop held
my attention momentarily until that moment came when body and kayak became
one and began to work in concert with the waves.  It's a funny thing,
sometimes it takes only a minute or two, sometimes longer, but I'm never
immediately in the "zone" when I push off from shore.  Perhaps it's just my
mind trying to catch up with the transition from a land-dwelling mammal to
marine mammal<grin>.
  The natural beauty of this lake is absolutely incredible, surrounded
halfway around by steep, towering, snow-covered peaks and a massive glacier
feeding it, and in the distance to the south the peaks of Douglas Island.
In early spring, the waters are full of icebergs that calved from the
glacier last fall and then were caught in the freeze-up.  Well, perhaps not
full, but there were perhaps 20 or so bergs in the 20-50 foot size range
floating in the silty waters of the lake.
  Paddling directly into the wind felt good and I played with the Skerray in
the waves as they approached, trying occasionally to bury the bow deeply
enough to send a splash of spray into my face.  Occasionally my paddle would
tinkle off of a small piece of floating ice, sculpted into fantastic shapes
as they slowly melt away and flow away to the sea.  I like to stop sometimes
and take a bite out of the little ones - they're startlingly clear and it's
fun to think about the fact that I'm eating ice that may be 500 years or
more old.  
  I paddled into the wind for about an hour before finally nearing the
glacier, all the while being treated by ever-changing perspectives of the
massive ice river.  This thing is so big that I tend to lose a sense of
perspective when looking at it.  It's huge!!  I usually stay about 20-30 yds
away, which in reality is too close if a big chunk of ice were to calve, but
so far I've been OK and the lure of the iridescent blue ice is transfixing.
The glacier is on the move nearly constantly, the water at its face
punctuated by falling rocks as the ice melts and shifts.  Some of the rocks
that the glacier has torn from the flanks of the surrounding mountains are
quite large - car or truck size - yet another reason to stay away from the
face at least a little way!  The face of the glacier is quite irregular,
split vertically in places, soaring to 100 feet or more and then dropping
almost to the water level in others.  I've read that the ice extends nearly
100 feet below the water also, but I'm taking that one on faith, I have no
desire to take a swim in these murky waters full of glacial silt - the
visibility is about 6 inches.  As I paddled along the length of the face I
finally reached the far side and pulled out on a small moraine of recently
deposited rock and "glacial flour".  A quick break for water and leg
stretching under the shadow of a 50 foot high wall of ice only yards away.
A steady trickle of rocks dropped into the narrow inlet of water at its
base.  Nearby a waterfall nearly 200 feet high splashed into the waters of
the lake.  In the summer when things are really melting up high in the
Icefield this waterfall is raging, pumping an enormous amount of water, but
early in the year the flow is much more moderate.  I approached the falls
giggling like a 12 year old, keeping the kayak steady in the restless
currents formed as the crystal clear waters met the gray-brown lake, and
paddled right into the falling water looking up into a blizzard of falling
water sparkling in the sun.  It's doing silly things, and slightly dangerous
I admit, like this that are one of the reasons that I often paddle alone -
it must have looked and sounded a bit odd after all - a 38 year old man
laughing and smiling insanely while surfing the outwash of a waterfall like
a lunatic.  Hoo Boy! - Good Fun indeed!!!  I was WAY too busy to get any
pictures so there's no evidence that can be used against me!!
  After that little episode I was drenched, but warm, dry and comfortable in
my paddling jacket.  I decided to head back towards the take-out following a
course on the opposite side of the lake than I had taken on the approach.
There were several massive and intricately sculpted bergs floating along my
course and I ran out of film trying to capture the magnificent shapes and
colours for friends and family who live Outside and simply cannot imagine
such things until they visit and experience them first hand.
  The course chosen presented the wind on the starboard rear quarter and I
decided that it would be a good place and day to go 'skegless'  - a little
exercise that I try to practice regularly in both of my sea-kayaks -
paddling without skeg or rudder in conditions where they would make things
easier.  Hopefully the day never comes when I lose a rudder or skeg (at
least until I finally buy one of Matt & Cam's kayaks) but I like to be
prepared for all eventualities.  A spare rudder cable isn't going to do much
good in the middle of an open crossing far from friendly shores.
  The paddle ended as the Skerray's bow slid onto the rocky shore and I
stepped gingerly out of the boat and dipped my wet-suited body into the lake
for my obligatory dip to check the clothing/temperature balance. I had
skipped that part of my pre-paddle routine because of the wedding goers - I
just thought that I would be too distracting to see the strange guy in the
kayak take a headfirst dive into the icy water!
  A wonderful and exhilarating paddle - a perfect spring day on the water in
a beautiful place that I'm fortunate enough to call home.

Dave Seng
Juneau, Alaska


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