Wrangell-St. Elias National Park

June-July 2021

About a decade ago I visited Glacier National Park in Montana, but didn’t see any glacier at all! As you may already know, most glaciers are shrinking or melting away altogether due to global warming. Nonetheless, there are still many glaciers spanning across different national parks in Alaska, such as Denali National Park, Kenai Fords National Park, and Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. After I returned from the Root Glacier in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, the hotel clerk asked me, “Is it still there?” I replied, “Yes” and she expressed relief at my positive answer. You might wonder why she worried so much, but this was a legitimate concern. According to a study published in 2019, Alaskan glaciers are melting 100 times faster than previously predicted. Therefore, I decided to visit Alaska before the situation gets worse.