Wrangell-St. Elias National Park

June-July 2021

There are different ways to view glaciers: by land, sea, and air. Hiking is the least expensive mode but there is a risk that you might encounter a bear. As a precautionary measure, I carried a bottle of bear spray while hiking. Viewing a glacier on a ferry or a cruise ship is the easiest way, but you can only access to the glaciers near the sea. Nevertheless, there is a bonus: Along the sea route there are many opportunities to see whales, otters, and sea lions. If you want to cover a large area within a short period of time and photograph glaciers from a bird-eye perspective, flying is the best option. However, the flight could be bumpy, depending on the weather condition. When I took an air tour over Denali National Park, the plane was so shaky that my right eye collided with my camera, resulting in heavy bleeding.