The Joy of The Glacier
Today we went Glacier Hiking at Franz Josef Glacier! But first some interesting facts:
· It takes 50 years for the Glacier to move from the top of the mountain 8 miles down to the bottom
· This glacier is one of the 3 in the world that ends in a semi-tropical rainforest!
· Unlike the majority of the world’s glaciers, the Franz Josef Glacier is not regressing due to Global Warming.
Andrew and I got our gear, added spikes to our boots and followed a guide into the Glacier. It was a 6 hour hike all the way to Glacier. To walk on the glacier you need to make sure your spikes are dug into the ice-toes going up, heels coming down. The guide had to stop every few feet to chip away at the ice and cut for us some steps. Our guide was a skinny little dude who could cut a step in less than 30 seconds! I thought he was a native of New Zealand, but was surprised to discover he was from a country that had no snow- Malaysia!
Once we got to the glacier we had to be extra careful to not fall into a crevice. Walking on a living glacier was quite the experience. The colors of the ice, the formations of the melting ice was a feast for our senses.
What was striking about this whole experience was the feeling of the “ying-yang”. The contrasts of the opposites. The clash of the “differences.” The ice was freezing cold, yet were in a sub-tropical rainforest! The blue ice was a colorful contrast to the green jungle foliage all around us. The white ice looked “dead” yet it was really alive, moving a few inches each day on a journey that came to life when it melted into the fast flowing cold river..and the circle of life continues! Immortality of nature in its purest form.
