The long fade of Alaska’s largest glacier

While paddling a glacial lake complete with icebergs and milky blue water, I dipped my left hand, then tasted my fingers.

Salty.

That was a surprise to me, thirsty there on the edge of the colossal disc of Malaspina Glacier. I was traveling with two friends, mostly on foot.

We had inflated packrafts to avoid a foot crossing of a thunderous stream outlet from the lake to the ocean. The salty water made it evident that the nearby Gulf of Alaska spills into the lake, at least at high tide and during storms.

We were floating on what scientists have named Sitkagi Lagoon. The placid body of water bordered by ice cliffs is one of many ever-growing lakes pocking the surface of Malaspina Glacier.

Someday, the power of warmish salt water will transform Alaska’s largest glacier into a blue blotc