After our leisurely trip down the Alsek from Lava Campground, we had anticipated arriving at our next camp on the terminal moraine of Lowell Glacier relatively early. Alas, on approaching Lowell Lake, the winds came up…

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The guides tried to oar to our campsite two-thirds of the way down the lake, but oaring was futile. Royce and Tyler pulled their rafts across the ice cold lake, heroic efforts which won the admiration of everyone. Whitey pulled up near the shore, asked us to disembark and lined the loaded raft (without passengers) to the campsite. It was 7:00 p.m. (who keeps track of time on the Alsek?) when we arrived, and it took us two hours to set up camp in the high winds. By dinner time, we were exhausted but happy that we had all risen to the challenge.

We had a lay-over day the next day which enabled some to climb Goatherd Mountain behind the camp and the rest of us to enjoy the vistas. The pictures speak for themselves: a magnificent place. We had an early rise the next day so that we could raft by the icebergs and leave the lake without any wind.

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