As usual -- click on the small image to get a bigger and better image.
The glacier isn't accessible by road -- you have to drive nearly
to the end of the windy, steep "county road 275" (exit 238 on I-70),
and then hike 3/4 mile to the glacier. The sign says "Use extreme caution
on the glacier. Injuries and fatalities occur each year."
The path up to the glacier is pretty challenging, with packed snow, ice, and
rocks. (The rocks aren't hard to hike on; they're just there to make
absolutely sure you get a concussion if you slip on the snow or ice.)
The path is uphill, and in the thin air of the 10,000+ feet elevation,
it's easy to get out of breath.
A view towards the end of the path, looking back.
The glacier, from a distance. The glacier is above the timberline, meaning that
no trees can grow at this high of an elevation. There was another sign here
posted by the U.S. Forest Service warning that this is not a "developed recreation area"
so hazards are not posted, it's very far from telephones and emergency
assistance, and people die here all the time.
A mountain adjacent to the glacier.
More scenery.
At the foot of the glacier is a small lake, which was frozen over.
People who didn't value life very much would occasionally try to
walk across the lake.
Closer to the glacier...
There were a fair number of people out at the glacier with skis, snowboards,
and tubes flinging themselves down the glacier. This is extremely dangerous,
since there are lots of big rocks everywhere. Families were there, and
unloving parents were sending their little kids sliding down the glacier.
I proceeded to climb up the rocks adjacent to the glacier. About halfway up,
I stopped for lunch (I had packed PB&J sandwiches), and took this picture
looking back on the lake and the distant mountains.
This is a pretty good picture of the sunlight reflecting off of the
glacier surface.
Near the top of the glacier...
Rocks and ice.
On the way back down, I took this picture of another angle over the mountains.