Lesson 11 Ground Water and Glaciers

The Teal family is on a camping trip in a beautiful spot that is luscious and green in the mountains.  After some initial exploration they find they are camped in the remains of a piedmont glacier.  They could see an alpine glacier up higher in the mountains, so they decide on taking hike up the glacial trough to see if they could see more of the remains of the glacier. On the way up the mountain they have a blast crossing and playing in the braided streams and even found a kettle lake.  After few more hours of hiking they came to a glacial till and not too far off and they could hear the roar of the waterfall coming out of the hanging valley. They decide that would be great place for lunch and a bit of a rest. 

With rest time over, it's time to get to get moving again.  We continued up higher and soon came across the zone of wastage. We had to hike for a few miles to get to that point so they knew that the glacier had a negative glacial balance. With the higher temperatures in the area and the decreased snowfall that last couple of years, they were not surprised. As they climbed even higher we came across a few small  crevasses  and they could see the  snowline not much farther, so they knew they  wouldn't be able to get much higher with the equipment they had packed.  With one final look around at the majestic beauty, they noticed the arêtes and the horn projecting high above.  

Of course, the hike home is always easier than the way up, and just before nightfall they were back to camp enjoying a delicious dinner and retelling the stories of the adventure they had that day.  They are determined to return every year in hopes of finding new ways to explore this majestic glacier.