by Leyla Santiago
Wednesday, August 5, 2009

BEARR GLACIER, Alaska -- A kayak can take you to many of Alaska's most breathtaking landscapes.

Bear Glacier is a more costly trip, but a rare glimpse of a massive glacier in Kenai Fjords National Park.

It'll take a fancy lift in a helicopter to get to Bear Glacier -- about a 10-minute ride in the sky alongside the rugged mountains of Seward.

As we get closer to our destination we find some eagles also taking flight. And once we land Mother Nature reveals even more of her beauty with a lake and lagoon.

We're in Bear Glacier Lagoon when we cross our first iceberg.

Luke Wills of Adventure 60 North is our guide for this daytrip.

He's spent the summer kayaking these waters.

"It's very tranquil," he said. "It's very quiet. You can carve in and out of small bays and coves, and around these bergs and it's really, really still."

But this can become a very dramatic scene.    

"One little ice drop or water drop can change the whole dynamic of it," Wills said. "It'll shift, it'll split, it'll roll -- it can be very violent out here as well."

And among the icebergs are the creatures that call it home, including seals.

But these are the sights and sound of the journey to the largest glacier of the Kenai Fjords.

"This is the face of Bear Glacier," Wills said. "Where it comes down and you can see it reaches the water and the lagoon that it creates."

Even on a cloudy day, the glacier shines. The ridge and peaks of ice seem to stretch for miles beyond view.  

Contact Leyla Santiago at lsantiago@ktuu.com