The Harding Icefield, located in Kenai Fjords National Park, is an 8^th wonder of the world for adventurers, considering that it is the largest icefield wholly contained within the United States. It sits atop Exit Glacier and stretches for 700 square miles.

The stunning vistas and the thrill of reaching the breathtaking peak make the Harding Icefield a worthy hike for any ambitious traveller looking for the next adventure to conquer.

We hiked the Harding Icefield in September last year, with a group of bold globetrotters who like living on the edge, and the experience was incredible.

Starting on the Valley floor, the trail winds through cottonwood and alder forests. You pass through heather-filled meadows and ultimately climb well above tree line to reach a captivating view of the amazing Icefield.

The top of the trail can simply be described as a window to past ice ages, a scope of ice and snow stretching as far as your vision can see, broken only by an occasional lonely peak. Quite a sight to behold.

The trail is quite strenuous; getting to the top is not easy but very rewarding if you push through. With every mile, you gain around 1000 feet of elevation.

Give yourself 6 to 8 hours to finish the hike; the National Park Service recommends that range to climb to the top. Even though the view from the top is worth the effort of climbing, you don’t have to hike to the top to start enjoying the beauty of this trail. A short hike up the trail gives impressive views of the valley floor and Exit Glacier’s terminus. It keeps rewarding your efforts with spectacular views as you move up a leg up.

This was good because we were relatively slow on this particular day; one of our crew members was recovering from a severe muscle ache from an intense power yoga class a day before. Time, sore legs, and patience are thus among the three things you need to enjoy this hike, apart from other essentials I shall enlist here.

The trail is well maintained, with plenty of switchbacks along the path to limit the steep segments, you have to be a bit physically fit to make it up to the top. If you are with a group, it is motivating.

The trail weaves through a bushy terrain, gaining elevation steadily while amazing views open up periodically; you’ll wind through the forest, then through a beautiful tundra meadow, and lastly, rocky terrain as you occasionally see wildlife.

Since we were moving a bit slowly, we could take in all the views and wildlife we came across. About four miles into our hike, we spotted three figures in the distance, strutting and playing with the snow. It was a family of black bears, but they were far. A bear sighting is very fascinating. Grizzly bears and black bears are one of my favourite wildlife to capture on camera.

It is common to come across black bears, brown bears, marmots, rare species of birds, and mountain goats along the way to the top. We could spot a marmot across a hill near us.

If completing the trail seems beyond your willpower, there are equally amazing viewpoints just a couple of miles into the hike that offer a great view of Exit Glacier and a partial view of the icefield. However, the cream of the crop is always at the top, so for us, we decided to soldier on to the peak.

From the Marmot Meadows, which is about 1.4 miles into the hike, all the way to the top of the cliff is a rewarding experience since there are no trees along the way. The stretch is just clear and completely fetching.

You get a glimpse of the icefield along with huge mountains surrounding the area.

The trail keeps an unrelenting uphill stature the entire way. When it meandered, it gives us a stunning view of the glacier, as we seat among wildflowers and just stare in awe. At this point, you don’t think the view can get any better, but it does.

As the trail comes to an end, it becomes steeper; the grass began to fade out to the sides, revealing more of the granite rock a glacier is known to leave behind. The view ahead changes significantly, and there is a white, smooth snow broken up by a crevasse -with mountain peaks sticking out of its top.

When you arrive at the end of the trail, you find plenty of other groups there. Despite the difficulty of the hike, it is a popular and rewarding experience.

To get the most out of the Harding Icefield, you can enjoy the hike by day and camp overnight since there is no parking fee and camping is free. You shall find a free tent only campground close to the Exit Glacier Nature Center. Take advantage of it.