12 Mile & Valdez Glacier

6/15/2009 12:30pm - 3:00 pm
Sunny with a temperature around 65 at 12 mile. The temperature was 55-60 with a light breeze at the glacier.

Plants:
Black Cottonwood
Sitka Alder
Sitka Spruce
Broomrape Ground Cone
False Pixie Cup
Lichens
Willow
Elegant Goldenrod
Mountain Sagewart
Northern Yarrow
Eskimo Potato (Bear Root)
Arctic Willow
Dwarf Fireweed
Red Fescue
Insects:
Mosquito
Bee
Fly
Convergent Lady Beetle
Birds:
Immature Eagle
Tundra Swan with fledglings.
Bird chirping.
Mammals:
Humans left trash.
Canine feces.
Black bear cub.


Yesterday was a beautiful day to be out. Our first stop was at a trail just off the road at 12 mile. The first thing I noticed was the canine feces that I almost stepped in. The feces were from both wild & domestic canines. The ground was dry & rocky, with a lot of lichens. There were also a lot of cottonwood, Sitka Alders, Sitka Spruce and Willow along the path. Did you know that Alaska has 27 different species of willow? Alaska also has 25 spices of mosquito. The mosquitoes were out in full force yesterday. Surprisingly I didn't get bit.

On the drive from 12 mile to Valdez Glacier we saw a Tundra Swan with fledglings in a pond. As we were arriving at the glacier I spotted a immature bald eagle flying over us. The water from the glacier is gray and cloudy. This is caused by glacial silt, which is formed as the glacier moves over rocks breaking them down. You could think of it as rock dust. We found the same plants growing near the glacier as at 12 mile. This is due to the similarities between the two areas. They both have very rocky, thin soil. The rocks were left by glaciers as the moved along the ground. It's amazing that so many plants thrive on rock! These are also moist areas and the plants we found do well in a moist environment. The plants we identified also like low to middle elevations, which is another reason we found the same plants at both places.

This was an enjoyable trip. The best part for me happened as we were leaving the glacier. As we drove past the shooting range one of my classmates spotted a black bear cub. We backed the van up to get a look at the cub. Staying in the van, we watched the cub for a moment as he/she tried to get into the dumpster. We did not see mama bear, but know she was close. Mother bears are extremely protective of their cubs, just because you don't see her with the cub does not mean she does not see you.