I hiked by the Carbon Glacier 5 years ago on my way around the Wonderland Trail, and I’ve been meaning to head back to the glacier for a few years, so yesterday I finally did it. Weather was perfect and I got a nice early start. I biked 5 miles on the Carbon River road to Ipsut campground where the bike was locked up, and then I hiked 3.7 miles to the Carbon River suspension bridge with views of Carbon Glacier. I could have gone a bit further and gotten a better view of the glacier, but a bad headache said otherwise.
The Carbon Glacier is the lowest elevation glacier in the lower 48 states. The water flowing in the Carbon River is really high right now with warm temps and snowmelt. Every time I crossed a foot bridge I was thankful for our Park Service who maintains these every year. One bridge was brand new, and it would have been impossible to cross the river without it.
A long but excellent day, and overall I covered 17.4 miles, home by 1:30 in the afternoon!
