Reed Lakes to Bomber Glacier
Turning back for a look at the first 2 miles of trail and the Mat-su Valley (where we live) beyond.
Bomber Glacier has been on our Alaska Bucket List for the past couple of years and this summer we finally tackled it. The hike begins with one of our favorite trails – Reed Lakes Trail – in Hatcher’s Pass State Recreational Area in Palmer. The trailhead is accessible from the parking lot at the end of Archangel Road (a right turn onto a fairly well maintained dirt road from the main road through the park, about halfway up the hill after you make the hairpin left turn at Goldmint Trail). This trail eases you in gently with a flat 2 miles along the river. After passing some old mine ruins, the trail begins to climb, following switchbacks up to the first boulder field. One thing I love about this hike is that the views are good all along and pausing to look back down the valley is a great excuse to take a rest. Once you hit the boulder field it’s somewhat of a scramble, but often you can see the most well traveled path by the dust trail left on the rocks. Follow that and you’ll do just fine, but don’t be afraid to make your own way if you like. The cold, clear water runs calm and shallow under your feet. The banks of the crystal clear shallow pools just beyond the boulder field is a favorite picnic site of ours, and is often where we stop for a snack and some ice cold filtered mountain water. After that it’s another gradual climb through the tundra to Lower Reed Lake – a beautiful turquoise pool that invites many a trekker to pitch a tent and stay the night.
At this point - Lower Reed Lake - you're about 3.5 miles in and at a lovely stopping point if you wish to camp, watch the rock climbers who often spend the day scaling the wall on the far side of the lake, or turn back for the day. If you continue another mile or so and make the climb up alongside the waterfall, you'll find Upper Reed Lake. The upper lake is quite similar in appearance to the lower with the same cold, clear, turquoise water. And it appears that the trail ends here. But if you have time, snacks, courage, and a willingness to scramble you're in for a real treat.
From Upper Reed Lake there is a narrow trail that winds along the left shore of the lake to the far end where the real challenge begins. Here it becomes a scramble, up about 1000 feet over rocks large and small with no trail to show you the way. Just keep your eye on the destination, put one foot in front of the other, and keep on keeping on. Again, the views behind you are always a good excuse to stop and rest for a moment.
Then, finally, the summit. And what a stunner it is.
Pause. Enjoy it. Soak up the endorphins from the idea that you got here on your own two feet. You've earned this view, as unreal as it seems.
And then take a deep breath, turn around, because you're not done yet. There's more left to do.
Views from the top. The trail follows the valley you see from the upper left corner to the center of the photo.
The descent down the backside of the ridge line is a steep one. Fortunately there is a rope anchored there to serve as a helping hand down to the glacier. Once on the ice you can make your way carefully out to the crash site of the Alaskan B29 Superfortress, which in 1957 got lost in a storm and saw the deaths of 6 of its 10 crew members. Tread carefully. This is a glacier. I recommend having some sort of grippers on your boots - whether Yaktrax or full-on spikes. We also had trekking poles which were helpful, but it was still a pretty nerve wracking journey. If you are not comfortable on a glacier I would recommend skipping this part and appreciate the crash site from a distance - you can see it from the ridge line, though not in detail. Honestly, if I were to do this trip again, I would turn back at the ridge line above Upper Reed Lake. I had a bit of a panic attack meltdown at one point which I do not wish to relive, though I wasn't in any real danger. That being said, several people were out on the glacier that day and did just fine, as have many many people every year. If you do make the trek out to the plane ruins, just be aware of your surroundings, make responsible decisions, and if possible follow in the footprints of someone who has successfully gone before you.
The first photo below is a view of the glacier from the ridge line, simply turning around from the photo above. The crash site is the clump of gray spots in the middle of the glacier, directly up from the rock in the right foreground of the photo.
We opted for an out and back trip and followed the same trail home that we had taken in. All in all we hiked 13 miles in 10.5 hours. Finally taking my boots off at the end of the day and stepping into a hot shower was sublime. If you're looking for a full weekend endeavor, there is also the option of the Bomber Traverse, which takes Reed Lakes Trail to the Bomber Glacier, and then continues on to Goldmint Trail, coming out through the next valley over. There are a couple of mountaineering huts along the way where you can roll out your sleeping bag and share stories with other travelers over a cup of steaming coffee. See the Mountaineering Club of Alaska's website for more information on the huts' exact locations, amenities, and availability (mtnclubak.org).
Here's to facing your fears, powering through, accomplishing something you can be proud of, and enjoying views you can only get from "foot work" with your favorite people.