A short weekend

Just thought I'd give a quick update about a recent hike that we went on. A couple of weeks ago we finally got a weekend to ourselves and we decided that if the weather was going to be sunny we'd head on down to Seward and hike up Harding Ice field. So on Sunday after church, meetings, and dinner we decided to load up the 4runner and drive on down to Seward (it's a couple hours). Rather than make it a big deal we decided that we'd just sleep in the back to avoid pitching a tent.
By the time we arrived it was starting to get dark, but we found a little pull-out near exit glacier with the most spectacular view. As we got ready for bed we fired up the camp stove to make some delicious hot chocolate, which truly hit the spot.
After a restful nights sleep we arose to a beautifully clear and sunny day, we made a little breakfast, packed our day packs and drove the few miles to the trail head.
The hike is basically up a mountain that hikes the moraine of exit glacier up to the ice field and you gain about 4,000 feet in 4 miles, so it's a leg burner on the way up and a knee and ankle buster coming down.
About midway up we spotted a sow and two cubs eating berries just off the trial, we watched them for a few moments then continued on our way. We kept a nice steady pace all the way up and even through the precipice and had energy to hike down to the ice field to say we've touched it (in Kari's case stood on it). The view was spectacular and pulchritudinous. Oh what a place to live!