Holy Cripe,
Ive been gone showing mom the sights since I posted, now im 5 pages behind on my own post!
Ok, this glacier has receded a 1/4 mile since I last saw it(20years ago). So, the exposed ice is pretty much from the core of the glacier. If I had had a chain saw I would have gone deeper, but this is still nice blue glacier ice. The park ranger who has been on the job there for over a decade based its age on the data she had available to her.
I filled a 70qt Coleman extreme to about 95%, plus gaps. There was alot of ice shard that I used to fill in and get as much as we could in the cooler. I dont know what it weighed, but it must have been 50 pounds at least. The glacial ice is much more dense then regular, and the ranger said I would get more water then I expected. I was going to go for a 2nd cooler full, but between my mom getting impatient, and me not wanting to drop dead of a heart attack, I took what I got and thanked the Creator I got it and was still alive to use it.
It was in the low 80s up there so we were cookin as well.
Update: I have the cooler outside, with a wooden yardstick on edge holding the lid partial open. Its slowly melting, and though the cooler looks to be at least 70% full of ice still, I have 2.5 gallons melted and dripped through a coffee filter into a carboy. The filter is for surface dirt you just couldnt avoid.
Once I have it melted, I will size a batch to the available water. Im really thinking at this point of one of my all time favorites, the Orange Cascade. Ive never done wrong with that. The idea of glacier hops is a novel one as well. Im also thinking if this works out, rucksacks the next time. Rubber lined military. You could get alot out and it melts real slow, and then you could make multiple trips for more ice. Carrying a full extreme down a rocky face mtn base from where the glacier was, was a feat to witness.
I will post again to let you all know the progress Im getting melting this ice down. Its amazing how much water it is putting out. Ill re read the thread again in case I missed any questions, and try to post answers if there is one.
To be continued.....