Axios: Life lessons among Alaska’s glaciers

Posted on September 11, 2026 by michelleclarke2015
 Life lessons among Alaska’s glaciers
 
Axios’ Amy Harder kayaking on Spencer Glacier lake, Alaska, in August 2026. That glacier might look close, but it’s nearly 2 miles away. Photo: Amy Harder/Axios

SPENCER GLACIER, Alaska — Sure, seeing is believing, but sometimes seeing leaves you in disbelief. That happened to me while kayaking among icebergs here recently, as the landscape transformed before my eyes, Amy Harder writes.

Why it matters: I began the kayaking excursion certain of what I was seeing. I ended it with my mind blown — by the sheer scale of nature and by how much perspectives can change.

🌊 State of play: The glacial lake here, not far from Anchorage, is accessible only by the Alaska Railroad train.

The glacier and lake looked rather small as we approached it on foot with our kayaks in tow. I felt a tinge of disappointment.

I figured the glacier was maybe a half-mile away, with dainty-looking icebergs in between us. Then our guide told us it was 2 miles away. No way, I said, as confident as ever.

“I’m fine being wrong,” the guide joked with equal parts politeness and sarcasm.

Once we got into the water and started paddling, my entire field of vision changed dramatically in an extreme manifestation of “motion parallax.” I soon realized how small I was, how big those icebergs were and how far away that glacier really was.

🏔️ How it works: “Motion parallax” is a common phenomenon we experience when moving. It’s why trees whiz past us while driving but mountains in the distance barely seem to move. Glacial landscapes can put this phenomenon — and our struggles to perceive depth and scale — on steroids.

From shore, nearly everything in my field of vision was enormous — mountains, ice, water — leaving me with few familiar visual cues to grasp just how big or far away anything really was.

When we started paddling, movement — and our kayaks themselves — gave my brain new information.

Despite paddling quite a ways, the glacier remained stubbornly distant, while those dainty-looking icebergs grew to the size of cars and small buildings.A seagull showing just how big this iceberg is on Spencer Glacier lake in Alaska, August 2026. Photo: Amy Harder/Axios

👀 The big picture: It was strangely empowering to be so wrong. I was confident in what I was seeing, and then my guide — and eventually my own eyes — showed me otherwise.

That sense of wonder has lingered, making me curious about what else I might be so sure about — and wrong about.

It was also a reminder that, from a distance, people and problems can look smaller, simpler and more obvious than they really are. Get closer, learn more and add context, and the picture can change dramatically.

The bottom line: Sometimes changing your mind isn’t a sign that you saw things wrong. It’s a sign that you’re finally seeing more. Share this story.
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About michelleclarke2015

Life event that changes all: Horse riding accident in Zimbabwe in 1993, a fractured skull et al including bipolar anxiety, chronic fatigue …. co-morbidities (Nietzche 'He who has the reason why can deal with any how' details my health history from 1993 to date). 17th 2017 August operation for breast cancer (no indications just an appointment came from BreastCheck through the Post). Trinity College Dublin Business Economics and Social Studies (but no degree) 1997-2003; UCD 1997/1998 night classes) essays, projects, writings. Trinity Horizon Programme 1997/98 (Centre for Women Studies Trinity College Dublin/St. Patrick's Foundation (Professor McKeon) EU Horizon funded: research study of 15 women (I was one of this group and it became the cornerstone of my journey to now 2017) over 9 mth period diagnosed with depression and their reintegration into society, with special emphasis on work, arts, further education; Notes from time at Trinity Horizon Project 1997/98; Articles written for Irishhealth.com 2003/2004; St Patricks Foundation monthly lecture notes for a specific period in time; Selection of Poetry including poems written by people I know; Quotations 1998-2017; other writings mainly with theme of social justice under the heading Citizen Journalism Ireland. Letters written to friends about life in Zimbabwe; Family history including Michael Comyn KC, my grandfather, my grandmother's family, the O'Donnellan ffrench Blake-Forsters; Moral wrong: An acrimonious divorce but the real injustice was the Catholic Church granting an annulment – you can read it and make your own judgment, I have mine. Topics I have written about include annual Brain Awareness week, Mashonaland Irish Associataion in Zimbabwe, Suicide (a life sentence to those left behind); Nostalgia: Tara Hill, Co. Meath.
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