Worthington Glacier

Near Mile 33 of the Edgerton Highway, you come around a bend, unsuspecting, and the Worthington Glacier looms into view, its three fingers creeping out of Girls Mountain like a grotesque hand in a horror movie. In another few miles is the turnoff to this state recreation site, on a short road that leads to the overlook parking lot.

There’s no established campground here, but a small visitors center is staffed by State Parks folks in the summer. Trails cover the short distance to the glacier, and a one-mile path climbs the lateral moraine for even more dramatic vistas.

Topping Out

A mere three miles down (or more accurately, up) the road from Worthington Glacier is Thompson Pass (2,771 feet). A long row of serrated peaks, like a cosmic crosscut saw with only a few dull or missing teeth, lines the high horizon.

Blueberry and Summit Lakes are accessible by a loop road about a mile on the Valdez side of the pass; the small campground at Blueberry is beautiful, but it’s exposed, especially if Thompson Pass is in the process of maintaining its record-setting precipitation levels.

Confirming that this is one of the snowiest spots on earth are 15-foot-tall right-angle orange poles that show snowplow drivers the edge of the road.

Thompson Pass Mountain Chalet (907/835-4817, www.thompsonpass.com, $140 d, $10 for each additional guest) is a rustic cabin at Mile 19 with space for four people, a private bath, a kitchenette, and a continental breakfast basket. The owners live in a nearby cabin and guide summertime hikes and wintertime backcountry ski adventures.

© Don Pitcher from Moon Alaska, 10th Edition