The Down Side

While everything in the last entry is true I didn't mention a defining part of my trip to Exit Glacier: the flies. I am not kidding when I say that I often had 100 plus visitors swarming me on my walk toward the glacier. They landed on every part of my body from my eyebrow to my big toe. Thankfully, they did not bite and they were slow enough that I could kill every one I aimed for but unfortunately there was an endless supply and they managed to irritate every part of me as I swatted at them. The only respite was when the wind picked up or the temperature dropped. It was in these moments that I formed my glorious opinions of the place (which says a lot for the place considering my irritation). I am especially thankful that they were deterred by the cold because it meant that I got to experience my up close moment with the glacier in peace. The promise of "no flies ahead" was what I told each person I passed going down, trying to inspire them to push on (since they couldn't always see the majestic glacier from the path). I can't imagine the purpose of so many flies in the ecosystem so I caution to guess that's why it was so easy to kill them.