Slims River Hiker
Kluane NP, Yukon, Canada
Walking up the broad empty glacial flats of Slims River. This river valley was traditionally the main drainage of the giant Kaskawulsh Glacier, but in recent years the glacier has retreated to the point where the melt water is now flowing out an entirely different drainage! Instead of flowing north 19 kilometres from the glacier's toe into Kluane Lake (and ultimately, the Bering Sea), that melt water is now draining eastward via the Kaskawulsh River towards the Pacific Ocean off the Alaska panhandle. (Source). So now Slim's River is more of just a meandering little creek that intermittently flows through a broad and barren glacial flood plain of sand and mud. As desolate as it looked, it made for some easy hiking on the endless sand and rock flats!