That stuff that sank the Titanic? You can get revenge by putting it in your cocktail. Not only is it an adventure to fetch this glacier ice, it actually keeps your drink cold longer than normal ice because it doesn’t melt as quickly. Admire your beautiful amber-colored whiskey as a hunk of blue iceberg floats in it, the reward at the end of your packrafting experience at Tutka Bay Lodge in Homer, Alaska. Since you sail out in the coldest of water to get the ice, it's a little more involved than standing at the fridge and pressing your glass against the ice maker.
You’ll start at Grewingk Glacier Lake at Kachemak Bay State Park, Alaska’s first state park, with a 40-minute boat ride from the lodge. You’ll pass Gull Island, where puffins and other shorebirds can be seen seasonally. You can also catch sight of humpback whales. Because Alaska has some of the biggest tides in the world, it can be tricky to land on the beach in front of the trailhead. An hour-long hike takes you past more wildlife (bears!) and involves using a hand-operated tram over a rushing creek—as in, you sit in a small metal tram and use your hands to pull yourself over the river on a wire.
Next, you pump up your packraft (a portable, inflatable boat that can fit in your backpack, hence the name) and embark into the water. Try not to roll the craft because this is icy water, literally. You’ll be paddling among icebergs and pieces of calved ice from the glacier, from which you’ll chip off a little bit of ice to put in insulated containers for later. You can make your way right up to the “toe” of the glacier—its endpoint, also called the glacier snout for dog lovers. You’ll have lunch on the lakeshore around a campfire, while learning about the receding glacier. (A quick online search reveals that since 1950, it has retreated an upsetting 1.6 miles. Since it’s only 13 miles long, this glacier would seem to have a finite lifespan). And finally, you’ll be able to chip off a little bit of ice that has split off from the glacier at the shoreline to put in insulated containers for later.
Then back at the lodge, specialty cocktails are on the menu, such as the “The Grewingk," an amplified gin and tonic named for the glacier, which includes wild blueberries, mint... and its own ice. Very meta!
A bit of trivia: why does some ice appear blue? Because it’s so compressed and dense that there are no air bubbles. Air bubbles are what make ice look white.