Daniel Glacier in 1977

My interest in posting this picture was piqued by this photo submitted by hkutuk. Note Haydar's caption, which begins: "Almost melted out Daniel glacier...". So I went looking for my photos of the Daniel Glacier taken on my first trip to the Robin Lakes back in 1977. Bear in mind that the summer of '77 was VERY hot in the Pacific Northwest, and what's more it followed the all-time driest winter on record. It was even dryer than the famously precipitation-free winter of 2004-2005. The three weeks prior to this trip had seen 100°F or higher temperatures east of the Cascades, with temps in the 90s and low 100s west of the mountains as well. There was little snow to melt after the winter, and it was already long gone by early August. With no cold water to slow the warming of the water, and with the high heat on both sides of the mountains, Tuck Lake was very warm and comfortable for swimming. With that context in mind, compare the Daniel Glacier in this photo vs. Haydar's photo. Amazing! BTW, that's yours truly 29 years ago at age 30, when I was still primarily a backpacker. Photo by Eric Schauer.