What glaciers and icebergs show us about life
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Axios' Amy Harder kayaking on Spencer Glacier lake, Alaska, in August 2026. That glacier might look close, but it's nearly 2 miles away. Photo: Amy Harder/Axios
SPENCER GLACIER, Alaska — Sure, seeing is believing, but sometimes seeing leaves you in disbelief. That happened to me while kayaking among icebergs here recently, as the landscape transformed before my eyes.
Why it matters: I began the excursion certain of what I was seeing. I ended it with my mind blown — by the sheer scale of nature and by how much perspectives can change.
State of play: The glacial lake here, not far from Anchorage as the crow flies, is accessible only by the Alaska Railroad train.
- The glacier and lake looked rather small as we approached it on foot with our kayaks in tow. I felt a tinge of disappointment.
- I figured the glacier was maybe a half-mile away, with dainty-looking icebergs in between us. Then our guide told us it was 2 miles away. No way, I said, as confident as ever.
"I'm fine being wrong," the guide joked with equal parts politeness and sarcasm. He used to teach ninth grade (and it showed — in a good way).
- Once we got into the water and started paddling, my entire field of vision changed dramatically in an extreme manifestation of "motion parallax." I soon realized how small I was, how big those icebergs were and how far away that glacier really was.
- So yes, he was right, and I was wrong.
How it works: "Motion parallax" is a common phenomenon we experience when moving. It's why trees whiz past us while driving but mountains in the distance barely seem to move. Glacial landscapes can put this phenomenon — and our struggles to perceive depth and scale — on steroids.
- From shore, nearly everything in my field of vision was enormous — mountains, ice, water — leaving me with few familiar visual cues to grasp just how big or far away anything really was. Trying to show you, dear reader, the visual tricks the setting was playing on me is difficult even with photos!
When we started paddling, movement — and our kayaks themselves — gave my brain new information.
- Despite paddling quite a ways, the glacier remained stubbornly distant, while those dainty-looking icebergs grew to the size of cars and small buildings.
The big picture: It was strangely empowering to be so wrong. I was confident in what I was seeing, and then my guide — and eventually my own eyes — showed me otherwise.
- That sense of wonder has lingered, making me curious about what else I might be so sure about — and wrong about.
- It was also a reminder that, from a distance, people and problems can look smaller, simpler and more obvious than they really are. Get closer, learn more and add context, and the picture can change dramatically.
The bottom line: Sometimes changing your mind isn't a sign that you saw things wrong. It's a sign that you're finally seeing more.
