Visitors grab rare chance to see one of nature's most incredible sights at Apostle Islands in the US
Erno Hettinger stood atop a vast field of ice on Lake Superior in the U.S., hunched his back against the wind and gazed at the fantastic walls of icicles hanging from the cliffs. "Beautiful," he whispered. "This must be seen."
The 66-year-old Hungarian, who was in the U.S. for a three-month engineering job, had flown to Minneapolis from New Jersey, driven a rental car across icy highways and then hiked more than a kilometer over snow because he wanted to view the fleeting natural wonder in person. Tens of thousands of others did, too — eagerly grabbing the chance to see this spectacular sight before officials were forced to close access to the lake on March 16.
After news spread that the ice-draped caves and cliffs were accessible for the first time in five years, throngs of tourists made the trip onto the lake to see Apostle Islands National Lakeshore's mainland caves. More than 138,000 people flocked to the spot after Jan. 15, when park officials deemed the lake's ice low-risk for visitors.
A quick and deep winter freeze made formations in the caves especially intricate and spectacular, officials said, but locals thank news coverage and social media for spreading the word. "It just never ceased," remarked Bob Krumenaker, the parks' superintendent, about the crowds of visitors.
Among those who came were Colleen and Donald Rost-Banik. After moving to Minneapolis from Hawaii in September, the couple decided to embrace winter by trekking to the caves. They left awe-struck. "It was absolutely breathtaking," Donald said. "The icicles that were hanging down, they looked like chandeliers," Colleen said.
The influx meant workers at the national park had to work long hours and call in extra help. This year's ice cave crowd was over 10 times larger than the busiest previous winter with accessible ice caves, which drew 12,000 people.
At the entrance to the trailhead, officials had to set up an incident command center to respond with snowmobiles to calls for help, typically about a dozen a day on weekends for everything ranging from bumped heads and twisted ankles to broken bones. Workers smiled as they directed visitors down a snow-covered staircase toward the lake and caves. Crowds were respectful and friendly, they said. "This was one of those rare events when everybody was happy," Krumenaker said.
Tom Grabarek visited the caves with his family and was stunned by the crowds. People came on skis and snowshoes, they pulled sleds with children and put boots on tiny dogs to make the trek, he noted.
Although officials have now closed access to the caves, local businesses feel extremely grateful to have had this ice cave bonanza. This has not always been the case. Last year, for example, park officials were ready to open the ice to hikers in early February, Krumenaker said. They typed up a news release and prepared to send it out the next morning. But overnight, the ice broke up, likely because of winds making waves somewhere else on the lake, he said.
"There's a saying around here, which is very apt, which is 'the lake is the boss,'" Krumenaker said. They kept the access open as long as the lake allowed, he noted. Now that this record-breaking season has finally ended, "we're going to need to sleep for a week."
遊客把握觀看美國使徒群島大自然最不可思議景觀之一的難得機會
厄諾海廷傑站在美國蘇必略湖的廣闊冰原之上，他弓著背頂著風，凝視著垂掛在懸崖上的夢幻般冰柱牆。他低聲說道：「好美，這景觀不容錯過。」
這位六十六歲的匈牙利人，來到美國從事為期三個月的工程工作，他從新澤西飛抵明尼亞波利斯，開著出租車橫越冰封的公路，然後在雪中徒步走了超過一公里，就因為他想親眼看看這稍縱即逝的自然奇觀。而其他數以萬計的人也是如此，在公園管理人員被迫於三月十六日禁止遊客進入參觀之前，好好把握欣賞這片壯觀景色的機會。
自從消息傳出，這些冰簾洞穴和峭壁五年來首次可以進入觀賞時，大批遊客便成群結隊來到這座湖，欣賞使徒群島國家湖岸公園的內陸洞穴。一月十五日，公園管理人員認為湖冰對觀光客來說風險較低，自那天起就有超過十三萬八千名的遊客湧入該地。
公園管理人員表示，快速且極度的冬季冰凍現象，讓洞穴結構形成了特殊的複雜精細與壯觀景象，但當地人將消息的散播歸功於新聞報導和社群媒體。該公園管理人鮑伯克魯曼納柯表示，來訪的遊客「絡繹不絕」。
柯琳與唐諾羅斯特班尼克兩人是這其中的到訪遊客。這對夫婦自去年九月從夏威夷搬遷至明尼亞波利斯之後，就決定跋涉前往洞穴，以擁抱冬天的到來。他們帶著肅然起敬的感受離開。唐諾羅斯特班尼克表示：「這景色實在美得驚人。」柯琳則指出：「這些垂掛而下的冰柱，看起來就像是吊燈一般。」
遊客的湧入意味著國家公園的工作人員必須加長工時，並請求額外支援。今年的冰洞遊客人數，已是前一次冰洞可供參觀時的十倍之多，那個最繁忙的冬季共吸引了一萬兩千人來訪。
公園管理人員被迫在小徑入口處設立了事件指揮中心，使用雪車前去處理遊客的各種求助，週末時一天約莫會有十幾件的求助事件，像是撞到頭、扭到腳踝，或是骨折等。工作人員微笑指引著遊客走下被雪覆蓋的樓梯，前往大湖和洞穴。他們表示，遊客都表現得互相尊重且彼此友好。克魯曼納柯表示：「這是那種讓每個人都開心的難得情況之一。」
湯姆葛巴瑞克與家人一同前往參觀冰洞，而來訪的遊客讓他大吃一驚。他指出，人們穿著滑雪板和雪鞋前來，他們拉著雪橇載著孩子，並幫小狗穿上靴子，以進行跋涉。
雖然公園管理人員現在已關閉進入冰洞參觀的許可，但當地商家非常感激冰洞觀光所帶來的財富。情況並非向來就如此。克魯曼納柯表示，例如公園管理人員在去年時，就已準備於二月初開放冰洞給遊客參觀。他們撰寫了一份新聞稿，並準備在隔天早上送出。但他指出，就在一夜之間，湖冰破裂了，可能是因風在湖上別處所形成的浪所造成。
克魯曼納柯表示：「我們這裡有一句非常貼切的說法，那就是『大湖是老大』。」他指出，他們會在大湖的狀況容許之下繼續保持開放。然而現在這個破紀錄的季節終於結束了，「我們將需要補眠整整一週。」
全通翻譯引用 http://chinapost.com.tw/guidepost/topics/default.asp?id=4275&sub=7
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