The plants of the Kenai Fjords are a hardy lot. Which deserves more acclaim? The harebell surviving on a rock island surrounded by ice and covered in snow 8 of 12 months a year; or the dwarf fireweed able to set up camp within 20 yards of the glacier, blown in as a seed to conquer a land of gravel and silt. These two are among the many species that struggle to survive in a harsh landscape dominated by rock and ice. Glacial recession offers us a perfect laboratory to discover how plants reclaim an area and create forest floor from rock.