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Mendenhall
Glacier
Every Juneau visitor sees the
famed glacier, and for good reason... it's beautiful; it's immense.
It towers at the heart of Mendenhall Valley above its namesake lake
only fifteen miles from the city. Although it's receded over a mile
since 1950, this twelve-mile glacier extends high up to Juneau Ice
Field, the fifth largest in the Americas. The ice field covers 3,900
sq. km. and issues over 100 glaciers, including Mendenhall and the
largest, Taku, still expanding with a depth of 1,300 meters. |
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Mendenhall Glacier |
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We spent three days exploring
Mendenhall Glacier, entranced by its grandeur. One day we kayaked
2-1/2 miles from the southeastern edge of the lake to within 100
meters of its face. We floated for an hour admiring its fissures,
changing hues and large floes before the return paddle. On another
day we hiked 7-mile West Glacier trail to look down upon the glacier
and up into the ice field. The trail provided unique isolated views.
We met but three other hikers. The third day we hiked East Glacier
trail crowded with cruise ship tourists, but providing constantly
overpowering scenes and roaring Nugget Creek Falls. At the worthwhile
and nearby visitor center we learned about the glacier's formation,
recent history and surrounding wildlife.
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Kayak Ready for Mendenhall Lake Paddle to Glacier |
Rainforest
Hikes
You can't drive to Juneau. Its
roads extend north only 40 miles to Point Bridget, northeast 15 miles
to Mendenhall and west for a few miles into Douglas Island. But this
tiny isolated network of roads leads to many interesting hiking
trails that climb surrounding peaks or follow valleys to secluded
lakes. Rent a car and you have access to this
great resource. Hikers on these rain forest trails often have them
totally to themselves.
One day we drove to road's end and
hiked the rain forest at Point Bridget. The trail went through
several kilometers of bog lowland called muskeg. Plank-board and good
hiking boots aided us in maneuvering and we viewed a complex
environment of pines, lichens, sphagnum moss, and yellow-flowering
skunk cabbage. We spotted many sparrows, swallows, and red-breasted
sapsuckers. The surrounding trees changed to large Sitka spruce as
the trail ascended out of the bog. The highlight of our trek was
meeting a friendly snacking marmot who seemed to encourage our close
picture-taking.
On another day we hiked along the
Herbert River crossing a bridge onto one of its large islands, then
crossing back further upriver towards Waterfall Lake. Snow-covered
peaks rose above nearby Herbert Glacier. The well-maintained trail
offered plank-board assistance as we passed through a muskeg region
with the largest skunk cabbage collection. The serene lake shore
provided a welcome picnic spot after the pleasant three-mile trek.
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Point Bridget Trail Scene |
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Marmot |
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Joys
of Juneau
Juneau receives 1,000,000 visitors
per year via cruise ships, staying just a few hours, and about
100,000 annual visitors who come via ferry or plane and stay a while.
Keeping these figures in mind we devised an interesting tour of the
town that wound up into the old miner's district and hit all the
major sites. Several pedestrian stairways came in handy. We started
at the Alaska state museum before any of the cruise ships had landed.
The museum's eight rooms of historical and nature displays oriented
us well to both Alaska and Juneau via an enjoyable 30-minute visit.
During our two-mile circumnavigation of the town we often admired the
surrounding 3,000-4,000-foot snow-covered peaks, waterfalls, and
Gastineau Channel. The town highlight was St. Nicholas Russian
Orthodox Church on 5th Street. Built in 1897 by converted Tlingit
natives, it is still in use as a religious site and proudly displays
its unique octagonal shape. Another interesting location was the
Kennedy Street Mine Workers' Houses, built in the early 1900s.
There are three major major coffee
shops in central Juneau, all with an obviously contented group of
regulars. Our favorite was Heritage 2nd Street Cafe with good coffee,
gelato and other treats. For breakfast the Sandpiper Cafe on
Willoughby St. gets the most regulars, and there we chose an
unforgettable version of French toast. For beer or cocktail hour the
biggest tourist draw is the historic Red Dog Saloon. We immersed
ourselves in the fun but crowded scene for a while. Our favorite
dinner establishment was two miles across the channel from Juneau in
Douglas. The Island Pub, with great pizza and views back to the
capitol sported bald eagles flying by and seemingly checking out the
clientele. | | 
Juneau Across Gastineau Channel | 
Juneau Street Scene |
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