Day Seven –Juneau, Alaska – September 7, 2009 - Part One

Juneau is the capital city of Alaska and where our favorite person of all time lives: Sarah Palin!

NOT!

Let’s try this again.Juneau is the capital city of Alaska. And while I was walking around Juneau, I couldn’t see Russia in any direction! I really tried. I really did. I asked everyone around if they could see Russia and they couldn’t either. So I have no idea what that woman was smoking when she said she could see Russia from her back yard! And we saw her back yard!

Ok, let’s get serious now.

Juneau is the capital city of Alaska. Located on the Gastineau Channel in the panhandle of Alaska. The area of Juneau is larger than that of Rhode Island and Delaware individually and almost as large as the two states combined. Downtown Juneau sits at sea level, with tides averaging 16 to 18 feet, below steep mountains about 3,500 to 4,000 feet high. Atop these mountains is the Juneau Ice field, a large ice mass from which about 30 glaciers flow; two of these, the Mendenhall Glacier and the Lemon Creek Glacier, are visible from the local road system; the Mendenhall glacier has been generally retreating; its front face is declining both in width and height.

The ship docked in Juneau at 8:00am. The morning was overcast and cool. Waters were calm. To me it didn’t seem that we would have rain, but people said the weather can change abruptly in Alaska at any given second. Again, I was hoping for a day without rain. We’ve been lucky so far. The Cruise Director suggested we “take our umbrellas from our staterooms” but I didn’t want to curse the day since it wasn’t raining yet.

We signed up for the Mendenhall Glacier Trek excursion through a private company since the ship’s excursion list did not provide anything even close to what we were trying to do. Step foot on Mendenhall Glacier. The explanation on their website said we would hike up the glacier and, if weather permitted, we may ice climb. They would provide all necessary equipment and snacks.

We waited at the area that was suggested by our excursion company which was ‘next to the Gondola' which we did not do this time. Plus, there was a ‘grueling’ hike up to the top of that mountain too which we found out once we left Juneau. (***shhhh*** ~whispering~ Thank god Ray didn’t know about that one beforehand. He would’ve wanted to go up that one too. Me too. No, really, me too.) You can see the Gondola and the lines leading up the mountain.
Our tour guide, Dawn Reiley, from Above and Beyond Alaska arrived around 9:00 to pick us up and take us to our location. We had 4 kayakers along for the ride which we dropped off on our way. They were going to kayak up to the Glacier and back. This excursion usually books up to 6 people. They also provide private excursions for a hefty price. Ray and I were the only ones this particular day, so we were pretty excited. A private excursion for the group price, what more could we ask for. On the way there Dawn played tour guide and told us all about Juneau and its history.

At our destination, Dawn jumps out of the truck, opens the back up and hands us backpacks, helmets, crampons, ice axe, 1 water bottle and a tie-string bag full of nutritious snacks. Ray brought our backpack with two large canteen’s attached filled with water, but she suggested we use hers since they were already dirty and had everything we needed. I decided to bring one camera and one lens. We usually bring 2 around with us plus several lenses. She also said we have a 2 hour hike ahead of us.

We start our hike up to the Glacier. Dawn is a petite little thing and full of energy. She takes off at a fast pace and we try to keep up with her. My problem is I like to look around and take shots at things I see, but her little legs are movin’ baby. Actually, this is a good thing since the hike to the glacier is 3.5 miles! If I had my way, we’d get there around sunset.

Dawn is extremely knowledgeable about the area’s history and the glacier. She’s lived in Juneau all her life, but travels to other places during off season. She’s heading to Vermont this winter to do ski patrol. She’s been to Montana and Utah. I wondered what was wrong with Alaska, this place is gorgeous! Well, so is Montana, Utah and Vermont! I’ll shut up now.

We’re trekking over small rocks, tree roots, babbling brooks and walking bridges. Our first stop we come upon Mendenhall Lake. We see a few small icebergs floating in the water. That was pretty neat! And a peek at Mendenhall Glacier. I’m lovin’ the blue color in that thing! Dawn said she’s glad it’s overcast; it will really bring out the blue in the ice, especially for my shots. Cool!

Back on the trail. I asked Dawn if she ever seen bears on this trail. I believe every single person who she has ever taken on this trip has asked that same question. She said only once. Never bothered anyone. Ok, that answer kept me alert. Very alert.


The first part of this hike was pretty easy, middle part I was starting to question if we may be starting that darned Grouse Grind again. I thought to myself it’s a good thing we had that grueling training back in Vancouver. I look back at Ray, and sure enough, he has that smile again!


The further we get, the more scrambling we have to do. Lots of loose rocks around here from the glacier. Amazing that where we were walking the glacier was once there about 90 years ago. You could tell all the trees were not that old.


And another quick peak at Mendenhall Lake before we disappear in the deep, deep forest where bears and psycho killer lurk.

Good bye, lake.

I hope we see you again.The deeper we get the less trees there are. Besides being a ‘young’ forest, there are also psycho beavers on the loose.

Not only am I on the lookout at eye level for bears and, well, you know, I’m also now watching around my feet for those little boogers! There were a couple of those poor trees, lying on the ground. It was like a challenge to just see if those psycho beavers could really knock down the large ones. None were being used for the purpose of chewing the trees down.

Ok, as I’m busy watching around my feet, I look up and see this! Wait, where are the ‘stairs’? This isn’t fair, at least we had stairs on the Grind.

Ok, I’m going to be quiet, and I’m going to do this without complaining. You know why? Because there are NO people passing us up! Ha!





And there it is. The Glacier. We made it! 2 hours 15 minutes, we’re here! Wow, that blue is fantastic.

We finally stop and Dawn is studying the Glacier. She says every day they go on at a new location because the previous location is too weak to step on.

Wait! What?

So she walks a little more, stops, check things out and walks some more. We keep walking. Finally she stops. Says “This is where we’ll be getting on, get your crampons, helmet and other gear out.”

Ok, now wait a minute. I don’t know about you, but this don’t look like the most ideal place to get on. I mean, look at this thing! It’s like some gruesome monster just waiting for someone to take the wrong step! I kept staring at this thing. I looked at Ray with the expression “You’re kidding me right?” He said it would be alright. What do you think?

That’s what I thought!

Ray is starting to get ready!

Then she tells us to take our backpacks off and place them inside up on the edge of the glacier, it will keep us from getting wet and dirty. So I walk over to the location. I see the ‘edge of the glacier’ she was talking about. Wha . . . you want me to sit on this? I’m going to be sucked down under this thing!

Ok, no one is on to me and this fear, yet. I can do this. I think. I take my seat trying not to look at that deep dark crevice lying next to my feet, hand the camera over to Ray and try to get those darn crampons on. For those of you who don’t know what crampons are, Crampons are multi-use spikes that attach to climbing boots to help grip icy or snowy surfaces.

While Ray and Dawn get ready, I’m scoping out this place. What in the heck am I doing here?! This is nuts! Ok, breathe. Just keep breathing. You’re going to be alright.

We notice some others on the glacier. Turns out Dawn’s mom is taking some visiting friends out for the day. Man, that’s different. Better than heading to the bar, club or restaurant. So, what are we doing today? We’re ice climbing on a glacier. Yeah, that would be cool!

So, we take our first step on the ice. I’m walking like I’m walking on eggs that I can’t break. Dawn says "Don’t worry, you won’t slip or slide with these on. Just make sure you really press your foot down to get the best grip." After 20 steps I’m starting to feel more confident. Until I see this.

A CREVICE! Ok, it’s a darn crevice. It’s small, but it’s a crevice! I could have slipped and died right then and there! I mean, you hear all the time about people falling into the deep, blue, cold, deep, cold crevice never to be found! What in the heck am I doing here?! This is nuts! Ok, breathe. Just keep breathing. You’re going to be alright. Let's keep moving!

We spent a while exploring the glacier. This place if filled with those darn crevices.

**Before I go any further, many of you are aware of my photoshop skills. But I want to say, the following pictures are completely untouched. All I did was resize them for the internet. The colors you see in the glacier pictures are the colors we saw.**

There were colors of blue I didn’t even know existed! Just absolutely beautiful. Seeing the crevices, pools of water, the blue ice was just incredible.

Dawn asked if we were willing to go into an ice tunnel. We both jumped on that opportunity. She found this tunnel the previous week. She looked around to get the direction where she saw this ice tunnel. I looked around too, wondering how in the heck she can remember where it was. This place all looks the same. But I guess if you’re on every day, then you’d know this place like the back of your hand.

She headed in the direction. And when we saw the color of the ice change from a turquoise to so many variations of blue, I was just awed!

Then she stopped, took off her backpack and took out these items she screwed into the ice with a strap attached to it. It’s to help us climb down into the tunnel. Ray went first and I followed.

OMG! When I stepped in, I was just breathless! How could there be so much blue in any one location. Especially THIS blue! When you felt the sides of the wall, it was sooo smooth, smoother than glass. If there is such a thing. The tunnel was quite long.

Dawn and Ray walked as far as they could. I only went half way then my “what ifs” started kicking in. But the deeper we went, the deeper the blue became.

Here’s our lifeline out of here.

Before we left, Dawn suggested we fill up our water bottles with glacier water. I hesitated at first. You always hear the stories of getting sick drinking water from streams, etc. She assured us that she does it all the time and it’s the purest water there is. So, we did. And she was right. THAT was the best tasting water I have ever had! At every opportunity we had, we filled up our bottles. I couldn’t get enough of that water. It was that good!

There were running streams all over the glacier. Give you the perspective of how fast this thing is melting.

While out exploring more of the glacier, Dawn asked if we’d like to ice climb a crevice. Sure, why not! We walk a while to the area she wanted us to climb. It’s such a gorgeous walk over that glacier. I’m just taken back by the beauty of all that white and blue.

Here we are. She tells us she will be going back around the crevice to see where she can tie the line. About 10 minutes later she pops her head above us and yells ‘hello’. I wasn’t thinking we were climbing THAT high! She does whatever she does to tie the line up top and throws it down to us.

She comes back down and give us a lesson on ice climbing. I decide to go first. And I only went ½ way again. Those damn “what ifs” started up again. But the small amount of climbing I did was enough, fun, exciting, hard, and made me realize how I really, really need to work out my upper body! I was sore the next morning!

After I was done and untied, she tells Ray to wait until she’s ready for him. Ray will be going all the way. She needed to get back up, rearrange the rope and assist him in climbing up. For a minute I worried about that since she was so petite. How is she going to help if he slips? But I had confidence she could do this. She does this all the time in different locations. So, she gets back up top, yells “You Ready”, and up he goes.

He makes it to the top.

After untying the ropes and heading down the top of the crevice, Dawn tells us about this cool ice cave she wants to show us. So we head towards the cave.

Tomorrow – exploring a huge ice cave.