Adventures in Juneau
We had planned to only spend five days in Juneau prior to kayaking in Glacier Bay but the ferry strike changed our plans and Juneau became home base for nearly a month. Of course we were irritated with the interruption to our plans but it allowed us to experience more of Juneau. The week prior to Glacier Bay was mostly cloudy and rainy, limiting our activities. With this extra time now, we were able to check off everything on our Juneau bucket list.
Fortunately for us, Grant’s mom had an old friend from high school that lives in Juneau and happened to have a boat. When he had graciously offered to take us out on the water, we were excited. But when he said Lhotse could come, I was ecstatic. Ever since our experience in Baja with the grey whales (see earlier blog post), whales have become my favorite animal. I could not wait to see a new species in the wild. We were extremely lucky to immediately arrive to a pod of six to nine humpback whales bubble feeding. With seagulls circling ahead, we knew the group of whales were secretly at work. By blowing bubbles and swimming circles, they corral and confuse the fish. Through a coordinated effort, they lunge out of the water, mouths open, enjoying a fine seafood dinner. At times, we were close enough to hear them discussing their after dinner plans. Lhotse must have heard their whale songs because the whole thing made him quite nervous.
Even though the Mendenhall Glacier views from town are incredible, Grant is always looking for a new perspective to photograph. As we began our ascent up Thunder Mountain, Grant provided a disclaimer that the trail may be steep. What he failed to mention was that most of the hike would be climbing tree roots vertically like a ladder. He assured me that the views would be worth it. As we summited the mountain and began to see the views of the Mendenhall Glacier and the towers above, the views were indeed worth it. It was a bit disheartening when we approached the top to see a group of people enjoying cold beers and fresh fish from a large cooler. I thought out loud, “How in the world did they hike that up here?”. Come to find out, there is another option to getting to the summit of this mountain. For a lot less work and a lot more money, a helicopter with gladly land you on top. Unfortunately, Grant failed to mention that option.
Even though the views from Thunder Mountain were incredible, Grant still wanted to go higher. Well, after closely watching the weather, Grant decided the best option was an aerial tour of the Juneau Ice Field. Even though this wasn’t my first aerial tour, I always get a bit nervous. Luckily for me, my nerves were calmed by the excitement of flying in my first float plane. Arnie, our pilot, allowed me to sit shot gun which I guess meant I was co-pilot. I quickly said my prayers that I wouldn’t have to take over. With crystal clear skies and calm waters, I watched out the window as we took off from the water. It was so smooth, that if I wasn’t watching, I would have never known we weren’t floating anymore. As we made our way up to the large ice field surrounded by massive peaks, it was difficulty to understand the scale. Once again, I was speechless by the beauty of Alaska. Just like take off, landing on the water was so smooth I hardly knew we landed.
As our time in Juneau was coming to an end, we spent the morning on our campsite’s private beach soaking up the views of the Mendenhall Glacier. We blew up our paddle board and took turns paddling around the cold glacier fed lake. Lhotse didn’t seem to mind the freezing water as he swam, fetched sticks, and soaked his achy paws from our steep hike while he dozed on the paddle board.
We have learned traveling in Alaska is unpredictable. However, we have also learned that because of the unpredictability, these memories are much sweeter than if everything had gone to plan.
