Alaska Excursions: Mendenhall Glacier Explorer

After the float trip, we had a quick lunch on the ship then got on another bus to get a closer look at the Mendenhall Glacier. The only way to physically reach it is by helicopter (which is super expensive!), but this excursion allowed us to take a self-guided tour with great views and to see the Visitor Center. It's just a short, easy "hike" down to the water's edge, close enough to feel the spray from Nugget Falls.

The glacier is on the left; the falls on the right.

By the way, if you've noticed the slate-blue/grey color of many of the rivers so far, that color comes from the glacier silt that builds up in the water. It's a sure way to tell if the rivers are glacier-fed or primarily from snow melt.

While we were at the Visitor Center, we watched a really nice movie about the area, with some incredible footage of wildlife. We also got to see some cool exhibits, including some real glacier ice!

I thought this would be my only bear sighting...

Map of the area.

View from the Visitor's Center.

On the way back to the ship, we actually spotted a real, live bear with cubs out in this grassy/marshy area! Apologies for the blurry photo, but I was lucky to get one at all. :-) Our driver actually considered making a u-turn and stopping so we could get a better look, but we were on a tight schedule to make it back to the ship in order to leave port...

Alaska Excursions: Mendenhall Glacier Float Trip

The main attraction in Juneau is the Mendenhall Glacier. We had two separate excursions on this day; the first was this float trip down a river fed by the Mendenhall Glacier and Nugget Falls. As usual, our adventure began with a bus trip, which dropped us off at the lake. We met our guides and got into our floating gear. Here, the guide did all the work of rowing the raft while we all got to look around and enjoy the scenery. We found out the river was higher than usual, and there were a few brief, mild sections of rapids (those were my favorite parts!). Along the way, our guide Evan explained some things about the area and answered any questions we had. This was his second summer working in Juneau for this company, and he was really friendly and conversational. On the way down the river, we spotted several bald eagles. After the float ride, we had a nice little snack of crackers with reindeer sausage, salmon spread, and cheese. Finally, we rode the bus back to the port so we could catch a quick lunch before our next outing. I decided not to take my camera out on the river, so I just have a few pics here:

See the Glacier in the background on the left
and Nugget Falls on the right?

With our guide Evan.

Alaska Excursions: Glacier Lake Kayak and Scenic Rail

This was our big outing in the port of Skagway. We met right on the dock, just a few steps away from the ship, and got on a motorcoach to start. I think there were about 12 people total (our group of 6, plus a few others). We had a really nice welcome and introduction from a helpful guide and met our bus driver,who took us on a very scenic drive (are you seeing a pattern here? everything we did was scenic, I think!) north to the lake where we would kayak. On the way, he described all the neat things we were seeing and gave us some information about the area. We also got to have a quick stop for photos at the Klondike Summit. Notice the bridge there? It's a one-sided suspension bridge, the only of its kind in North America. It's built this way because this area is near a fault line, so there are lots of small earthquakes during the year. This bridge design allows for more movement which is safer and has more long-term stability.

Warm enough to be outside without a jacket!

After about 40 minutes or so, we arrived at Bernard Lake, which is just on the other side of the Canadian border, near the town of Fraser, BC (if you want to find it on a map). The border agent actually got on our bus for a quick, easy passport check just before we got to the lake. Once there, we met our guides, Dillon and Pete, and got into our gear. Then, we spent about an hour paddling through the lake, and across a short section of river into Shallow Lake before turning back to where we started. We kept more or less in a group with the other kayakers, following one of the guides while the other kept tabs on everyone and gave some advice along the way.

Grandma got picked to model putting on the kayak skirt.

Our guide Dillon

Dad and Grandma

Mom and Julie

Around our halfway point, the guides did a few stunts for us. For one, Dillon held a kayak for a guide-in-training (I can't remember her name) while she stood up. She wasn't expecting this, and didn't really want to do it, but he talked her into it. Then, the other guide, Pete, stood up in his without Dillon holding it. This seemed to be working well...but then he lost his balance and fell right in! This took Pete quite by surprise, but he was rather nonchalant about the whole thing. Someone had told us back on the shore that Pete could do a back flip from his kayak, so someone (maybe my dad?) challenged him to do it, and since he was already soaked, he obliged. It was fun to see that, for sure!

Splash from the back flip

While we were stopped, Dillon also offered to take pictures for anyone who wanted one. I think I was the only one to take him up on this offer--he paddled over to us, took the camera, held it by the cord between his teeth (!) and paddled away to take a few shots. Holding it between his teeth again, he paddled right back over, and now we have these lovely photos:

We'd had beautiful weather right up until the very last stretch, when a huge rain cloud blew over, but it was the wind more than the rain that gave us trouble. We really had to work to get back ashore, fighting against the wind and the waves on the water. But everyone made it, and the whole thing had blown over by the time we got on the train about 20 minutes later. :-)

The White Pass &Yukon Rail was the last part of this outing, taking us back down to Skagway. We got to see a wide range of landscapes on the way; I think you can get a sense for how things changed from the photos below. For the first two-thirds of the trip, we had the car to ourselves (that is, our group of 6 plus the few other kayakers), and for the last part, we were joined by a group who had been out hiking, with guides from the same company. As usual, there was narration (first from a crew member on the train, then from one of the hiking guides) telling us about the areas we passed through. I think the guides we had here were also exceptional, and several of them (if not all) were actually locals who live in the area (rather than seasonal workers). They were from the Packer Expeditions company, so if you ever head to Skagway, look them up!

US-Canada Border
(when we arrived in Skagway, a US agent
boarded to check our passports)

An old trail previously used by miners.

An old wooden bridge (no longer in use)