Juneau & Mendenhall Glacier

Day 3 in Alaska was again sunny and beautiful with temperatures in the mid-50s. We arrived in Juneau around 7:00am and had to be back onboard the ship by 2:30pm.

Juneau, Alaska's capital, has a population of 31,000 but still maintains that small-town feel. The cruise ships dock just a few blocks from downtown where you'll find lots of shops to visit, as well as the aerial tram that takes you to the top of Mount Roberts.

We did not book any excursions in Juneau but chose to go it alone. We hopped off the ship and walked down the wooden sidewalk to the tourist huts that surround the area just outside the tram station.

We walked up to one of the huts and bought a $16 round-trip ticket to ride the Blue Bus to Mendenhall Glacier. The buses run every half hour. This was by far the cheapest and one of the best excursions we did!

Mendenhall Glacier is located 13 miles from downtown Juneau. Our bus driver told us to be on the lookout for bears and wolves in the forest that surrounds the park. Although we didn't see either one ... we did see some rather large, ominous tracks that looked pretty fresh. We were later told by a friend that they were wolf tracks.  I'd hate to see the giant wolf that made those deep tracks in the second picture below!



Just below the Visitor's Center is a paved trail to a lookout point where visitors can see the glacier and take pictures. 

To the right of the glacier face is a 5-story waterfall named Nugget Falls. 

And in the pond at the foot of the glacier and falls you'll see lots of icebergs. To get some perspective of the massive size of these glaciers, if you look closely at the picture below you'll see an orange kayak on the left, just under the big glacier. 

Our children noticed that in the distance you could see tiny people standing right next to the glacier and falls.  So, of course, they were determined to do the same!

And so began our big adventure which turned out to be the best experience of the whole trip! My kids love camping and the outdoors. So to be able to hike through a trail in the woods and walk alongside an iceberg-filled pond and end up standing next to a waterfall and glacier -- well we truly felt like we were experiencing Alaska.

The trail in the beginning was paved and easily managed. But at one point it turns off on a dirt path with a sign that tells you the 3/4 mile hike to the glacier will take you approximately 45 minutes. It took us considerably longer, though, because we made several stops along the way to look at animal tracks, rocks, icebergs, and just about anything else that crossed our path. But overall it was a very easy walk with beautiful scenery all around. Just make sure you're wearing tennis shoes or hiking boots.

Jackson decided he wanted to gather some rocks for his rock collection. I told him that he could gather as many rocks as he wanted just as long as his suitcase did not weigh more than 50lbs when it was time to fly back home. Well, he must have had more than enough because he decided to use some of the rocks for skipping in the pond. He also tried to hit one of the icebergs but never could throw the rock quite far enough.

All along the path there were huge chunks of granite. Anyone need a new coutertop?

At one point, Jackson notice a small chunk of ice floating near the shoreline. He wanted to pick it up, but wasn't quite close enough to do so without falling in the icy waters. So Freddie held onto his backpack while he leaned over and grabbed the chunk of ice. He barely got it lifted out of the water before he dropped it on shore. He said it was so cold that it burned his hands.



We finally made it to the overlook at the waterfall. The view was gorgeous and the roar of the falls was loud.

We hiked down from the overlook and stood so close to the falls that we could feel the spray of water on our faces. And seeing the glacier up close gave us a new perspective of just how majestic it truly is. 

Someone even built a small monument out of rocks on the beach near the waterfall.

It was soon time to begin the hike back to the visitor's center so we could catch the blue bus back to Juneau.

We were just a little anxious, though, hiking back through the woods after seeing the wolf tracks in the mud. Every time we heard a bird rustle in the trees, we all jumped! But we were pleasantly surprised to see bluebonnets growing on the side of the path. It was nice finding a reminder of home in the Alaskan wilderness.

Once we arrived back in Juneau, we spent the rest of the afternoon walking around town buying souveniers and seeing the sites, like the famous Red Dog Saloon and former Governor Sarah Palin. Then it was time to board the ship and begin our journey to Ketchikan.