Part VII - Tracy Arm to Juneau

June 19 – 24, Juneau

As has been so common on this trip, we woke to the pitter patter of rain.  Fortunately the rain was not accompanied by wind.  Unfortunately, thin fog was present for most of the trip to Juneau and the radar was an important instrument.  We are now seeing whales every day and encountered two just outside Tracy Arm.  One whale was apparently resting on the surface less than 200 feet from Hobbit when it lifted its tail into the air and dove.

We spent 4 days and five nights in downtown Juneau mostly doing tourist type things: Mendenhall glacier, Mt. Roberts Tram half way up the mountains over Juneau, touring the various shops, eating fish and chips every chance we got, and drinking Alaskan brewery’s “Summer Ale”. 

Our day at the Mendenhall glacier totally wore us out because Cash keep insisting we take the Bear “Trail” vs. the “tourist trail”.  My Fitbit said we walked 8.8 miles.  It was sad to see how much the Mendenhall glacier has changed since our trip here in 2011 with Chris and Win.  In 2011 the glacier was doing a lot of calving; in 2017 much of the calving face was gone and very little ice was present in the lake.  Pictures from (I think) the same spot taken in 2011 and 2017 are included below.  It is clear that the glacier is getting smaller.

 Cash, Linda, and me in front of the Mendenhall glacier

Mendenhall glacier 2017

Mendenhall glacier 2011

Cash kept verifying that his Lowa hiking boots are water proof

On our last full day in Juneau it actually got hot with the temperature hitting the mid-60s.  The day was perfect to ride the tram (cable car) 1,800 feet up the side of a mountain then continue hiking higher.  Linda joined Cash and me for part of the ascent but decided not to go all the way up for fear that coming down would further injure her burned foot which is healing nicely.  My GPS said that we only walked an additional 2 miles up the mountain, but with an altitude gain of 2,000 feet, we were wiped out.  The round trip took us about 5 hours.

Linda hiking up the mountain

Taking a break

Alpine flowers

Not the top of the world, but it seemed awfully close

Cash sitting atop a peak

Cash’s view from the peak: Downtown to Auke Bay

Another view from the top by Cash

After 4 days downtown we cruised 5 hours and 32 nautical miles around Douglas Island to Juneau’s Auke Bay marina; a convenient stop on the way to Glacier Bay.  By car the journey from downtown to Auke Bay is only 10 miles.