Alaska: North To The Future – Day Three

On Monday morning we woke up early, as our ship was making its way into Juneau, which was our first port. We dressed and headed upstairs for breakfast, followed by taking some photos from the deck of the ship. The air was chilly but not too cold, and the view was beautiful.

Hanging Glacier

Entering Juneau

The Shore

Coast Guard Gun Boat

Beautiful

The ship docked, and we all lined up to get off and go into town.  Juneau is a really quaint little place.  We didn’t have a lot of time before our tour for the day started, but we browsed a few of the shops.

Polar Bear?

Dan And Kerri

Mike And Cal

Mike!  Get Out Of There!

In Juneau

Then it was time for our tour, which included zip-lining and the Mendenhall Glacier!  We all piled onto a tour van and the tour guide drove us out to the ski hill where the zip-line course is set up.  We were very excited, particularly Granny, who somehow ended up agreeing to go with us (although apparently she didn’t quite know what she was getting herself into).

Indiana Jones

Group Shot!

Granny And Michelle

They got us all rigged up with harnesses and gear, gave us a thorough safety tutorial, and then off we went to the platform.

Getting Geared Up

Michelle And Mike

Ready To Go

It was a little nerve-wracking getting set up to step off the platform. We were quite a ways off the ground, but after some moments of trepidation, there was a lot of exhilaration! It was awesome!

219. Ride a zip line

Kerri

Mike!

Ben

Granny

Michelle

Dan

Bill

Part Of The Zipline Area

Cal

Ruth

Dan

Cal And Granny

Oh Shit!

Bounce!

Suspension Bridge

Ruth

Getting Ready To Jump

We had an amazing time. It was so much fun, and I am hoping I get the chance to do it again sometime. Maybe in the rain forest someday!

After we were done the course, we all jumped back into the tour van and headed for the Mendenhall Glacier. Being the end of August, we were visiting Alaska right at the tail end of a salmon run. I’ve never seen a live salmon before, so it was rather exciting, even if most of them were already starting to die.

133. See the salmon run

Swim Upstream!

Salmon On The Rocks

Of course the glacier was spectacular. It’s very difficult to appreciate the vastness until you’re actually there in front of it.

Mendenhall Glacier

Mendenhall Glacier

Mendenhall Glacier

Mike And Cal At The Glacier

After we visited the glacier, we went back to the boat for supper, and then Mike and I headed back into Juneau to do some shopping. We picked up some post cards, browsed the jewelry shops, and generally wandered around until it was time to board the boat again before it departed. We were pretty played out from our exciting day out, so we went to bed early in anticipation of the following day!

About the author

Mike & Cal have been backpacking around Alberta for the past decade. This site is where they share trip reports, photos, and tips and tricks for getting outside.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Follow us on Social Media