Day 5

Our day had an early start. An 0530hrs. wake up call and then breakfast in our room. At 0700Hrs. we went out onto the bow of the ship for our entry into Tracy Arm. Tracy Arm is a Fjord 50Mi to the south of Juneau. It was carved by a glacier. There were icebergs in the water, sheer granite cliffs, tall pine trees, waterfalls, low hanging clouds, and wind, lots of wind. Actually the wind died down as we got further in because of the high cliffs. It was truly wilderness. No one could live there and no one would want to. It was spectacular in its scale. There was hot chocolate and raisin buns to keep us warm on deck.
After Tracy Arm we relaxed for a while and then had some lunch. At about 1400Hrs. we pulled into Juneau harbor and dropped anchor. Soon after that the lifeboats were lowered and they took us to shore. It was raining pretty steadily. The Juneau waterfront was somewhat disappointing. Like many towns who rely on tourists to help their economy there were literally dozens of t-shirt and gift shops, jewelry stores, and other touristy hokum for the masses to partake in. Its unfortunate that that has to creep in to the local flavor. While downtown we walked around and saw the statue of Patsy Ann, the famous dog, look it up, it takes too long to explain, the state Capitol, St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church, it's tiny inside, and browsed a few of the shops. We then took lunch at The Hanger, which was near the floatplane dock in the harbor.
After that it was time for the event I had been waiting for. The Northstar Helitrek to the Mendenhall Glacier. We were picked up from downtown and driven to the airport. Once we got there, it was inside to gear up. A bag to place your shoes and anything you weren't bringing with you into. Then waterproof pants, a waterproof jacket with hood, gloves, and hard shell climbing boots. After the safety briefing, we boarded the helicopter and strapped in. Our pilot, Chad, took time to explain a few things before we left the ground. Once in the air we were set up to follow another helicopter to the landing site. What a ride? We spent about 30 breathtaking minutes circle the glacier at low altitude. The pilot pointed out areas of interest and answered questions. At times we flew so low that I was unsure how we were going to fly out of the valley we went into. The glacier, the clouds and the scenery cannot be described in words. We also saw mountain goats on our way to the landing site. Mendenhall glacier is big enough to fit the entire state of Rhode Island in its area and still have room left over. Once we landed the pilot powered down and we exited onto the ice. The best way to describe the surface of the glacier is like a very course snowcone with sections of very vivid blue ice. There was running water and many crevaces on the surface. We went over to the orange tent at the landing site and met our guides for the glacier walk. Dawn and Rachel fitted crampons over out boots. Crampons fit on like skates and have very sharp spikes so you can walk on the ice. They called it our "four wheel drive." We were also given a trekking pole, which looks like a ski pole only with a sharp point. It was a walking stick for the ice. We walked around with our guides for about and hour as they pointed out various aspects of the glacier habitat and answered questions. The ice we were standing on was approximately 1500 feet thick. They were very friendly and would take our cameras to snap pictures for us. One of the interesting facts about the Mendenhall Glacier is that it is only one of three spots in the world where you can stand on it and see the ocean and a temperate rain forest. At the start of your trip you are given a hip pack to carry you camera in. It also contains a pack of tissues, a granola bar, and a bottle of water. The glacier had streams of running water which we were told came from water that had been frozen about the time of the civil war. We dumped out our bottles and filled them with the glacier water to drink. It was good water. Our time on the glacier went all to quickly and soon it was time to head back to the helicopter. Our guides had to shoo us because we didn't want to leave. Once inside the helicopter, pilot Chad powered us up for the flight back to the airport. This time we took a more direct route and got back within a few minutes. It was all over too soon as we changed out of our gear for the trip back to downtown Juneau. After a quick trip to pickup some postcards it was onto the tender and back to the ship. We sailed out of Juneau at 2200Hrs. headed for Skagway where a 160Mi off road Jeep adventure awaits us, early in the morning.