Alaska Adventure - Day 5

Day 5 of our cruise was spent in Juneau. This was the one excursion we booked outside of the cruise line. Originally, we had planned to book with NCL, but the tour sold out. We really wanted to do this hike, so I started poking around on Viator to see if there was something similar. There was, but a private tour (through Alaska Luxury Tours) that was double the cost of what was offered through NCL. The cost was totally worth in, in our opinion, because instead of a tour with 16 other people, it was just us and the guide. Score! The only thing left to worry about was the weather. The heavy rain the day before left us wondering if this hike was going to be cancelled or completely ruined by the rain. Fortunately, we stepped off the boat in Juneau to a very light rain that completely stopped by the time we started our hike. We met our tour guide, Dan, and the other couple who ended up doing the same booking for the same reasons as us. The drive to the hike starting point took about 20 minutes, where we listened to Dan give us a background on Juneau and the Tongass National Forest we would be hiking through. He also gave us a great history on the Tlingit people (tribe) that inhabit Juneau. 

The hike itself is about 4.5 hours long, depending on your pace. There were times we stopped and talked about the views or the vegetation or the animals we saw. Right off the bat, we saw two black bear in the creek, that were trying to find some of the remaining wild salmon. Totally took us by surprise, but very cool to see! We also saw several massive bald eagles, and one pudgy porcupine. It was a great hike, mostly easy going but a few more difficult areas. The views were amazing. We also passed a few waterfalls, and refilled our water bottles straight out of the creek.

Since it's a rainforest, everything was very dense and lush. There is a ton of moss, which actually makes up their soil system. We made our way up to the top and over a ridge, then wound our way back down the mountain to the foot of the Mendenhall Glacier and Nugget Falls. There are two sections to Nugget Falls, upper and lower. The lower section empties into Mendenhall Lake, which was carved out by the glacier. It was one of the best hikes we have ever been on!

Wild Alaskan salmon in the creek:

Porcupine:

Black bear

Bald eagles

Porcupine

Alaska Adventure - Day 4

Day four of our cruise was cruising Glacier Bay. There is no other word to describe this day than MAGICAL. And it truly was. It was something I have never experienced in my life....a day like no other. The day itself started off with almost a misty fog. It was cold, that's for sure. It's Alaska! We were absolutely prepared for the weather (pretty easy when you come from Idaho). Others were not as prepared - slippers and a light hoodie? I knew this day was going to be difficult from a photography aspect and trying to find the "perfect" spot to see everything we were going to see. Turns out, I was totally wrong! Most of the people were watching from inside the ship - fair-weather fans, I suppose. Their loss. In my opinion, experiencing the views and glaciers as you should experience them should be out in the elements. 

We started out in a sheltered area of one of the top decks - in the outside seating section of the American Diner. I know it seems like a strange place to watch, but it was out of the rain and they had these massive sliding windows you could open for a great view of the mountains as we cruised by. We saw several mountain goats (the mist made for terrible pictures) clear up on the side of some very steep terrain. It was that wonderful muted silence you only get when standing out in the snow - the ship slipping silently through the waters as we watched, passing the binoculars back and forth. There were four other people with us, and we all took turns pointing out various things to see.

There were several Park Rangers on the ship for this day of cruising, and they had running commentary over the ship PA system. At one point, they mentioned a glacier off to the opposite side of the ship, so we ventured away from the protected shelter and out into the rain. The views were absolutely stunning. The blue hues of the ice were amazing. We had seen several glaciers in Banff a few years back, so we knew about the coloring and the process of the glaciers. Still, seeing them this close was jaw-dropping. We noticed a few other people one deck above us, where there was almost a tent-canopy roof, so we headed up there to continue watching out of the rain. 

As we got closer to some of the bigger glaciers, we knew it was time to head to the premier viewing spot. The bow of the ship on deck 8 was normally reserved for the crew only. However, during this one day of cruising, they opened up the bow for those who wanted to venture out into the truly frigid temps for super close views. And we did, of course. They were handing out hot chocolate in the viewing area, so we took advantage of that, getting some warmth to our bellies before heading out onto the open bow area. The views were staggering. We were so close to the Johns Hopkins Glacier! There were quite a few more people up in this area - we knew it would be somewhat crowded. But still, the majority of the guests on the ship stayed inside. Again, their loss! Why pass up this opportunity?!! As we were standing in the second row, part of the glacier calved into the water. I did not have my phone ready to record, so we stood and watched. The crack of the ice breaking loose sounded like a rifle crack in the mountains. And then the deep rumble as it all hit the water. It silenced the crowd for sure! It was such an amazing thing to experience. And then minutes later, it did it again, though much smaller. That one I got on video (see bottom of this post for two videos). We stood there, utterly in shock of what we were seeing. I didn't think we had a chance of seeing anything like that, but we were pleasantly surprised THREE (!!!) different times!

After being thoroughly drenched by this point, we decided to make our way through the Observation Lounge. It was totally packed with not an empty seat, so we headed back to our room to swap into some warmer, dry clothes. I stepped out onto our balcony to see where our room was in conjunction with the ship. To my surprise, the captain was turning the ship in an entire circle so each side could get views of the glacier. We ended up being even closer to the glacier from our balcony than we were on the bow of the ship! And it calved again while we stood there and watched. This time, I had the big camera ready and grabbed some shots of the ice slamming into the icy waters. What a treat! We stood out on the balcony for another hour or so while the captain spun the ship three times, taking in the enormity of the glacier.

After the ship started cruising out of Glacier Bay, we relaxed for the remainder of the day. It was almost exhausting, all that excitement!  Matt headed to the gym and I managed to find an open spot in the Observation Lounge. They brought around complimentary cups of clam chowder and I read while watching the ice-laden water pass by. It was the most perfect day!

Some videos of our adventure! 

https://youtu.be/NOmSmBh9nRs

https://youtu.be/C1KMu7quriw