Day100

Juneau (Mendenhall Glacier Campground, Rest Day)[MAP]

Mendenhall Glacier (Day 100)

Mendenhall Glacier (Day 100)

I got up early this morning and took a walk up the western side of the Mendenhall glacier. I was only expecting a few hours round trip but the amazing views made me want to just keep going up and up. The trail eventually passed the tree-line, through fields of snow and stopped at the top of Mount McGuinnis (4228 feet). The peak was just a grassy mound so it provided an amazing 360 degree view of mountains (all snow-capped except the one I was on, the closest of which was the rocky crag of Mount Stroller White, elevation 5150 feet), the islands of the Inside Passage, part of the town (Mendenhall Valley), the glacier (several miles across, and from my height it was barely possible to spot the helicopters landing on the glacier for ice trekking tours), everything! It really felt like I was on top of the world and I get a small inkling of what mountain climbers must feel when they reach a peak.

I got very lost on the way down, the path was marked by small orange ribbons tied to bushes and trees and I eventually found myself crawling through very thick undergrowth getting quite paranoid about bears. I eventually managed to climb to the top of a large rock and spent ten minutes trying to spot the nearest orange ribbon using my camera zoom lens. I was exhausted by the time I got down to my tent, eight and a half hours after I’d started and with only two Snickers bars for lunch.

To celebrate my 100th day, I sadly went to McDonalds for dinner and had super-size fries and a super-size chocolate thickshake. And after I left, I decided that I never, ever needed to go to McDonalds again.

Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau (Day 100)

Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau (Day 100)

View of Mt Stroller White (5150ft) from Mt McGinnis (4228ft) (Day 100)

View of Mt Stroller White (5150ft) from Mt McGinnis (4228ft) (Day 100)

Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau (Day 100)

Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau (Day 100)

Day101

Juneau (Mendenhall Glacier Campground, Rest Day)[MAP]

So I had McDonalds again for lunch. Tried to book a ferry to Haines or Skagway but found out that the ferry at the end of the month to Seward doesn’t stop at either of these places.

So thanks to my ferry timetable skills I’m stuck in Juneau for another five days. But definitely not a bad place to get stuck.

It looks like I was lucky to have those three days of sunshine when I first got here. It’s been nothing but drizzle and more drizzle since. I’ve been spending my days in the State Library, insulated from nature by glass, the sounds of birds and the wind muted by brick, I’m out of the weather and into comfortable climate controlled air-conditioning.

And I’m enjoying every moment of it. In over three months of being outside for nearly twenty four hours a day, as much as I love the outdoors, it’s good to suddenly be out of it.

When I stole Ted’s jerky and dried fruits almost seventy days ago, I knew Karma would catch up with me. When I got back to the campgrounds last night I found that someone had nicked my half bottle of Aussie wine and a can of beans from the bear-proof food locker.

Yet there was no one else camped within a stones throw from me. So Karma has finally paid me back, hopefully everything is in balance now and no more will go wrong.

Day105

Juneau (Mendenhall Glacier Campground, Rest Day)[MAP]

Letterbox, Juneau (Day 105)

Letterbox, Juneau (Day 105)

Day107

Ferry to Seward[MAP]

On the ferry again. The ship doesn’t have a very good lounge section so I immediately set myself up on the open air solarium where I’ve been ever since. It’s a bit chilly though, but there’s a bunch of other thick-skinned (or thick-headed) people up here braving the elements also. Got talking to Dan, a forty-two year old artist who told me he’d seen the Northern Lights last night.

We spotted some humpback whales breaching which was pretty cool. Dan was telling me that they’re not too sure why whales breach, but one possible explanation was to aid digestion. Dan told me that his brother works up in Alaska on the US missile defence system, but their family never knows quite where he is or what exactly it is that he does.

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