Day 4 in Juneau

Monday, July 15, 2013

Cailtyn was working, so we decided this was a great time to hike to the Mendenhall Glacier and see the ice caves.  Caitlyn had shown us the day before how to get to the trail head.  We were so excited to do this hike!

 We had been hiking for quite a while, and didn't seem to be getting close to where we could go under the glacier and into the ice caves....

 In the picture above, on the right hand side at the bottom, there is a little dark opening going under the glacier, yep, that was where we were supposed to be!  We were actually hiking the West Rim Trail.  We decided to keep hiking on the west rim, and we would head down to the caves on our way down.  Needless to say, what was supposed to be a couple hour hike, turned out to be an all day hike, with incredible views of the Mendenhall Glacier!

 This picture above, is a blown up portion of the picture above it.  It's hard to see in the first picture, but here is the tent and where the helicopters land on the glacier.  We were above where they do their landings.

 Amazing view of the Mendenhall Glacier!  I would recommend this hike.  It was 6.8 miles round trip.  

So cool!

 Yep, that's where we were supposed to be.  Oh well.

If we would have gone right to the caves, I wouldn't have had as many opportunities to us my Xtratufs!

 Here is where we went wrong the first time.  This sign has the top torn off, which had the arrow pointing to the caves.  They have done everything they can to hide the trail that leads down to the caves, I'm guessing they don't want people going there!  We went west as the sign said.  Should have gone east.

Ok, let's try this again, only this time bagging the trail, and going the way that results in 10-12 search and rescue efforts annually!

Approaching the glacier

 We are standing on the glacier!  In New Zealand, they wouldn't even let you get close to the glacier, apparently it's a little dangerous, but kind of exciting!

 

This is the cave opening.  Kind of eerie going into the cave.  We had just walked on top of it, and saw huge deep holes in the surface.  Not to mention the large cracks! 

 Looking back to the opening

 Looking farther down the river under the glacier.  Knowing it could collapse at any time, and seeing all the water pouring down from the ceiling, kind of spooked  us a little!

 I hope in the picture above you can see the water streaming down from the ceiling.  Awesome!

 Absolutely amazing!!!! One of the coolest (yes, pun intended) things I have ever seen!  The blue color in there was like nothing I have ever seen.  We didn't want to spend too much time inside, it was a relief to get out and be safe. 

As if it wasn't an amazing enough hike already, I found another mud puddle to play in!

 That evening we decided to make spaghetti and meatballs a Caitlyn's place, it was a hit!

 There are some pretty amazing places in Juneau.  One of my favorites is Brotherhood bridge.  The flowers with the glacier in the background, love it!  Oh yeah, and Caitlyn, that made it even better!  Keep in mind these pictures were taken around 11 p.m.  Notice there are no shadows (and no, it's not overcast)?  That's how we know it's night time.

 When ever I handed my camera to Ryan so I could be in the picture, I would always get several of these shots mixed in.  Thanks Ryan, but not most flattering angle.

Our lovely little car while in Juneau.  FYI, it was $85 a day!  Things are kind of expensive up there!