I wasn’t feeling too happy with Alaska after that rough night, but Saturday changed everything. I rode my bike out to the trailhead for the West Glacier Trail. This is the trail that people sometimes branch off of to get to the ice caves under the glacier, but all the warning messages had freaked me out so I decided that I would stay on the trail the whole time. Well, maybe halfway up the trail I got talking to this local family who told me they were going to the caves if I wanted to go with them. The dad had even graduated from Cornell years ago. I could not have been luckier! They were incredibly friendly and helpful, giving me advice about what else to do with my time here. Eventually, after following a winding trail through the woods, scrambling up and down rocks, and navigating loose gravel and the icy glacier (yes, we walked ON the glacier), we made it to the caves! The place was packed actually, and for good reason. I’ll let the pictures tell the story. I couldn’t stop smiling. It was easily one of the coolest experiences of my life. I hiked the way back down with the two kids and their friend, all a few years younger than me. As we parted ways and I headed over to my bike I heard them say “she rode her bike here? That’s so rugged… that’s so Alaska.” Yeah, that’s right :) That night I ran to the glacier visitor center, still in awe that I had walked on and under that very same glacier.
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| A view before the trail even started |
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| On the way to the ice cave |
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| About to enter! |
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| Inside the ice cave |
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| A skylight at the end of the cave is right above me |
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| The surface of the glacier |
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| Unofficial trail sign |
Sunday morning I awoke to heavy rain, but I took the bus into town anyway to hike. I did the Perseverance Trail, which followed an old mining road and eventually ducked down into the woods. It was really different than most other trails I had been on. Afterwards, I wandered through the residential streets of downtown Juneau and explored the small staircases that connect some of the hilliest streets. Some of the houses are so adorable, I snapped a few pictures and tried not to be too creepy about it.
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| Scenic turning around point |
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| The Perseverance Trail, the first road in Alaska, which was used to access gold mines |
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| A view of downtown |
Monday morning I got an early start and took the bus into town again. It was deserted when I got there, still too early for cruiseshippers to be out and about. It was kind of creepy actually. I hiked a trail I had been on before- the Mt. Roberts trail which I had taken up to the tram. This time I hiked past the tram station, up to something called Father Brown’s Cross (Father Brown had helped build the trail). It was raining again today and pretty foggy too, but it just made it feel that much better when I finally hunkered down in the tram station with my lunch and a good book. I wandered around the gift shop and even helped carve a totem pole! The father and son carving it knew of the totem pole park I had been to on Prince of Wales. As a reward to myself, I rode the tram back down into town.
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| Beautiful despite the rainy weather |
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| Mountain selfie! |
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| A father and son struggling against the rain |
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| I helped carve a totem pole! |
Tuesday I took a recovery day, just went to the library to work and skyped Owen for the first time since I'd been here which was nice!
Wednesday I finally went back to work, I was ready. I met my actual boss for the first time, he had been away until recently. I processed samples all day, some of which we had taken and some from my boss. At night I did a long run on the Brotherhood Bridge trail which I had been on before. It was a nice relaxing run and I was just thinking, wow it's so great not to worry about bears, because the trail is so popular and so many families, including babies, use the trail. Then, the dreaded moment happened- I passed by someone who told me a bear was up ahead in the woods and had gotten into a tussle with a girl's dog! I kept running, much more warily, until I came across the girl, her dog, and a family they were walking with. The girl's dog was OK and the bear had gone back into the woods, so I ran on.
Thursday we went out into the field and scouted out a new cedar stand site. It was a pretty long day, so I rewarded myself after work with a milkshake from Hot Bite- mint chocolate chip. It was also the first SUNNY day in awhile, it felt great to relax outside in the sun with a cold drink. After that I went on a run and found a huge network of trails right behind the bunkhouse. I couldn't believe I hadn't discovered them earlier.
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| Awesome view from up the road on the way to the field site |
Today (Saturday) I went for a run to the glacier and out to Nugget Falls. The sun was out again! On the way home, I saw a big black animal run out from the woods to the edge of the road about a quarter mile ahead of me... could it be a bear?? A taxi stopped, someone got out and took pictures. I sprinted as fast as I could to investigate, but by the time I got there the taxi had gone and I couldn't see anything in the woods. I'm thinking that was bear siting number 7!
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| Warm enough to wear shorts and a tank top on my run :) |
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| Nugget Falls, with the glacier in the background behind the mist |
Also, a piece of good news- my sister will be visiting me July 17th! Shit's gonna get crazy with two Liebermanns in Alaska :) Stay posted.
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