Glacier Point Wilderness Safari in Skagway

Skagway is located in a narrow glaciated valley at the head of the Taiya Inlet, about 90 miles (143 km) northwest of Juneau.  With a population just over 1,000 that doubles during the tourist season, the town sits on the northernmost point of the Inside Passage in southeast Alaska.  In its heyday during the Klondike Gold Rush, Skagway was a bustling rough-and-tumble boomtown with over 80 bars to lubricate the prospectors.  Now the town offers a sense of the old times for tourists, including a restored historic district, dog sled rides, and the revived White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad taking passengers through the mountains to Canada and back.

We take Glacier Point Wilderness Safari from Skagway which starts with an hour-long catamaran cruise through the Lynn Canal, North American's longest and deepest fjord.  After arrival at Glacier Point Beach, we ride a restored school bus (that had to be brought in by barge) to the base camp where we are outfitted with life jackets and paddles and hike a quarter mile through the forest to our canoes for a trip across the lake to a point where we can hike toward the face of the glacier

Arriving in Skagway

Cruising through the fjord

Catamaran to Glacier Point Beach

Glacier Point is located at the nexus of two massive mountain ranges, the 1,000 mile (1,610 km) Coast Mountains stretching along the coast of Alaska and British Columbia to Vancouver and the St. Elias Range which boasts the world's tallest coastal mountain, Mount Logan at 19,551 feet (5,956 meters).  The two ranges together create a string of mountains about 1,500 miles (2,415 km) north to south.

Riding through the forest to the base camp

Fashionably outfitted

Forest path to the lake

Hopping in the canoe

Walking toward the glacier

Views of the glacier

We all get our pictures

Leaving the glacier, heading back to the canoes

Return through the forest to base camp

Glacier edge in earlier times

On our return cruise on the catamaran through the fjord back to Skagway, we pass more beautiful snow-covered mountain views, waterfalls, and seals sunning themselves in the warm (comparatively), sunny weather.

Mountains

Waterfalls

Seals

We didn't have time to visit historic downtown Skagway and the recreated boardwalk, saloons, and shops, but we did see spectacular sights and wildlife (luckily, no bears, although all our guides carried bear spray and had recently seen bears emerging from hibernation and looking for food).

Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau

Juneau was founded as a gold-mining camp in 1880, became the Alaska territorial capital in 1900, and the Alaska state capital in 1959 (upon statehood).  The city is located in the panhandle of southeast Alaska, 900 miles (1,450 km) northwest of Seattle and 600 miles (965 km) southeast of Anchorage and is the only US state capital with no road access.  We get off the ship and take an excursion that hikes to an overlook from which to view the Mendenhall Glacier which is 12 miles (19 km) long, 1/2 mile (0.8 km) wide and 300 to 1,800 feet (90 to 550 meters) deep.

Approaching Juneau

Joining the other ships

As we start our hike to the glacier, we spot signs in the trees along the trail of where the end of the glacier was located in the past.  The glacier has been slowly retreating since the mid-1700s.

Starting up the trail

Previous glacier edges

Hiking to the glacier

Lots of waterfalls

Passing a lake along the way

After a good walk through the forest, the path starts up steeply, with handrails to help guide us over the slippery rocks.  On one section, we have to face the rock wall and descend, slowly looking for footholds and handholds.  Then, more steep pathways lead up, with handrails.

Heading up

First view of the glacier

We continue up, with increasingly-expansive views.

More views of the glacier

Returning, we descend slowly down the steep paths and reach the flatter trails through the moss-covered forest leading back to our van.

Returning through the forest

The National Park Service notes that there are 10-12 search and rescue efforts here annually as the route to the face of the glacier has steep grades with slipper rock surfaces and is not clearly marked (bring plenty of food and water, allocate six to eight hours round trip, and be prepared to spend the night).

National Park Service map and warning

We don't make it all the way to the glacier surface (and don't spend the night), but get fabulous views from several perspectives above the ice.