It's finally here!

In a past post, I believe I mentioned how, when you work seasonally, your life begins to feel as if there are only two seasons: summer and winter.  While it has been threatening for awhile, winter hadn't really shown up here in Juneau, despite making itself felt all over the Lower 48.  Until the last day of November that is! 

Over night and throughout the 30th, Juneau got between 6 and 14 inches of snow.  It was a nice, and much needed, storm.  Here's to hoping we will get much more!  I'm soooooo beyond ready to go snowshoeing and cross-country skiing!  Maybe in January...

Intersection right next to work, looking up towards Mt Juneau

So much snow!  I love it!!!

It's About Time

Any time you Google "things to do in Juneau AK", the Mendenhall ice caves will easily be in the top of the search results.  I have been hearing about the caves since I first moved to Juneau in April.  Throughout the summer, I had intended to go search for them with friends but something always came up.  Finally, a few weeks ago, my Starbucks friend Kate and I hit the trifecta; a mutual day off, a desire to go exploring, and, the most important part, cloudless skies! 

View of Mt McGinnis from beginning of trail

The trail begins on the west side of Mendenhall Lake, just past Skater's Cabin.  The trail is easy to follow for the first few miles and offers some amazing views across the lake and up towards Mount McGinnis. 

Mendenhall Lake towards the valley

After about 3 miles, the trail splits off to head upwards to the summit of Mount McGinnis.  To get to the ice caves, one must follow vague idea of a trail that is mostly just a wishful guessing that you are going in the right direction.  After pushing through young trees that are just starting to make their mark on glacially scoured ground, the trail takes you over lichen covered boulders towards bare ground that has been exposed from the ice for less than 25 years.  Being able to essentially travel back in geologic time like that is fascinating!  Eventually, the trail reaches a point where you are required to scramble down to the glacier.  Our scramble down (and back up) wasn't so bad because the scree was all frozen together since it was a maybe a whopping 25 degrees outside!

Kate blazes a good trail!

Being in the ice caves was absolutely stunning!  Now, before anyone freaks out about how dangerous it was to have been inside a glacier and everything, we picked a cold day so that the ice was more stable and didn't stay inside for very long.  There, happy now? :)

And now for the photos!

Mendenhall Glacier, looking towards the Juneau Ice Field

Roof of the ice cave

Amazing to consider how old this ice is!!!

I hope to get back up to the ice caves this next summer when it won't be a race to get there and back before the sun sets!  All in all, it was a great hike with wonderful company.  A well spent day off!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I just wanted to take a moment today and thank all of you who read my blog.  I know that I don't post too terribly often, but I appreciate each of you!

As today happens to be Thanksgiving, and is as good as any to reflect for a moment on the ways we have been blessed, I am truly thankful for being able to follow my dreams and live in such a beautiful place.  My wholehearted thanks go out to everyone who loves me and has supported and encouraged me in my move to Juneau.  I'm truly lucky to have you!

I hope everyone has a wonderful day! 

A sunny Thanksgiving day out at Mendenhall Glacier!

PS - New post coming soon!  Probably 12/1!  All about the Juneau Ice Caves!!

Morning Commute Surprise

Before I tell you about the surprise, I have to set up for you what downtown Juneau looks like.  It's much like any other downtown; there's shops and office buildings and bars  and restaurants.  The main thing about Juneau that truly sets it apart from other cities is that downtown is set right against the Coast Mountains where you can be in true wilderness in just under an hours hike. 

Now, that doesn't seem like such a big deal, right?  Well, the part of this closeness that is slightly challenging to get your brain around when you first move, or visit, here is that that wilderness doesn't always stay an hours hike away.  Sometimes it walks down the mountain on it's four furry little legs and comes to say hello.  And that, folks, is how we get our story. 

About two weeks ago on a Sunday, I was walking to work.  Granted, I work at Starbucks and I mostly work the opening shift, so my morning commute takes place at about 4:15am.  As I'm making my way along, I passed one of Subway's garbage cans that was completely destroyed.  Most places, your first thought would be the correct one and you'd probably assume vandalism.  Here in Juneau, it's a bit different; your first thought is bear.  At this point, I'm taking a bit more time to be aware of my surroundings and looking into the alleys before walking by.  As I reach the intersection where the store is, I notice this shape moving down the street across from me.  What do you know, it's a big black bear.  He saw me, we both stopped, and then he decided I didn't look nearly as much fun as the trash, so he turned around and moseyed back up the hill.  And I continued on my way, a bit more quickly this time.

An hour later, after telling my coworkers about my bear sighting, one of our customers happened to see the bear wandering up the street outside the store.  Of course, we all had a tourist moment and stuck our faces to the store window and snapped as many blurry and poorly lit photos as possible!  Our bear friend explored a set of stairs that led to an apartment, came back down to look in shop windows, and then finally continued on his beary way (probably in search of more garbage). 

Isn't he adorable????

Winter is coming!

Yes, yes, I know that the title of my last post was weather related but this one is relevant.  Promise!

When I looked out the window this morning, I saw something that totally surprised me.  I knew it was going to happen eventually, yet I wasn't mentally prepared. 

This morning, we had our first snow on the mountains. 

Now, I know that doesn't sound terrible exciting because you're sitting there thinking "Well, you do live in Alaska", but consider the fact that those mountains aren't much higher than 3200'.  From what I can gather from folks who have lived here for ages and ages, once we get that snow on the top of the mountains, it's only a matter of weeks until it snows in town.  And I looked ahead on the 10-day forecast... We have a chance of snow showers next week.

Glad I bit the bullet and ordered my winter coat now!


PS- I will definitely be posting pictures of the first snow!

Summer into Fall

This afternoon, Amanda and I dropped three friends off at the airport and realized that it is now officially the end of summer. 

While seeing people leave is very sad, it also just serves to prove how amazing of a season it was - met amazing people and had some incredible experiences!

But today marks more than just the end of the summer, it marks the official beginning of fall!  Amanda and I start our official training at Starbucks tomorrow afternoon and I'm actually really looking forward to it!  Learning new things and having a set schedule that I know in advance will be beyond delightful! 

The winter here will be an exciting new experience and I'm thrilled to be here for it!  Rain and snow and fingers crossed for the Aurora Borealis! 

I hope you all are as excited as I am!  Bring on the adventures!!!

"Family" Fishin' Trip

It always surprises me how, despite the summer season only lasting 5 short months, coworkers and friends in the tourism industry very quickly become our own little family.  And that's exactly what I've found this summer.  For example, Captain Liz has become a surrogate auntie for all of us - hosting dinners, being there to answer questions, and also there with a hug whenever you need one.  My friends are people that I know I could call at 3am if I needed them or to go for a hike on a day off.  It's truly remarkable actually!

Right to Left: Sarah, me, Amanda, Liz, Katy, TJ, and Wyatt

On that note, Liz left to head to Maui (she whale watches there in the winter - lucky duck!) on the 16th and so we all went fishing the Friday before she left.  The family outing included Liz, Katy, Amanda, Wyatt, TJ, Sarah, and myself.  It was a beautiful day despite being overcast and having a slight bump to the water.  Our plan was to go out to Icy Strait where we would fish for halibut, stop by the dead whale south of Funter Bay on Admiralty Island where we would look for hungry bears, and then troll for some salmon before heading back home. 

My roomie, Amanda

You'll never lose me in that coat!

The other Katy

Sarah

Sarah and Amanda caught each other and Wyatt had to untangle them

Sadly, halibut fishing was a bust (despite Sarah and Amanda catching each other) but it was a blast.  My arms were so tired though!  When fishing for halibut (since they're a bottom fish) your line has to "bounce" along the bottom.  Now that bottom is pretty darn deep, like 300-400' deep.  And your line? It has a weight on the bottom.  And in order to make it bounce merrily along the bottom, you lift it up and out it down continuously.  And when your captain decides he wants to move the boat, you have to reel all 300-400' of line and your lead weight all the way back up.  Fun but exhausting!

After we solidified the notion that my presence on board is a repellant to all fish ever, we decided to drive on over to check out the dead whale. Now, I shared photos of the dead whale in my "Playing Catch-Up" post and those photos were from back in July when it had only been onshore for about two weeks.  At this point, it has been gnawed on by bears and exposed to the elements for about 2 months or so.  The shape of the whale itself is still generally there, but there are now some ribs visible and the pelvis is now completely bare.  It's pretty darn cool! And the best part.... THERE WAS A BEAR ON IT!!!!!!!  Liz got some amazing pictures of the bear; he had whale blubber all over his face! 

Isn't he just the cutest???

The bear and the camaraderie made up for the lack of bites and it was still an amazing day out on the water!

Have a great weekend everybody!  And go Ducks!!!

Here Fishy Fishy...

On Mondays, ships don't begin getting into port until the afternoon.  Usually these empty mornings are used for sleeping in, doing laundry, etc.  But two weeks ago, we did something we should have been doing all summer - we went fishing!

-2.8 foot tide that morning meant several boats were dry!

Looking back towards the Mendenhall glacier from Auke Bay

Katy, Amanda, and myself went with our friend Wyatt who is a captain on a charter fishing boat.  It was a gorgeous morning, crisp but absolutely cloudless!  We didn't have much time since we all had to work by noon, but nonetheless it was amazing to get to get out on the water at all.

This particular day, we were trolling for salmon.  We each got to choose our own hoochies (colorful lures designed to look like cuttlefish) and then it was time to sit and wait. 

LOVE all the colors!

Knowing this could easily be one of the last times we got some serious sunshine until spring, most of our morning was spent sitting outside soaking it up.

Douglas Island in the distance

We were only able to be out for a few hours and between the four of us we were able to catch 3 fish (2 Cohos and 1 King salmon).  Sadly, Amanda and I didn't catch any but Katy and Wyatt let us hold up their fish!  They made for a few tasty dinners! 

Katy reeling in her Coho!

Me, Katy, and Amanda

Next summer, I can promise you, I will be out fishing as often as I can!  I always enjoy any opportunity to be out on the water and fishing is an absolute blast!

Catch-Up Part 2!

This post is to going to catch y'all up on the month of August.  :)

At the beginning of the month, my parents came to visit and it was absolutely amazing to get to see them!  While they were here, I was able to take about 4 days off of work to get to spend as much time with them as possible.  We did a lot: hiking, flight-seeing over some glaciers in Taku Inlet, whale watching, among others.

For the hike, we went up Mt Roberts to the tram and had lunch.  It was quite the warm day but it was absolutely amazing to get out in the trees!  At the top, we got some lunch and got to catch up.  Walked around town and got dinner at Tracy's Crab Shack (best crab cakes I've ever had!) and watched the Wilderness Adventurer leave port (the boat that several of my friends work on). 

Blurry photo taken by a 6 year old climbing the mountain behind us

Mom and I

Downtown Juneau from the top of the tram

Aren't they adorable???

The day after, we went on a flightseeing tour and it was the best thing ever!  Pretty much, we flew down Gastineau Channel, over several glaciers including the Taku, Hole-in-the-Wall, and several others.  It was awesome! 

We also went on out to the Mendenhall glacier that afternoon and walked out to Nugget Falls.

We also went whale watching while they were in town but I haven't gotten those pictures from my dad yet... hopefully soon!!!

In August, I also started guiding some of our Whales, Bears, and Glaciers tours.  So I'll just throw some of those pictures up here for ya. :)

BROWN BEAR!!!

So that wraps up August, everybody!  I hope you enjoyed my pictures; I greatly enjoyed the experiences that lead to them!  Everything is going well in my little world up here in the north.  Hope everyone's week goes splendidly!

Next post coming soon!  Possibly tomorrow even!!!