I arrived in Juneau Thursday, July 30th, 2015 from Bend, Oregon. Bend and Juneau are both little cute airports, which I love. My friends Justin and Megan moved up there last year. Partially, I like to think, because of our shared love for Northern Exposure (we even took a trip to Roslyn, Washington where they filmed it one time). I had no idea what to expect in Juneau and was happy to discover that, aside from the cruise ships, it felt a lot like the Alaska I fantasized about.
My friends Drew, Jeff and I stayed at The Dining Inn, which I found on AirBnB, and just happened to be right across the park from Justin and Megan’s apartment.
Perserverance Trail
Perseverance National Recreation Trail is, unbelievably, right behind where we were staying in downtown Juneau. We hiked eight miles or so, out and back, to Glory Hole and some mining ruins (they had a massive mining operation there in the old days), Ebner Falls, and many more stunning views along the way. It was a bit rainy, but we were largely prepared for that. When you ask what you should do in the rain in Juneau they tell you: “Whatever you were going to do anyway.”
That evening we went out for some drinks at Imperial Billiard & Bar (moose! gay happy hour!) and Triangle (government people! bluegrass pandora!). Apparently bluegrass is kinda everywhere in Alaska, which, ya know, works for me. Dinner at SALT (possibly the fanciest joint in town). #neverforget that pork chop the smarter among us ordered.
Aboard the Malaspina
The next day we headed out to Haines for the Southeast Alaska State Fair. Juneau is isolated, not just because it’s in friggin Alaska, but literally, you can’t drive there. You have to fly or ferry in and out. The ferry is even technically part of the Alaska highway system and the boats are operated by the government. Budget cuts meant the bar onboard was closed, but it was a fun 4-hour ferry ride anyway. We stayed on top in the solarium.
Camping in Haines
We found a tiny little campground field just a mile or two from downtown and the fairgrounds.
The Fair
The most lovely dang ol’ thing of all time. Some good music, some *cough*charming music. There was surprisingly good fair food (indian tacos! fire and ice pickles! fresh sushi!). There were impromptu group games like Throw the Life Preserver and Mackerel Toss. There were rides, like a ferris wheel that looked a little bit like it was built from an erector set. There was a horseshoe tourney, face painting, gardening competitions (huge cabbages!), a pie baking contest, art shows, local art and food for sale, and beer garden. There was even a aerial silk circus act (N.E. season 3 episode 9 anybody?!).
You should go to Alaska just for this.
After the fair, the next day, we smurfed around Haines a bit. We drove out to beautiful lake Chilkoot and watched a bunch of salmon fishermen along the way by the fish-counting weir. We saw a big ol’ grizzly bear and her 2 cubs. We drove toward the Canada and ate a kind of amazing burger at a little joint just a few miles away from the border.
We took the Malaspina back to Juneau later that day.
Tracy Arm Fjord
I had to take Monday to do a bunch of work stuff. I don’t mind doing that, as it help me not feel guilty while on trips.
Tuesday we took an all-day boat tour of the Tracy Arm fjord, going all the way up it to see the faces of the Sawyer Glacier that come right into it. Glaciers + water = icebergs! We also got to see a really intense calving (see video below). The falling ice created a massive wave and the boat had to be maneuvered to face it head on for safety.
Along the way we saw a black bear on the shore and quite a few humpback whales (the little black dot in the one with Justin and Megan looking out over the water is a humpback). Jeff made a Muffuletta for lunch which was pretty legendary.
Beach Fire
After the boat tour, we got pizza at The Island Pub (local favorite, amazing) and then bought some firewood and headed to False Point for the sunset.
Hike
Wednesday we took the gondola lift up from downtown Juneau. From there, we embarked on a pretty epic hike hitting Gastineau Peak and Gold Ridge. We were above planes, even commercial jets. There was snow up there yet. We saw some paragliders and a marmot. We cracked a beer at the top.
Bonus Pics
Just gonna pop some more pics on here cause I already blasted them and gosh they’re nice.
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