Glacier Bay and Juneau

The Playlist

The last couple weeks have been a whirlwind of activity. Out final hitch in Bartlett Cove was eight days long. Luckily Nate had the wonderful idea of creating a crew playlist to help us through it. We each get the same number of songs and we listen to the playlist on shuffle, so we never know whose music will play. The playlist is all over the place because although we have overlapping musical tastes, everyone’s favorite genre is different. The playlist made mornings and car rides far more enjoyable and we are all thankful for Nate’s idea.

Eight Days a Week

Our eight day work week began with the end of the turnpike bridge structure we had started our first week in Bartlett Cove. It turned out very well and the revegetation makes it look like it’s been there for ages.  I enjoy doing revegetation because piecing together the moss mats and making them blend in with the preexisting vegetation is kind of like a puzzle. Upon completion of the turnpike, we set to work clearing out and rebuilding two little culverts. One culvert was dry, and the other one constantly had water—so much so that we had a bailing bucket to allow us to see the bottom and keep us from continuously splashing ourselves as we chopped out roots. (Nate and I got very muddy before the bailing bucket arrived).  We secured and camouflaged the drain pipes with large rocks and lots of gravel. Redoing the culverts took about a full day of work and after completing the culvert revegetation, we were finished working on the Forest Loop Trail.

One of the boundaries of Glacier Bay recently changed, so our next task was making the new boundary obvious. To get to the border, we drove for about an hour and then hiked on a trail marked by blue flagging. To get onto the trail, a river crossing was necessary. Luckily, some very large logs had fallen across the river so we just walked across those and then along the river to the start of the trail. Although crossing the river on a damp, mossy log with water rushing beneath me was nerve-wracking, I came to enjoy the crossing as the week progressed.  The trail was really not much of a trail (I started thinking of it as the non-trail) and because this is rainforest, there were lots of muddy patches and open spaces disguised by moss. At every step we risked sinking down into the mud or having our feet find the open spaces created by fallen trees that have been blanketed by moss. It was a fun, challenging hike to do as a way to get to work. We dealt with the same conditions as we brushed the border. Brushing the border involved clearing out the trees and bushes (so many blueberry and huckleberry bushes) to create about an eight foot wide emptier space. We also installed NPS Boundary markers. The forest was full of blueberry and huckleberry bushes, so we snacked on berries throughout our days there.

The maze of logs we used to get across the river and to the trail

Part of the border we cleared.

On the sixth day of our eight day work week, we took a break from brushing the border and helped clear out the trees in front of the Glacier Bay Lodge. The Lodge is its own entity and thus has different maintenance people than the park, so we worked with them. The Lodge provided us with a delicious breakfast (second breakfast really) before we actually started working. We got bacon, eggs, biscuits, danishes, coffee, tea, fruit—everything we could have possibly wanted for breakfast. We were very appreciative of the food. We were also provided with a lunch of burgers and fries. Once trees were felled and piled, we used the wood chipper to condense everything and take it away from the Lodge. The wood chipper is quite a beast. It was entrancing to watch the chipper gobble up spruces and alders like they were French fries. We fed the beast through the entire day and now the Lodge has a clear view of Bartlett Cove.

SCA Dinner

The night of the last day of work, we had the SCA interns over for a potluck dinner. We had garlic bread, black bean burgers, fries, pasta, rice with sausage, and cornbread, and it was scrumptious. It was lovely getting to know other people with the SCA better. We ended the evening by watching the sunset on the dock.

The sunset on the dock after our dinner with the SCA interns.

The Day Boat

Once our eight day week was finally complete, were able to be tourists instead of workers. We started off our stint as tourists with a ride on the Baranof Wind graciously provided by the NPS. The Baranof Wind is the day boat that takes people up bay to see glaciers. The weather on Tuesday could not have been any better! The skies were splashed with clouds, the sun was shining, and it was warm (relatively speaking). We were lucky to see multiple whale breaches very early in the trip. We passed South Marble Island slowly to enjoy the sights, sounds, and smells of sea lions. Scotty said he was particularly amused by the sea lions as they “took five heavy steps and then collapsed from pure exhaustion.” After admiring the sea lions and the birds for a while, we continued up the West Arm of the bay. We stopped again when a grizzly bear was spotted on the beach. She turned out to have a cub with her! We watched mountain goats scramble gracefully over steep cliffs—the agility of mountain goats is quite impressive. Because the weather was so wonderful, we were able to go into the Johns Hopkins Inlet, where seals breed on the icebergs that calve off of the Johns Hopkins Glacier. We admired the Johns Hopkins  glacier longer than any of the other glaciers we saw on our way up the inlet. We saw it calve a few times, looked for seals reclining on the icebergs, and took lots of photos.  I am so awestruck by the power and wildness of glaciers. They are incredible.

We witnessed more whales, sea lions, and otters on our return trip. It was a wonderful way to spend the day and see more of Glacier Bay. I am so thankful that we were given the opportunity to ride on the boat.

Stellar's Sea Lions and birds on South Marble Island.

A mama grizzly bear and her cub. The cub is to the right of the mama. 

Johns Hopkins Glacier 

Family photo on the Baranof Wind.

 Sea Kayaking

Wednesday we went sea kayaking. Sea kayaking is one of the best ways to see Glacier Bay. I really enjoyed being so low on the water and being able to look through the water at the bottom when we were in shallower water. Because we were not in a large motorized boat, whales and sea lions came much closer to us. Sea lions seemed very interested in us and are playful, curious animals. Clumps of them kept popping up near us as we kayaked along the kelp beds. It was fun to kayak across the top of the bulb kelp because I felt like we were gliding across the top of a forest.  I really wanted to see what was below the water in the kelp forest. We saw several humpback whales and would stop to watch them as they surfaced. It was awesome to be so close to such large animals. The weather wasn’t  as good as it was for the boat ride, but I thought it was great weather for kayaking. The clouds blended with the islands and mountains and it looked like a dream world of blues and greys. The water was so smooth and glassy. On the way back, we had to go against the tide. I found it rather disconcerting to be paddling and paddling and barely move relative to reference points on the shore. It reminded me of the Red Queen and Alice running to stay in the same place. Once we didn’t have to deal with the tide, the rest of the way back was quite pleasant. Sea kayaking was one of my favorite things we have done so far. It was relaxing while being very active, and allowed us to be a part of the environment rather than being strictly observers of the environment like we were in the day boat. 

Kayaking across bulb kelp.

Sam and Lesley watching whales on the glassy water.

A whale surfacing right by our kayaks!

Scotty and I kayaked together.

Sea Kayaking family photo! 

Park Potluck

Wednesday evening we (and by we, I mean primarily Lesley) made blueberry and huckleberry cobbler from the berries picked at the border. Mashed potatoes were also cooked before heading to town to the National Park Potluck dinner that was being thrown in honor of AJ (one of the maintenance guys), our crew, the SCA interns, and a few other people. It was a lovely, food-filled evening. There was even a Forest Loop Trail themed cake! The cake—and everything else I ate—was delicious.  The potluck was a wonderful way to spend our final evening in Gustavus.

The beautiful and delicious cake made in honor of AK Team 5.

Juneau

Thursday we rode the ferry to Juneau. We stayed in Juneau International Hostel. We got to sleep in real beds, with actual pillows! It was amazing. We all really enjoyed the carpet and couches as well. The hostel was a nice place to stay for our time in Juneau, especially because when we arrived, it was pouring, and continued to rain heavily the rest of the first evening.

Friday we split up and spent the day exploring downtown Juneau. Lesley went hiking, and Sam explored on her own and saw Jurassic World, which she has been waiting all summer to see. Vinny, Nate, Scotty, and I went into bookstores and galleries and souvenir shops galore. We (minus Scotty) also saw Jurassic World, went to a ridiculously overpriced Mexican restaurant that shall remain unnamed, and then went to The Rock Dump. The Rock Dump is a rock climbing gym. I hadn’t climbed for almost exactly a year, so I was really excited to climb again. Nate, who is a much more serious climber than me, was so happy to be climbing again, that he stayed until closing time.

Being touristy in Juneau.

On Saturday, after some group shopping, Nate, Vinny, and I were dropped off at the West Trail to hike to the Mendenhall Glacier. Our goal was to touch it. We talked to people along the trail to figure out how to best get down to the glacier. After a couple hours of hiking over slick rocks and through streams and mud and down a hill of loose, rocky dirt, we made it onto the glacier. I felt so small and insignificant while standing on the glacier. I am so glad we were finally able to get onto a glacier instead of just admiring them from afar. We stayed on the glacier for a while so we could really appreciate it. 

Mendenhall Glacier from the West trail.

Mendenhall Glacier up close.

Nate, Vinny, and me on the glacier!

I enjoyed getting to experience the capital of Alaska, and am happy that we’ll get another day in Juneau later in the summer. Now we are headed to Skagway for about a month to work on (and hike) the Chilkoot Trail. We are halfway through our summer, and quite a half it has been! Thank you for reading about our adventures.

-Sarah