Juneau

Juneau in May is wonderful. Contrary to what I was told, Juneau has been remarkably pleasant with balmy temperatures, sunny skies, and gentle breezes: perfect weather for any activity, including flying. Unfortunately, the tourist season is just starting, so flights to the glacier have been either completely booked or nonexistent, thereby, postponing my arrival on the Herbert Glacier. And understandably, Coastal Helicopters won’t send an aircraft up just for me, no matter how nice the views and weather. This leaves me to explore the ins and outs of the unique town (city?) of Juneau.
Over the past five days, I’ve taken advantage of the lull in tourism to become better acquainted with the city blocks and hiking trails. Being of a scientific mindset, I’ll begin with some of my factual findings:
- Juneau is a town of 30,000 people with a large Filipino population.
- Not three miles out of town is North America’s fifth largest icefield, the Juneau Icefield. Its size is comparable to the size of South Carolina, and its annual snowfall exceeds 100 feet.
- Juneau is only 45 miles from end to end, but has 130 miles of hiking trails!
- Juneau is situated in a rainforest.
- The Governor’s Mansion sits atop a hill overlooking the city center. Sarah Palin and her family resided in Juneau for no more than three weeks then chose to return to Wasilla, much to the frustration of the Juneau residents I encountered.
On a more personal level, I’ve found Juneau to be an enjoyable, adventurous, and quirky city. Juneau has to be the only capital so relaxed that it lacks real airport security yet so fast paced that cars honk at pedestrians strolling across a crosswalk. Nowhere else are Extra-Tuff rain boots not only practical but fashionable as well (and I must say, I do prefer Extra-Tuffs to Uggs or high heels)! But probably my favorite aspect of Juneau is the intricate web of trails. Even with a whole summer, I doubt I’ll complete half of the trails within city limits. On my past three hikes my housemate, Crissy, and I have climbed cliffs overlooking the Mendenhall glacier, wove amongst towering trees and moss carpets, and walked on wooden planks across marshy meadows of skunk cabbage. With all the natural beauty, it’s no wonder the cruise ships choose Juneau to dock. Sadly, the same cruise ships that bring life and money to Juneau also tarnish its authenticity. The downtown is filled with jewelry stores and perfume shops catering to the cruise ships rather than locals. While waiting for the bus, I counted ten jewelry stores within just a few blocks! Apparently nothing says Alaska like a diamond necklace. Even with its faults, Juneau is truly a spectacular city with lots to offer. I’m excited to explore the city further, but first and foremost, I look forward to being reunited with the dogs and flying to the glacier! Hopefully the next update will be about glacier life and the wonderful dogs of Nature’s Kennel!

Traveling to Alaska- even better than a cruise ship!

For many people, a continuous four-day drive sounds monotonous, long, and downright dull. For most, even a short, five-hour drive warrants an afternoon spent on the computer downloading podcasts and books on tape. I, on the other hand, absolutely love road trips, but four to five days in a car is long (although exciting) even by my standards. I must admit I was accumulating new music for the drive, thinking I’d need to some way to entertain myself for the trip. Oh, how wrong I was. Once we got started, it became blatantly clear. This would not be a dull trip. Factor into the equation 60 dogs, two border crossings, snow-covered passes, and the remote reaches of Canada and Alaska, and you have a road trip unlike any other. A “continuous four-day drive” does not even begin to describe our trek to Juneau, Alaska.
On May 1, 2010 we left for Whitehorse, Yukon Territory. We began a day later than planned due to some unexpected mechanical delays. Although, by this point, truck and trailer problems have become expected delays, so luckily we had given ourselves a couple days of cushion. After a quick stop by the local garage, Jennifer, Vanessa, 60 dogs, and I left Newberry with less than reliable trailer breaks and the plan to stop somewhere in Canada before the mountains, where trailer breaks become a necessity. Our first stop along the way was in Superior, MI where we acquired a hitchhiker: Muski the Siberian Husky from the Frekkings. We were going to give Muski a ride to his new home in Edmonton, Canada. I must say, it was a pleasure to have Muski along. He was quiet, unfazed by his excitable new neighbors and foreign surroundings, and friendly with everyone he met both human and canine. Several hours after picking up Muski, we arrived at the US/Canadian border with now 61 dogs and three people, one of which is not a US citizen.
As many of you know, Vanessa is in the United States from South Africa on a student visa. And luckily for us, Vanessa has a German passport in addition to her South African passport. A little after midnight, we arrived at the crossing and upon inspection, were asked to park and come inside for further questioning. Unlike some foreigners believe, Canada and the United States are two completely separate nations. A US visa does not provide entrance into neighboring Canada. Even with all of Vanessa’s extra paperwork and documents, the Canadian government asked us wait until morning when a certified attendant could review our case. We were already a day behind, so staying the night was not an option. We racked our brains for other solutions, but we’d missed our opportunity to smuggle her in a dog box, and even athletic Vanessa couldn’t sprint past the border guards. Finally it dawned on Vanessa: she is German. And as such, she can freely travel into Canada. As the border agent said, “You are welcome in Canada as a German, but as a South African, we’d need to see additional documentation.” Lesson learned.
Once in Canada, we proceeded across the western plains of the Canada. My friend, Micaela Cooley, described the area best during a geology research project of the region: “flat, boring, and old.” I happen to prefer wide-open spaces but two days of it can be slightly monotonous. Although, I must note, you can’t beat some of the sunrises and sunsets across the plains. In Edmonton, we arranged to leave Muski the husky at a Wal-Mart outside of town. Due to the prevalence of Wal-Marts, it is no surprise that we mistakenly chose one a few miles down the road from the planned meeting location. As a result, we waited for a couple of hours and dropped all 60 dogs in the Wal-Mart parking lot for dinner before we finally made the connection. It was quite a show for the locals in the area. After the short delay, Musky the husky was on his way to his new home, and we were on our way up to Whitehorse.
Before we knew it, we were up to “the Forts” in British Columbia. We waited a few hours in Fort St John to fix the trailer breaks, and then continued on. The exciting driving began shortly after Fort Nelson. We had encountered snow previously, but the snow on the pass outside of Fort Nelson was unlike any we had experienced thus far. A sheet of ice and slick conditions sent the truck off the road. I must say, Canadians are some of the friendliest people you’ll ever meet. A fellow named Mark stopped, helped us shovel, acquired a chain, and recruited a semi to pull us out. What truly wonderful people. We were quickly back on the road, but decided to stay the night in Fort Nelson until the roads were in better condition.
The rest of the driving was perfectly uneventful. Vanessa enjoyed the “American safari” as we saw black bear, grizzly bear, deer, elk, big horn sheep, moose, coyote, and buffalo along the way. Upon our arrival to Sebastian’s kennel outside of Whitehorse, it was hard to tell who was more excited, the dogs or us. Let’s just say no one slept well that night with the dogs’ noisy celebrations. The following day, Jennifer and 18 dogs left for Skagway while Vanessa, Sebastian, 54 dogs, and I left for Haines, AK. Once again, we had some trouble at the border, except this time it was Sebastian’s foreign citizenship. We patiently waited for the border control to check, double-check, and re-check all the paperwork before continuing on to catch the ferry at 3:00 A.M.
On Thursday at 8:00 A.M. we finally arrived in Juneau, AK. By 9:30 we were loading dogs onto the helicopters for the Herbert Glacier. Vanessa left in the evening to return home, and I’ll be heading up to the glacier in a couple of days. I’m excited to see all the dogs back on the snow, and will try to keep everyone updated!