Day 24: Trip to Juneau: Glacier Outburst & 20,000 Tourists

August 5, 2024

Today is an early wake-up call. It's not hard, though, as I've been awake since 6 a.m. because the road behind our mobile bed is already quite busy in the morning.

We are taking a day trip by catamaran to Juneau. One reason for making this trip is the ride through one of the most beautiful parts of the Inside Passage up in Alaska. We've already experienced the Canadian part (in sunshine ☀️☀️) - and today we are more than lucky: blue skies & sunshine, topped off with a weather forecast of up to +33 degrees today!!!! What?????

Just a reminder: we are currently in Alaska!!!

At 8:15 a.m., we are a few streets away at Alaska Fjordliners at the harbor. Our catamaran from Skagway arrives a bit late and departs at 9:40 a.m. towards Juneau.

At the harbor, the Crown Princess (hosting over 3000 tourists) gives us a loud horn farewell as we leave (wow, that's really loud!😅).

Outside the harbor lies the cruise ship Silver Muse, bringing its tourists to shore with a small boat. The cruise ship accommodates just under 600 tourists and is considered one of the smaller, yet upscale and luxurious vessels, according to the internet.

The sea is calm. Perfect! Still, I indulge in a Vomex pill - better safe than sorry. Unfortunately, I'm not at all 'sea-proof'.

We find a row of seats at the back exit of the boat and are served a small breakfast (blueberry muffin and coffee/soft drinks/water).

During the ride, it's quite windy outside, but we still spend most of the time outside. The scenery is amazing. We go through the fjord, past glaciers, waterfalls, and: whales!

Wow! Shortly after, we see hunting orcas (I am too slow with the camera).

Next, we head to the seal rock.

Photogenically awaiting us is the Eldred Rock Lighthouse.

We pass a buoy where several sea lions sit/lie and sleep. How did they get up there???

Whales follow! Our captain has long stopped checking the schedule. Every 'blow' is approached. We are fortunate that the whales surface and dive right next to our boat. So great! Why did we do whale watching tours again? 🤣😅

At around 12:40 p.m., we reach the Statter Harbor marina, about 20 minutes from downtown Juneau.

A bus is waiting for us here, which will take us to the cruise terminal about 20 minutes away. The bus driver told us that we are very lucky today: the bus has air conditioning 🤣

Then he jokes that such weather as today is an absolute rarity. It rains here on average 280 days a year, the remaining days are divided between average weather and snow, and occasionally the sun shines, but over 30 degrees are not so common here. Thus, in Alaska (atypical for the USA) there are hardly any air conditioning units.

He also gives us the tip to visit the State Office Building, from where one can have a nice view of the harbor.

From a distance, we already see the cruise giants.

We see an old acquaintance: we've already seen the MS Konigsdam in Vancouver over 3 weeks ago. Funny!

Today, there are 6 (!) cruise ships in the harbor, not all at the pier, the Queen Elizabeth, for example, is moored in the middle of the harbor. Tourists are brought ashore by red-orange tenders.

We walk along the pier. The approximately 16,000 passengers from the 6 cruise ships are disembarking... OMG! This is an absolute mass processing here. Everywhere there are kiosks selling whale tours, glacier tours, and other city tours, the line at the Crab Shack is endless, and after a quick look at the gondola price list ($55/person), we turn around. Too much...

Besides, it’s hot. There is not a breeze, my phone says +31 degrees, it feels like a solid +35 degrees. The sun is blazing. Crazy. In Juneau! Alaska!

This should give one pause, as the Mendenhall Glacier is melting too quickly and has allegedly already lost a quarter of its size...

We stroll through the streets and past the shops (it feels like every second store sells diamonds and jewelry) and then back to the pier towards the seaplanes/seaplane base, which are taking off and landing at what feels like minute intervals. We stop briefly at Wings Airways to find out how much a flight over the glacier costs. Since the weather is amazing today, the tours are mostly fully booked. We are greeted by a German-speaking employee who tells us that there are indeed 3 spots free in 30 minutes. My son makes it clear that he definitely does not want to board such a small plane. Hmm... okay. Then that’s out of the question anyway. The cost factor also argues against it. Just casually $1000 for a 45-minute sightseeing flight... ouch...no, that is too much.

Next, we find a table in the shade at Alaska Fish & Chips Company and treat ourselves to (veggie) burgers and fries.

Afterward, we visit the State Office Building, where you can visit the observation deck on the 8th floor for free. Done deal 😇

From the terrace, we have a view of the Queen Elizabeth.

Next, we walk along the road to the Juneau Seawalk and further to the Juneau-Douglas Bridge to Overstreet Park.

And at Overstreet Park, it happens:

A huge humpback whale breaches the surface in front of us!

Haha, just kidding, but after I was asked multiple times how I managed to capture such sensational images of the jumping whale (at first glance, of course), I must unfortunately confess: it is a sculpture that periodically 'spits' water.

I didn't even notice on site that the sculpture (The Whale Project) could be photographed in such a way that it looks like a real whale. This only became apparent while reviewing the pictures 😅

We seek shade, drink something, and chill. It is soooo hot. I really wasn't prepared for such temperatures. Crazy...

We calmly walk back to the cruise terminal. At 4 p.m., the bus picks us up again and drives us around the yacht harbor, where our catamaran is already waiting for us. We are really tired.

We watch seaplanes taking off and landing at minute intervals.

While we are taking a small city tour, the bus driver reports that half an hour ago there was a 'glacial outburst' at Mendenhall Glacier and that flooding is now expected. Behind the Mendenhall Glacier is a glacier lake called Suicide Basin that sends billions of gallons of water downstream in what is called a glacier flood. According to the bus driver, one should imagine it as a full bathtub where someone has just pulled the plug.

We have no idea what all this means but see the threatening raging river as we drive over the Mendenhall River bridge. This morning, there was merely a gently flowing river compared to now 😱

(Edit: in the following days, Mendenhall Valley was flooded, water levels were 5 meters higher than normal, houses were swept away, and hundreds of houses were affected by the flooding)

Back on board, we start the over 4-hour trip back to Haines. For dinner, there is stew (not vegetarian, so I'll stick with bread). On the way, we stop at a sea lion colony. It's quite lively here!

Next, we continue to the seal rocks (they all look like they are laughing) and see sea otters playing and cracking shells in the kelp.

Our tour guide is totally thrilled and says they are seeing sea otters for the first time this season. Up until now, the weather had simply been too bad (rain and fog).

The return trip stretches out - positively speaking, as we see whales multiple times!

Of course, bald eagles should not be missed either.

On the way, we encounter the Ovation of the Seas. What a massive ship! It accommodates nearly 5,000 passengers. How lucky we were not to be there at the same time in Skagway or Juneau.

What a scary thought to be cramped together with thousands of people in such tight quarters. I’d much rather stay in my little camper on a cozy campground 😅

At around 8:30 p.m., we reach Haines. On the way around the camper, we find a lost phone. There’s no one in sight, so we hand it over to the local police, who have nothing more to say than 'Thanks'. Well... hopefully, the owner gets their phone back...

We stop at the small supermarket and grab a loaf of bread and something to drink, then it's back to the campground. We are really exhausted and fall asleep quickly - but I treat myself to a shower in the extremely clean shower house -- just had to mention that😅 .

Tomorrow we can sleep in - theoretically at least 😴

That was quite an eventful day!

For the statistics:

Campground: Haines Hitch UP RV Park

($62.50 ~58 €); Site 38 (Full Hookup)

Distance traveled: 3 km

Distance walked: 8 km

Photos: 754

Weather: Blue sky & sunshine, +33 degrees