- Enjoy the wonderful morning mood over the lake
- Briefly explore the east side of the lake
- Shopping at Fred Meyer
- Breakfast at the lake
- Demanding hike on the West Glacier Trail to the ice caves of the Mendenhall Glacier
- Watch beavers from the campsite
- Recycle leftover food
I wake up early on this beautiful morning. The cold night just above freezing point shows that autumn is already slowly but surely coming here. A slight foretaste of what is to come. I enjoy the brightly lit morning mist over the Mendenhall Glacier. The long rays of the sun are literally tangible in the woods.
Then I drive to the Visitors Center of the ultra-popular glacier on the south side of the lake and inquire about the hiking trails. I find out that initially the West Glacier Trail, later a path that has not been maintained, leads up to the photogenic ice caves of the Mendenhall Glacier. Since the glacier and the surrounding recreation area are only a few kilometers outside of Juneau, I drive to the Fred Meyer supermarket to buy milk for my breakfast cereal. Then I go back to the lake and have breakfast in the warming morning sun.
Reinvigorated, I make my way to the Trailhead parking lot and pack my things for the 5-7 hour hike. I start at 11 a.m. and meet someone like me at the parking lot. Colby works on a ship for the better-off, which is sailing the Inside Passage this summer. Today is his rest day and he has also heard about the caves. So together we set out on the ascent in T-shirts. After just under an hour, the terrain becomes more impassable and the path is poorly maintained, let alone marked. Finally we slide down the lateral moraine of the glacier on the edge of the glacier. We fight our way up on this until we finally reach the tunnel, which is inconspicuous from the outside. As soon as you stand in front of it, you are literally drawn into the spell of the blaze of colors. The Schelzwasserbach has eaten its way through the glacier. The smoothly sanded walls glow in the deepest shades of blue. Melt water is constantly dripping from the ceiling. Recently part of the cave collapsed so be careful.
A little further up there is a second small opening in the side wall. Here we climb down to take some pictures. Even fog has formed here, another great spectacle of nature. On the way back we climb into the tunnel and discover a side shaft, which also allows great long-term exposure shots.
Then we set off on the challenging way back over the scree. Scratched hands, my aching knees and, in Colby's case, even torn pants mark us of the exertion, but it was worth the effort. After about 12 kilometers and a little over 5 hours we are back at the parking lot. I drive Colby to Fred Meyers and on to the center. I want to book a whale watching tour here for tomorrow. Then I drive out to the Mendenhall Lake Campground and get a nice spot at a beaver reservoir. While cooking, the two rodents can even be observed eating. I turn all kinds of leftovers into a stew. Then I look through my pictures from today and take a shower.
