During our cruise up the Alaskan coast our first port of call was Juneau. In 1880 Joe Juneau and Dick Harris discovered gold in a stream. A tented city quickly appeared and the town grew as supporting services for the gold diggers arrived and set up in business. It is now the capital of Alaska but is accessible only by air and sea. The fine looking roads terminate outside the city.
We were booked on the Juneau Wild Life Excursion. This was one of twenty excursions offered.
So confident are the tour operators of the abundance of wild life that they guaranteed we would see at least three species of wild life or else we would receive a $40 cash refund. On board the high speed catamaran we had the good fortune to see a hunchback whale feeding its baby. The baby was vigorous and jumped out of the water every few minutes. Each time they leapt out of the water to breath they consumed energy equivalent to eight pounds of fat. Whereas this seemed a good way of slimming it is not significant when you weigh fifty tons. Sea lions could be seen huddled on a marker buoy in the middle of the channel and bald eagles were viewed off Sentinel island.
The Red Dog Saloon is a noted stop for the tourist. It has moved from its original position in the Gold rush days but still retains a frontier like atmosphere. A moose's head mounted on the wall surveys the tourists and a stuffed grizzly bares its fangs from a safe distance. You are entertained to the lively sound of a honky-tonk piano and guitar. Drinks and food are reasonably priced and many of our party stayed there; arriving back at the ship after dinner.
We arrived in Skagway early the next morning. 100 years ago it was the scene of a momentous gold rush. 20,000 gold seekers passed on their way to the White Pass and the Chilkoot trails. Many perished but today the tourist can view the historic trail from the comfort of the White Pass and Yukon Railroad. Rising through the most rugged terrain, up to nearly 3000 feet, this route was hacked out of rock to become the supply line for the Yukon gold fields. The tourists who went on this excursion described the awesome scenery ranging from panoramic views to shear rock face; glacial valleys and sky blue lakes.
I was full of admiration for one couple who declared they were going on the 15 mile Klondike Bicycle Tour. Then I discovered that a van took them to the top of the pass and they simply cycled downhill as they passed waterfalls, glaciers and the coastal mountains on the way back to Skagway. As the brochure noted "the participants must be comfortable using handbrakes".
We chose the Skagway Glacier Explorer Helicopter tour, a two hour trip which would ferry us high over the glacier. We were fitted out with special boots to grip the ice and life jackets over thick sweaters. A headset enabled us to communicate with the pilot for a commentary as we floated over the glacier remarkable for the jagged ice fields where the ice had been crunched together under enormous pressures. We moved onto a smoother area for landing with instructions to watch where we were walking because here were crevasses to be avoided. The biggest danger was to take a step back without looking when taking a photograph. A feature of the glacier is the blue ice.
Our Guide was a mine of information: " The ice is blue because the oxygen is squeezed out." "Yes, if you fall into a crevasse you become wedged in and as your body heat melts the walls you sink lower".
Over the mountains there was a sense of unreality as we looked at one side of a feature and then floated around to the other side like a bee encircling a flower. Moments later we were hovering a few feet over a very narrow ridge with sheer drops of thousands of feet on each side - too narrow for even a mountain goat. It was a memorable end to the day.
Derrick Grover has travelled extensively. He has had numerous articles published. He is also an experienced photographer and supplies high quality images to support his writing. Further details and photographs are on http://www.travoto.com/alaska.htm.
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