Up the Inside Passage Juneau, and SkAgway

Alaska is the nation largest and most diverse state in the nation. From the sub-topical wet forests of southern Alaska to the Arctic North and in between is the inner passage with cruise stops in Ketchikan, Juneau and Skagway. Also, In the northern part of the inside passage are the quickly disappearing glaciers of Glacier Bay.

Home of the ugliest state capital building in the United Stares.

Our next stop after colorful Ketchikan was to visit the land-locked capital of Alaska, Juneau. With no connecting roads to the Canadian main land for the 32,000 people residing in Juneau, the only way in or out is by boat or plane.

The main dock in the narrow downtown area of Juneau. View from our ship.

Mendenhall Glacier is a glacier about 13.6 miles long located in Mendenhall Valley, about 12 miles from downtown Juneau. How many other places on earth can you simultaneously be at a beach, glacier, forest, waterfall, and lake? Such a unique magic place with amazing views. It was an easy mile hike to the glacier and Nugget Falls.

Nugget Falls is one of the largest waterfalls that we have seen. It is fed by the retreating Mendenhall Gracier, which has has receded over a mile since 1935.

While in Juneau, we visited Alaska’s largest salmon fish hatchery while the salmon were running. Salmon return to where they were born to spawn and then they die. So the hatchery captures the mature salmon seen here jumping up the fish ladder in order the assist in the reproduction of salmon in the wilds. That process includes removing the eggs from the females and the sperm from the males. The eggs are fertilized and the young salmon, called fry, are fed until they complete their imprinting process and released back into the wild. The imprinting ensures they will return when they are ready to spawn again; this occurs at about five years of age. The dead salmon shown here in a crate are then sold for fertilizer. Only about 5-10% of the salmon survive to return to spawn. The rest are caught by man or animals and contribute to the cycle of life.

Photos from our sub topical rainforest hike near Juneau, Alaska.

Many of the trees were covered by moss due to the high moisture content of the air. Some areas of southeast Alaska receive as much as 275 inches of rain a year.

Our next stop was Skagway, the gateway to the gold rush.

Skagway is part of the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park. The White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad runs an old locomotive up the famously steep Chilkoot trail. From the top of the pass the train offered sweeping mountain views during its climb toward Canada.

The White Pass train traces the historic Klondike gold rush trail.

Skagway’s first social hall for the Arctic Brotherhood Skagway Camp 1 was the start of the Klondike gold rush, now it houses the Skagway visitors bureau. It is reputed to be the most photographed building in Alaska because of its unique facade.

Some of the other Skagway buildings are in the upper photos. The bottom photos are of Bob in front of a giant snowplow and a train that could plow 15 feet snow drifts off the tracks for the trains from Canada to Skagway.

Skagway is one of the few Inside Passage communities accessible by road via the Klondike Highway, which crosses the US/Canadian Border into the Yukon Territory.

Another interesting hike was to Reid Falls, just outside of Skagway. Along the way, we went through an old cemetery, with head stones of many who did not survive the 1898 gold rush.

The Klondike Gold Rush was a migration by an estimated 100,000 prospectors to the Klondike region of Yukon, in north-western Canada, between 1896 and 1899. They started the journey in Skagway, where it also ended for many that did not survive the cruel Alaskan winter, with only about 30,000 successfully making it to the gold fields.

It was surprising to see so many young infants and children in this cemetery.

Lessons Learned

1. When traveling to Alaska, bring rain gear.

2. Don’t go looking for gold in Alaska, unless you know what you are doing.

3. The extra cost of wild Alaska salmon is well worth it.

Next sailing destination Gracier Bay National Park

Click Here to see Glacier Bay

Appreciate

Credits:

Created with images by GillKeith - "skagway alaska train" • Patjosse - "skagway alaska history" • MICHOFF - "transport railway white pass" • babylass - "upper dewey lake"