Alaska: Part 2

July 4th - 6th: Darcy and I headed to Juneau for the Fourth of July and got to spend a few days with Laura Baker. We managed to get some great hiking in despite the rainy weather including a long morning run out to some ice caves on the Mendenhall Glacier.

On our flight to Juneau from Anchorage, we had one of the clearest days I have seen while flying over Prince William Sound and the Wrangall/St. Elias area. This resulted in incredible views of the mountains and glaciers that form the boundary between Alaska and Canada including St. Elias (Canada) and Mt. Bona (US), both in the top ten tallest mountains in North America.

Darcy and Laura on a ridge above the glacier in the first of many silly pictures taken that morning (and just one of many for the whole trip).

Laura and I inside one of the coolest ice caves I have ever explored. The glacial blue and textured walls of the ice was otherworldly; I don't think I would have been surprised to see a woolly mammoth looking back at me from the ice!

More silly photos.

Darcy? Cold? I thought it would never happen! In all seriousness, the glacier significantly alters the air temperature in the Mendenhall Valley where it can often be 10 degrees cooler than in town. As we walked over the final ridge before the glacier, we could feel the wind sweeping freezing air off the ice.

The brave explorers have conquered the ice cave!

Up next... we head to Petersburg. Also, FYI- you can click on any of the photos in order to see a full sized image.