Juneau Trip - Part II

Pictures just don't do justice to how rugged the terrain is around Juneau. In places it goes straight from the beach to 6,000 foot mountain tops without any foothills or flat land at all. The city of Juneau sits at the foot of the Gold Creek valley, where gold creek flows into the Gastineau channel. If you click on the pictures you get a larger view that shows the ruggedness a little better.


This picture of downtown Juneau was taken from Douglas Island, across the Gastineau channel from Juneau.


The Mendenhall glacier is fed from the Juneau ice fields, not visible in the picture. The Mendenhall glacier is receding, and only perhaps fifteen years ago it was clear out to the edge of the waterfall on the right. The Mendenhall has been receding steadily for the last three hundred years or so. Other Alaskan glaciers are steadily growing.

If I have the time I like to go visit Montana creek, which empties into the Mendenhall river. The water is clear as it's not fed directly by a glacier. It's a beautiful area, but just packed with bears.


The North Douglas boat launch on Douglas island, a short distance from where we were staying.


A few miles South East of Juneau is Sheep creek. When the tide goes out in Juneau, it really goes out. Where I'm standing would be under 16 or 17 feet of water at high tide.


Another one of my favorite spots in Juneau is Kowee creek, which is actually about 40 miles out of town at the end of the road. The whiteish green color of the creek (really a small river) is caused by the finely ground glacial flour in the water. With the right gear and at the right time of the year, this is an amazing place to fish for salmon.

Every year Juneau is visited by approximately 900,000 visitors, and they mostly see all the same sights on their visit. I've tried to pick out some pictures of some of my favorite spots that most visitors wouldn't have the chance to see.

Hope you enjoyed the pictures!

Note: For a lot more picture of our trip, check out KeeWee's post here.