Black Bears Stealing the Show At the Glacier Visitor Center

A female black bear catches a sockeye salmon in Steep Creek near the Mendenhall Glacier. She soon disappeared into the bushes to share it with her two young cubs.

The black bears (some cinnamon and some black in color) have been stealing the show lately for all of the cruise ship tourists who visit the glacier. We can count on their appearance pretty much daily on the Steep Creek trail near the visitor center. Some days there are five and most of the days, the mother black bear brings her two one-year-old cubs to the creekside to feed on the spawning sockeye salmon. People love it.


— Christopher

Mt. McGinnis: Steepest Hike Ever, But Breathtaking View

I got off early the other day and decided I would finally scale one of the area mountains that I have wanted to for some time now — Mt. McGinnis. The trail gains nearly 3,500 feet in five miles and was one of the steepest, most difficult hikes I have done (not counting the Inka Trail in Peru). The very tip was clouded over, so I stayed only about 300 feet below the summit to rest and set up for the panoramic shot. I met my friend and coworker, Dan, at the top and we took in the stunning vantage point. All of my muscles ached for at least a few days.

From left to right: A view up the Mendenhall Glacier from the back side of McGinnis; center, the terminus of the glacier flows into Mendenhall Lake and points toward the valley, where most of the 31, 000 residents of Juneau live; to the right in the distance is Douglas Island and Auke Bay.


This is a view from the Mendenhall Valley, where we live. On most days, we can see part of the mountain, and rarely is the summit clear of clouds.

— Christopher