An adventure under the ice

The air was crisp and the smoke from the Kenai fires hadn’t reached the Juneau area the morning we hiked to the ice caves. Aside from kids complaining of being woken up at 5:15am on their vacation to embark on a hike that they really weren’t the most thrilled about, we were off to a good start. And thanks to the advice from a local we met the night before, we headed out on what would soon become one of the biggest adventures of our lives, the Mendenhall Ice Caves.

Located just 12 miles outside of downtown Juneau, sits the Mendenhall Glacier. And though hundreds of thousands of people get to view the Mendenhall Glacier each year, few people get to see it up close and all the wonders it beholds. As soon as I learned that our trip this year would take us to Juneau, I began researching the Mendenhall ice caves and how to hike to them. Bring mosquito spray - we forgot it. Bring bear spray - we also forgot it. We did, however, have plenty of snacks, water, rope, first aid supplies, and our crampons just in case we needed them. For those who aren’t familiar with the term, crampons are basically steel cleats to strap on to your shoes to give you traction while ice climbing.

The trail to the glacier was arduous, dangerous at times and unmaintained, only marked by fellow hikers who had put ribbons on a few trees to help mark the path. A GPS device was highly recommended because we had been warned that people who were ill prepared for this hike needed rescuing by local crews very often. We understood why this was the case when we found ourselves reading the map and GPS to decide which way to turn at apparent forks in the path. Not to mention the trail was under water at times and we had to follow our instincts to move around these bodies of water and find our way back to the trail. As we crawled under bushes, pushed our way through vegetation, following what we assumed was the impromptu new trail around the swollen lake, we used our GPS and sense of direction to make sure we were on the right path. Once we emerged from the temperate rainforest, we were faced with sheer cliff walls and a rocky terrain left by the receding glacier. On one of our breaks, Viktoria gazed at the challenge ahead and wondered out loud, “How are we going to get over that?” Then we noticed a pile of stones and a sign sticking out that said ‘Ice limit 1984’ and we knew our path. From there on in, it was hands and feet rock climbs and switchbacks to crest an arm of the mountain to get to the glacier. Our reward was waiting for us half an hour beyond all this work when eventually we saw an eagle sitting on a ledge next to an ice limit sign. As we approached the bald eagle, we looked to our left and saw Mendenhall Glacier for the first time. The only sound you heard was a gasp as each person saw it. We stood there in silence taking in the beauty, watching the sun rise behind it. Not another person was in sight and we had this awe inspiring view of Alaska’s icefield all to ourselves. We felt rejuvenated by the sight of the glacier, our goal. Finally, the reward of our trip was in front of us. Though the glacier was more than a mile away, it got more and more magnificent the closer we got.

Now let me point out that due to settling, melting, and collapsing, the ice caves no longer exist. The glacier is ever changing and though there are no more caves, the glacier itself is other wordly and one of the most amazing things we have experienced in our travels. We walked along the left hand side of the glacier, amazed at its massive size and and the jaw-dropping beauty of it’s blue ice, and quickly found ourselves at the point where the glacier met the mountain. We were in awe of the monstrous sheets of deep blue ice in front of us. As we climbed the steep cliff walls, we found ourselves treading very lightly with each step, hoping to not dislodge a small pebble and send it tumbling into what could soon create a rock slide of larger rocks plummeting into anyone below. Once I slipped and sent rocks racing towards Kendall. Jacob, just joking around, tossed a rock and then sat surprised at how one little toss led to a chain reaction of others racing down the hill. But we continued to climb and as we increased in elevation, the scenes surrounding the deep frozen waves of ice were more and more beautiful. The sun, brightly shining down through tens of thousands of years of packed ice illuminated the glacier, creating a fluorescence to the ice that highlighted the natural concave formations. Due to the warm weather, every square inch of the glacier was melting, creating trickles pouring from the tops of cliffs and small streams down at the base. Clint and I sat and watched as the kids touched, tasted, listened and explored the cracks and crevices of the ice. Kendall scooted on his belly into a small crevice and took an amazing picture of what was below. It didn’t take long before we were all soaked, freezing and shivering from the cold and wind, so we decided to head down the mountain.

At the base, we strapped on our crampons and carefully walked on the glacier that we were just exploring underneath. Again, the many colors, textures and crevasses came to life, at times looking like crests of waves, made of marshmallow creme.