Alaska...how can I sum it up? Well, in a word - rainy.
We were there for 2 weeks and it rained everyday. I'm not kidding, EVERYday. Yes, there were days that we saw the sun, but rain and clouds were certainly the prevailing elements. I wanted to sit in our cabin everyday, but Maddie, being the outdoor adventurer that she is, kept pressuring us to bundle her up in her pink furry bear outfit and raincoat to get outside.
We arrived in Juneau after a tiring overnight flight to rain and 50's. Maddie did well on the flight and on arrival to our lodging took a 4 hour nap which helped all of us immensely. We awakened to partly sunny skies and I got some good pictures of the Mendenhall glacier from our backdoor and patio. That would be the last we would see of the sun for 5 days
.
The next day, we took it easy and checked out the Mendenhall Glacier and visitors center since it was pouring rain. (From now on, just assume it's raining unless you're told otherwise.) The visitors center gave us interesting information and gave us ideas for hikes over the next week.
We made a trip to the outdoor store the following morning to purchase some waterproof pants since the weather forecast was less than favorable. We had just enough time to hike the Perseverance Trail to it's end and check out some lush, green temperate rainforest with ample waterfall viewing. Maddie got her first real taste of cold, rainy weather in the carrier for a couple of hours and seemed to enjoy it.
For dinner I enjoyed some clam chowder, fresh salmon and excellent beers. Em savored her chicken fingers while Maddie chowed down on some rolls and Mum Mums (like Zwieback).
The West Glacier Trail occupied the majority of the next day with its 7 miles and 1300 ft. of elevation gain, as well as good photo oppotunities beside and above the Mendenhall glacier. Em freaked out because she kept smelling grizzlies nearby, but none materialized from the depths of the forest.
Afterwards, we settled into the Island Pub for some excellent hummus followed by tremendous gourmet pizzas washed down by an Alaskan IPA.
Rain, or more accurately, downpours the next day kept Em and Maddie inside, but my insatiable urge to explore (idiocy) overcame me and I ventured into the rain for a 4 mile hike.
The views were misty, the boardwalk slippery and the porcupines almost underfoot. This guy scared me when he bristled up about 3 feet from the trail.
He was about the size of a beachball, much bigger than I would've expected. I arrived back at Gill's Horizon, Maddie went to bed and we cooked up some Alaskan Amber fresh bratwursts. After dinner we snuck away to the hot tub overlooking Douglas Channel (with Maddie's monitor).
The next morning we awakened early to line up for our ferry ride up the Inside Passage to Haines on the Alaska Marine Highway. This method of transport had been touted as nothing short of amazing and on this day it did not disappoint. Checking in was a breeze, the seating was comfortable and spacious and nobody peformed a full body cavity search on the passengers like they do at the airport. We even got to keep our shoes on. The weather was partly cloudy and drizzly, but partly sunny too (we couldn't believe it either). The early hour and the angle of the sunlight on the mountains, water and glaciers was spectacular. Maddie and Em napped some while I spent time on the aft outdoor passenger deck enjoying the wind, cool air and beautiful views. At $123 to transport 2 adults, an infant and a car with views like that, it's a steal.
On arrival, Haines was rainy, but the weather cleared and we spent the sunny afternoon walking along the Chilkat River in the bald eagle preserve, home to the single largest population of bald eagles in the world. We saw only a few eagles as it was too early for the late salmon run on this river. Nevertheless, we enjoyed the sun on our faces and were able to use a spotting scope to see some of the eagles closeup.
We proceeded to the Fireweed cafe for dinner. Our kind of place with an eclectic mix of people gathered enjoying hippie pizza and Haines Brewing Co. beers - a place where you're just as likely to see someone geared-out in Patagonia and Mountain Hardwear as you are someone in Carhartts, a lumberjack shirt and rubber boots. We retreated happily to our cabin with its view of Lynn Canal and Taiya Inlet.
Friday, Sept. 12 turned out to be a great day for peak bagging with an 8 1/2 mo. old - rain, clouds and high winds. Despite this, we climbed Mt. Riley with Maddie screaming her head off only about 20% of the time.
As you can see, she was happy to return to the car. After her traumatic hike we returned to the Fireweed to grab a pizza for the car while we went to the Chilkoot River to view the wildlife. We spotted multiple bald eagles and grizzlies within minutes of arriving and savored our pizza while the grizzlies savored their very fresh salmon.
We spent the next day hiking the Seduction Point trail, which sported stellar views from the Chilkat Peninsula across the inlet to the Rainbow and Davidson Glaciers snaking out of the Chilkat Mountains.
Before arriving to these views, Em came almost toe to toe with a couple moose.
As it turned out, these were the babies, but mama was nearby and everyone remained calm and went about their business.
After admiring the wildlife, mountain and glacier views we retreated to the car and looked for a place to grab some dinner. We were happy to find a cantina where we could grab some burritos and a beer. We settled down to beautiful views across Chilkoot Inlet to the Coast Range and savored some truly excellent salsa and chips. The salsa was a harbinger - for I was about to enjoy the best Mexican food I've ever had. Clearly, this stuff was put together with love and care, not dumped out of a can. During dinner I had one of those moments of complete content. We'd just finished an amazing hike, Maddie was happily chewing on a baby cracker, Em was sitting across from me enjoying her meal and I looked over her shoulder taking in the mountain view while Bruddah Iz was playing his version of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" on the restaurant speakers reminding me of home. It's a pretty sweet feeling to know that even when vacation's over you're going back to Hawaii.
The next morning dawned cloudy and rainy, but we were headed back to Juneau on the ferry so we could depart by plane the next day to Anchorage. In contrast to my content the night before, I felt pretty fed up with traveling when Maddie was inconsolable on the ferry ride. She calmed down later after napping, but the ride was less enjoyable due to low-hanging clouds and steady rain. We arrived at a cool little boutique hotel called the Silverbow Inn in downtown Juneau, grabbed some sandwiches and coffee from the downstairs bakery and let Maddie crawl around awhile in the room. We got a decent dinner the Twisted Fish overlooking the harbor while Maddie waved at the other patrons of the restaurant.
Rain greeted us again the following morning so we leisurely ate a nice (and free) breakfast from the bakery and prepared for our flight to Anchorage scheduled for the early afternoon. On arrival to the airport, we immediately heard that our flight had been delayed due to weather, despite no warning via email or voicemail. The flight time pushed further and further back as we sat and waited while Maddie got more and more antsy. By the time we boarded, we'd been at the airport about 5 hours. As a result, we arrived in Anchorage at dusk and had to make the drive to Talkeetna in the dark, i.e. no mountain views.
We were greeted by the friendly innkeeper (and her 2 large silicone friends) at Susitna River Cabins who expedited our check in to the clean, spacious cabin since she knew we were tired from delays at the airport. The lodge was ranked by Outside magazine as one of the top ten family adventure lodges in 2003. We awakened the following morning refreshed from a good night's sleep only to see more rain and grayness. After grabbing a muffin for breakfast, we headed to the laundromat to get the dried muskeg (bog) off our hiking gear. The rain came down harder and harder, spoiling any chance for a quick afternoon hike.
A little background info on Talkeetna. It's located at the end of a 14 mile spur road off of George Parks Highway about 1/3 of the way from Anchorage to Fairbanks and serves as the jumping off point for the spring expeditions to summit Denali. It has a few restaurants and shops, as well as a general store and is "advertized" as a cool little mountain town - so I'm thinking Telluride or Breckenridge. What we found however, is that there is NOTHING to do in Talkeetna. Sure the largest mountain in North America and its namesake national and state parks are within a couple hour's drive, but the town sits on a plain next to the now almost dry Susitna River. A single new trail around some small lakes near town was the closest thing to an outdoor activity that Talkeetna could offer in the fall, maybe some fishing in the nearly dry riverbed if you're into that.
All in all, Talkeena was a bust, but the next day we headed to Denali State Park for a hike around Byers Lake and maybe up the the Kesugi ridge if the weather would allow us to view "the Great One". As expected, the day was drizzly and overcast, but the hike around the lake and starting up the ridge to Cascade Falls was nice, but a bit muddy.
Back at the cabin, we walked out on the riverbed as the skies cleared a bit and we were able to view parts of the mountain range containing Denali. We might have even seen the summit poking through the low clouds, but I can't be sure.
Since the Park Road in Denali National Park was slated to be closed in a few days, they open an extra 15 miles, normally accessible only by park bus, to private vehicles. We decided to take the rare opportunity to drive the road and hopefully see the abundant wildlife that Denali is known for. Along the 3 hour drive to the park, we did see some of the lower mountains surrounding Denali, but no views of "the Great One" yet again. Ironically enough, the rain was minimal that day and we even saw a fair amount of sun though we spent the great majority of the day in the car. Considering we were driving for the views it worked well for us, but I would've liked such a day for hiking.
Several things about the national park surprised me. First, the landscape was that of alpine tundra for the most part, with distant snow-capped mountains. Second, all the trails (only a few miles) are located at the park entrance. I guess because the park is so large with relatively few visitors, if you want to hike just pick a spot, park the car and walk wherever you want. Third, we saw very minimal to no wildlife. Granted, we only traveled 1/3 of the park road, but I expected more especially with the number of visitors dropping dramatically in September.
Sadly, we never saw Denali, though I hear it hides for the majority of the time. We drove back to Anchorage so the girls could go to the zoo and I could knockout a quick hike. Upon arriving at the the trailhead our spectacular piece of American engineering called a Dodge Avenger failed us. Too technologically advanced to have a standard key lock to open the trunk, we were foiled by the malfunctioning keyfob and trunk button on the dashboard. As a result, I had to remove the car seat and base, fold down the back seats, pull all the luggage out through the back and then pull the internal emergency trunk release. Had the American car gods not removed the hex in a few hours, I would've had the pleasure of this procedure about a half dozen times before our flight. Fueled by piss and vinegar I made quick work of Flattop Mountain, the most-hiked mountain in all of Alaska. I even got some views into the Chugach Mountains from the summit.
The Moose's Tooth Brewpub was our destination for dinner and beers and despite our 5:30 arrival, we still waited about an hour - a testament to the popularity of this place. Unfortunately, I was required to drink many of their excellent beers, including a Saison Anniverary and an ESB, while waitng for a table. Maddie got her fill of pizza crust, so she thought the pizzas were worth the wait and we returned to the hotel fat and happy. Since the hot tub was too hot and the pool too cold (you can tell we've been spoiled for too long by 80 degree waters) we filled up the bathtub so Maddie could splash around for awhile. Consider it a treat before the punishment of a day spent in airplanes and airports.
The flight home was no fun, but we made it safely and without delay, as did our luggage thanks to our efficient little porter.
Things I learned about Alaska:
It rains A LOT there.
It's pretty rainy there.
Rain is always in the forecast.
There are big mountains, but we couldn't see them.
Their beer selection kills Kauai's.
Man, that place is BIG!
Their ferry system is really nice.
The scenery is spectacular (and wet).
Rubber boots and dresses are acceptable attire for females at restaurants.
I want to go back sometime and maybe see the sun.
It rains A LOT there.
