Log Entry: Thursday, July 1st, 1999

Auke Bay (Juneau)

Jane's log:

"Found the electronics store and took a walk around Mendenhall Glacier - part scramble as we climbed from the beach to the overview trails!  We got a great close-up sighting of a Steller's Jay."

Actually, the scramble took about two and a half hours: up through steeply piled Volkswagen Beetle-sized boulders at first, interspersed with steep but very loose gravel, and very unpleasant little alders; then finally a forest with a steeply rising floor of thistles,  dead branches, and slippery moss.  After the first hour, we came to a very steep rock face, which looked to be only about 15 feet high, and we tried to scale it from several spots, but finally abandoned the effort and decided to try and go around it.   All this on about the hottest day we had experienced so far on our trip: we were far too over-dressed for the occasion.   Eventually we stumbled onto a path, which joined up with the main path, which we had meant to take in the first place!  The remainder of the walk was very pleasant, taking us to the top of a forested rise overlooking the glacier, a wonderful waterfall, and the vast rolling mountainous terrain beyond.

The journey back down the other side was much less troublesome!