Point Bridget State Park

Field of Fireweeds

This is my second time in the park this summer but it was a completely different scenery this time.  The trail that was all wet and muddy last time from the melting snow has now dried up, making the walk a lot more pleasant.  There were also many flowers and berries to see along the way.  About a mile or so in though, we veered off course to head to Cowee Creek where my friend, Matt, whipped out his fishing pole for a quick catch.  This time of year all the salmon are back in the creeks to spawn so a lot of people go to the creeks to fish for sport.  I'd only been fishing once or twice before with my brother and remember catching a tree back then.  My friend had to show me how to fly-fish, and although I had no luck hooking a fish, he let me reel in one of the ones he hooked. 

Once we had enough of that, we tried to find our way back towards the trail without back-tracking.  This turned into a long detour and couple of stream crossings.  Salmon are everywhere, and it was fun watching the dogs run around amongst them.  Matt's dog, Charlie, even caught his own fish!



It took a while, but we managed to bushwhack are way back to a cabin in the park where we relaxed a bit.  I took my shoes off in hopes of letting my socks dry in the sun, but wool doesn't dry so easily.  Oh well.  By then it was already getting late in the day so we headed back, but it was a great day out in the park with lots of wildflowers, berries, and fish!

Wild Blueberries & Worms

Wild blueberries

Alaska has a treasure trove of wild berries, many of which you can pick and eat.  One of the most common berries that I've seen around on Juneau trails are the blueberries.  I've seen them on trails to Crow Point, Outer Point, Point Bridget, and probably many other places.  When I first started seeing the berries I was so excited I picked a few that looked ripe, even though it was a little early in the season.  I had heard from someone though that there are worms in these blueberries.  You have to soak the blueberries in salt water overnight, and in the morning you will see the worms that have crawled out of the berries floating in the water.  I did just that, and saw a few little white worms that almost look like mini-maggots.  It was kinda disgusting.  I really wanted to have a blueberry pancake though, so I took the berries and made a pancake. Well, they weren't quite ripe enough yet and it didn't taste good.  Fail.  I decided it just wasn't worth the effort of trying to pick them at the right time and then deworming them, only to eat them with a slight fear that a worm or two might still be left in the berries.  I'm sure the worms won't stop the berry picking enthusiasts, but I went out and bought a tub of blueberries from the grocery store the next day for my pancakes. 

Pancake made with blueberries from the store - yum.

Hike to Gastineau Peak (3672ft)

Today's hike to Gastineau Peak was probably the hardest I've done since hiking in Switzerland back in '07.  It's also about three times higher than the highest I've done in Juneau.  The trail started on Basin Road at an elevation of about 300 ft.  The first hour and half of the trail is actually quite boring.  It's a steady hike up a muddy trail through the rainforest.  If I didn't have Millie with me, I could've avoided it by taking the Mt. Roberts Tram up from downtown to about 1800 ft.   That would've made my hike a lot easier.  There are couple of view points along the trail to the tram, but none are worth stopping for if you plan to hike past the tram stop. 

Once at the tram station, I stopped there only to let Millie have a drink at the water bowl they keep out for dogs.  The trail below had only a few places for her to get a drink, and it was a pretty warm day out for Juneau.  After the brief stop for water and a view, we continued on up the trail.  You get a view of Gastineau Channel most of the way up, and the view just gets better and better as you get higher.  The terrain also changes from rainforest to sub-alpine, and many wildflowers are in bloom.  The trail seems to be a widely used one, by locals and tourists.  The few we saw going up that morning were locals.  It was comforting knowing others were and will be on the trail since it was just me and Millie today.

A bit further up the trail we started seeing piles of snow leftover from the winter.  Good thing because that was Millie's water source.  She would either eat the snow or drink from the stream or puddle made from melting snow.  She also liked to roll around in it to cool off.



The climb was long and a little difficult since it involved narrow and rocky terrain in places.  It wasn't as muddy as the trail below the tram though.  There were also walks through thick vegetation and I worried that a bear might be around the corner where I couldn't see.  I jingled my bear bell occasionally & luckily I didn't see one.  I got to a place that looked like it could be Gastineau Peak, but I was disappointed to find out it was only the Gold Ridge.

The dreaded ridge

There was little more ways to go before hitting Gastineau Peak, but that little way required crossing what looked like to me as a trecherous snow covered knife edge ridge crossing.  I couldn't really see what would be on the otherside a little ways and I wasn't entirely sure if it was good idea to cross with only my sturdy hiking boots and an unpredictable puppy.  After consulting another hiker that came up behind me I decided I might as well give it a shot since it was just a little more ways to go to the top.  I tried to keep my eyes focused on the ground while crossing it though since I felt a bit of vertigo coming on looking down the sides.

Once at the peak, which my GPS said was 3672 feet, I had my lunch and got a few snaps.  I could see the trail that continues on to the peak of Mount Roberts.  It was only supposed to be another mile and 200 feet elevation gain (maybe a bit more in actual since you had to go down first to go up the peak).  Perhaps it was another 45 min or so to get there, according to another woman who was on Gastineau Peak with me.  I didn't plan on going all the way today, and decided to stick with my plan because I still had to get down and I wasn't sure how I'd fare.  I felt fine at the moment, but I figured I'd save that for another time. 

I always take it slow going down.  Given the steepness and rockiness of trail in places, I wished I had a stick or poles.  It's tough on your knees without them.  Then again, it didn't seem to do another hiker much good.  On the way down I ran into the guy who had convinced me to go across the dreaded ridge.  He had slipped and broken his leg!!  There were many other people already there attending to him.  They had put a splinter on his leg with his hiking poles, and called the tram station to get a gurney sent up for him.  After making sure my help wasn't needed, I kept on heading down.  I passed a medic on the way up, followed slowly by 2 not-so-fit looking guys struggling to get a wheeled gurney up top.  I wondered to myself how the hell they are going to get that thing up, and then down, but I quietly hoped they were trained and knew what they were doing. 

My legs were getting quite tired and stiff, but there's not much to do but keep going.  Another stop for water at the tram and we continued on down the lower half of the mountain.  Seemed like such a long way down.  It almost feels harder getting down than going up since your legs are tired.  It's a shame that going down isn't as enjoyable as going up. Regardless, we made it, and I'm glad to have done it since I had been looking forward to doing for so long.  It was a beautiful hike but I doubt I'll be doing that one again this year though.  There's plenty other difficult ones to try first.  Next year I'll shoot for Mount Roberts. 

The trail continues on to Mount Roberts

The Fish Ladder at the Hatchery

Final step in the ladder before being sorted and stripped of eggs

The Fish Ladder

It's salmon spawning season!  In the next couple weeks we are expecting salmons to start running up the creeks to return to their spawning grounds to lay eggs and die.  For an easy view of running salmons in Juneau, you can check out The Fish Ladder at the Macaulay Salmon Hatchery off of Salmon Creek Road.  The 450 ft "ladder" helps the salmon swim up to an area where they are later sorted for egg harvesting.  It's pretty amazing to see these fish swim up against current and through these tiny openings between each step in the ladder.  You can also learn here a little bit about the types of Salmon that can be found: Chum, Coho, Pink, Sockeye, and King.  Inside the hatchery you will find a small aquarium and gift shop full of salmon products - from smoked salmon to caviar. 

Seeing all of these salmons made me want to go fishing like some people were from a dock a short distance from the hatchery.  I'm not sure I'll get out there this year since I still need to get all the necessary equipment (poles, tackle box, etc.), but it's definitely on our must do list for next year.  We'll also be able to get the local rates for fishing licenses by then too.  (You have to be a resident of Alaska for a year before you are eligible for the discounted rates.)   All we have to do is probably catch one salmon and we have our dinner for the week.  I wonder if we can catch Sushi grade salmon.  I'm dreamin' of all-you-can-eat fresh salmon, salmon sushi, and smoked salmon... yum!

Eagles & Crow Point Trail

Alaska is a great place to see the Bald Eagles., the national bird and symbol of USA.  You can often see them flying around or perched on a tree top while on a hike.  If you want to see many eagles, or increase your chances of seeing one, then head out on the Boy Scout/Crow Point Trail.  You can reach the trailhead by turning left just before Herbert River, and then turning right at the end of that road.  About a mile walk on flat trails with Eagle River to the right, through the forest and meadow, will get you to a beach across the river from Eagle beach.  I suppose it might be easier to just go to Eagle beach, but I think you will see a lot more from the other side of the river. 

I have seen countless Eagles on this trail, but there are also many other types of birds all over the beach.  Some are in flocks, and others are hanging out on their own as a one of a kind.  The trail also is a nice one to do even on a rainy or cloudy day.  It's an easy stroll through the rainforest, and once out by the meadow, you can also see berries and wildflowers.  You can also walk along the beach for perhaps another mile or so to the point. Unlike most beaches on mainland USA, there's a pretty good chance you will have this one all to yourself.

Salmon Creek Trail

Salmon Lake

Although there are many trails in Juneau, I'm somewhat of a fair weather hiker so it is taking me a little while to get around to some of the longer hikes.  Many of the hikes that actually gain any significant elevation are a bit difficult to do if it is wet because it can be steep and slippery.  I suppose I'm still in the mid-range hikes, looking at something about 6-7 miles in length with 1000-1500ft of elevation gain.  Today's hike was 3.5 (o/w) up Salmon Creek Trail to the Salmon Creek Lake and dam at 1100ft.

Power house about 2 miles in

The trailhead is at mile 2.5 on your right off of Egan when coming from downtown.  The first couple miles of trail is pretty wide and easy (once you get past first little bit up hill).  You can see Salmon Creek off to the side in places, and a pond of sorts which is a good place to stop for the doggies.  The wide trail ends at a power house next to the creek, but you can continue off to the left side of the power house to head up to the Salmon Creek Dam.  The trail now takes you through the forest to the dam.  Once you get to a point where you can view the dam from below, you can continue up to the left a set of stairs and steeper trails.  The terrain gets a little challenging here, as the trails become narrow and more steep with some slippery places.  Millie got pushed off a trail by Charlie at one point and went sliding down hill about 7 feet.  Poor girl.  She managed to climb her way back up though. 

The dam

Your efforts on this trail are rewarded at the top with a fantastic view of the dam and Salmon Lake.  Supposedly this is where Juneau's drinking water comes from so it's not a place you can hang out and go for a swim or anything.  There's a bench up there to sit on and enjoy the view though.  If you're lucky, you might see some mountain goats up there but we didn't see any.

The Chocolate Lily

Chocolate Lily

One thing I did not expect to see in Alaska were so many beautiful wildflowers.  I didn't expect to not see any, but when you think of Alaska, you think of snow, mountains, bears, fishing, etc.  You don't say, "let's go to Alaska to see the pretty flowers."  Well, I was pleasantly surprised to find flowers everywhere here since the weather started getting warmer.  The trails are dotted with wildflowers, and many of the houses in my neighborhood have beautiful flowers growing in their yards.  I've seen so many types of flowers that I can't even begin to name them all. 

My favorite one so far though is probably the Chocolate Lily.  On a first glance, it looks like it's a flower that is withering away.  On a closer inspection though, it's a brown colored Lily!  Well, I thought it was cool anyways.  After all, what other brown flowers are there?

Bears

Alaska is bear country.  You have your black bears, brown bears (e.g. grizzlies), and polar bears.  Luckily for those of us who live in Juneau, most of the bears here are black bears, the least dangerous out of them all.  Still, bears are wild animals and can pose a danger to people.  Although I love that Juneau has many trails to offer, I often hike with a pinch of fear that I may encounter a bear.  I also worry about how Millie will react to bears.  Will she stand her ground and scare the bear away for me?  Or will she run up to it with a wagging tail like she does with most people and dogs?  I could leash her, but what's the fun in that?  I am out on trails two to four times a week, and I have seen a bear only once - in an area specifically designated for wildlife viewing (Steep Creek Trail at the Mendenhall Glacier).  However, my husband has had at least 7 bear encounters - some of them just outside our home!  I worry that my luck will run out and I will have a bear encounter that will make my heart skip a beat... but life must go on.  There's no point in living in Alaska if I'm not going to enjoy the outdoors.  So I continue to hike, at times armed with a bear spray and a bear bell on Millie. 

View from Steep Creek Trail

For anyone who is new to Alaska or is planning to visit, I would recommend you first educate yourself on bear facts.  It will help you alleviate irrational fears or pure ignorance.  The best thing you can do is to know how to react should you have a bear encounter.  My husband, who works as a Security Officer, has told me on several occasions how he's had to keep tourists away from bears that have wandered into town.  These tourists often don't realize that bears can be dangerous and try to approach them for better photos, or out of sheer curiosity.  If you come to Alaska and see a bear, remember this is no Disneyland - the bears are real.