West Glacier Trail

Looking down on Mendenhall Glacier from top of West Glacier Trail

Brad and I did the West Glacier hike again yesterday and found it a bit more difficult than when we did it last year.  The trail itself is considered a difficult hike, gaining 1300 feet over 3.4 miles.  This year, though, there were several downed trees you had to navigate around, and the trails were more muddy and slippery due to all of the rain we've been getting this year.  There was also bit of water crossing that I don't remember doing last year.  The view up top is wonderful and worth the hike, but it's not one I'd casually do on a regular basis. 

The Spring in Juneau this year has been unusually wet and cold.  The temperatures have been hovering in the mid-50's mostly, with rain almost every day.  This means there aren't as many flowers in bloom, trails are extremely muddy, and snow from the winter are taking longer to melt.  It's a bit of a disappointment since we were looking forward to a nice summer, but what can you do?  I hope that we will get an unusually dry fall to make up for it, though I'm not counting on it.