Juneau is of course the capital of Alaska. One of its novelties, like Honolulu, is it can only be reached by sea or air. Although there isn’t a road connecting the city to the “mainland,” that lack doesn’t prevent tons of cars and buses from being shipped in for use on the local roads. More fun is the Mount Roberts Tramway.

We visited Juneau in the afternoon following our sail through Tracy Arm. This is the stop where the ship excursion desk really pushes all the evening Salmon Bake tours, and although we had the option of an Alaskan Luau (yes, the flyer shows both Alaskan and Polynesian food and performers), we opted to go the scenic route and travel high above Juneau on the tram for the view and hike. We got positioned by the windows as the crowd filled the tram and we soon started getting the views we were hoping for.

Checking in at the naturalist deck at the top of the tram, we were told the hiking trail to the top of Mount Roberts was still covered in snow about a mile beyond  the loop trail (lucky for me or Neil might have wanted to hike the whole 8 miles up.) We hiked the nature loop trail and some spurs off it which took us through the forest and out onto the alpine meadows above timberline. The emerald green grass and the numerous delicate wildflowers were a treat to view as we hiked. We reached a rocky outcropping which provided a scenic overlook of the channel, the town, and our cruise ship! We hiked past patches of snow still on the mountainside but the weather was lovely enough for short sleeves. We ran into some small critters (including a small snow bear 😉 and get a glimpse in the distance of a mother bear and her two clubs frolicking on the snow just before they went over the edge and into the forest far below us.

We were impressed with the totem in the Tramway lobby. Neil found a article in the Juneau Empire newspaper about the carver Stephen Jackson and the totem pole meaning. It took Jackson two years to complete the intricate detailed carving. “The story is about the supernatural gift of the constellation of the Big Dipper to the Big Dipper House of the Auk Kwan. A creature symbolizing this gift is one of five design elements in the pole. At the top, Raven’s folded wings seem to hug the surface. In the center is a totemic frog figure. Toward the bottom, a woman — the ribs of her back strikingly evident — stretches down to embrace an infant.”

All this wonderful air and exercise made us ready for another decedent dinner aboard ship. Not salmon that night but we did have it later on the cruise!

[One more note about viewing the full size photos and Neil’s witty descriptions. If you click on any photo in the text portion, you will only be able to arrow through the five photos included in the text. However, if you click on a photo in the gallery below, you will be able to move through all ten.]

Photos and commentary by Neil