Mushing Mom on Mendenhall Glacier

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Sharon and I awoke as we neared Juneau. We checked the TV to see the top-side-forward camera and were pleased to see blue skies similar to yesterday. It should be a good day for a helicopter ride. Sharon and Shirley have an early long tour, where they will take a boat ride back to the area we were in Tracy Arm. The hope is that in a smaller craft, wildlife will be more visible and the glacier experience more up close and personal; but, I will let Sharon report on that later. My mother chose to join Sharon and her mother for breakfast in the Lido; while, I typed away on yesterday’s blog. My mom later joined me in the Vista Dining Room for a blueberry muffin; I had Eggs Benedict with a side of sausage and potatoes. The waiter apologized profusely for not bringing the hashed browns that I requested; but, they were serving cut-up roasted potato pieces today. The maître Dee later came by and again apologized for not being able to honor my request. From what he started to say, I gather the device they used to prep the potatoes for hashed browns was no longer functional. I assured him I like the potatoes that were brought just fine. He came by again at the end of the meal to apologize again for not being able to give me what I asked for… it was almost getting embarrassing. Clearly what I said was much more important to them than it was to me; but, I sure do appreciate their efforts and concern.



My mom and I assembled on the pier, and located our guide and driver. We completed a group form by name and weight. I was told that I would probably have a surcharge on my HAL bill for exceeding the threshold weight. There was no scale there to verify one’s weight, so it is on the honor system. But when it comes to piling people into a helicopter and distributing the weight properly, it’s probably in everyone’s best interest to be close to truthful when reporting. We had a short wait while others joined us. It wasn’t a large group headed for a helicopter ride and dog sled journey on a glacier. Our driver pointed out some buildings in Juneau, and then noted the upcoming bridge on the left that crosses over to Douglas Island. He then asked if anyone could guess what the name of the bridge was. Bridge to Douglas Island was close, but no cigar. The name? Simply, “The Bridge”. You can understand why they might refer to a bridge, as simply “The Bridge”; because Juneau is not one that you can drive to from elsewhere in Alaska. There are two dead-end roads into town, so there aren’t going to be that many bridges, so everyone will know what you mean when you say “The Bridge”. No need to be more specific like Brooklyn Bridge, or Verrazano Bridge. Our driver noted that Juneau is in the Tsongas Rain Forest, and, after the Amazon Rain Forest, it is the largest rain forest in the world. Temperatures are very moderate and they receive about 100 inches of rain per year. Alaska was purchased from Russia for $7.2 million in 1867, an exchange dubbed Seward’s Folly for the Secretary of State under Andrew Johnson that negotiated the deal.



We shortly arrived at the heliport on Douglas Island. We were told to use the restrooms at the heliport, as there would be no facilities at “Dog Town” on the Mendenthal Glacier. We were given pullover booties to keep our shoes and pant leggings dry. It may have not been necessary for me to wear (or bring) my hiking boots; sneakers would have been just fine. We were also given a life vest for the portion of our flight near the heliport that is over water.



I was assigned to sit in the seat to the left of the pilot. My mother was in the back center, and there were two women on either side of her by the windows. We got buckled in, got our headsets adjusted, and the pilot began warming up the engine. We lifted off smoothly and followed the three helicopters ahead of us. We climbed steadily and got a great view of Juneau below before heading off into the wilderness. Nearing the crest of local mountains, we saw clouds cascading over the top that our pilot Nick noted were both beautiful and unusual. Clearing the top of our local peaks, the large flat white valley in front of us was all glaciers. In the distance, Dog Paw Peak was a rocky mountain silhouetted against the horizon. Nick informed us that that was just across the border in Canada. Visibility was perfect. We skirted around one ridgeline, then up and over the final ascent before on the white frozen flat below and against the cliffs we could see tiny black spots bunched in the snow, and this was our destination, Dog Town.



The other three helicopters had already landed. We were helped out of the helicopter after the engines had cooled down and the blades had stopped rotating. This was my mother’s first helicopter ride. As our bus driver had pointed out to us earlier, this was likely to be a day of firsts for everyone, and he promised that this would secure a spot in our top ten in our bucket list; although, I’m not sure anyone should be in a hurry to complete that! Today was the first time my mother had set foot on Alaska. It was not the first time she had either seen or set foot on a glacier. Both of those firsts came over 50 years ago in Germany. This is her first cruise (in over fifty years). The other was on the original Queen Mary when we moved back to the states from Europe. And it will be her first dog sled ride, special for her because she likes dogs, especially large dogs. Mother needed some extra assistance in walking on the snow, which was sometimes firm, and would sometimes give way. The whole crew was especially helpful, and I even think appreciative that someone her age would make the effort to come to the top of Mendenthal Glacier to see the dogs and ride on a two mile circuit near the base of rising cliffs. We were welcomed by the man who had created Dog Town about fifteen years ago to run with his son. We had made it over to the nearest sled, and they broke us up into one party of three, one party of four, which left my mother and I as the final dog sledding party. Two sleds were near, but ours was about two hundred feet ahead. The dogs were already attached and yelping to run, eager to run, impatient to run. Other dogs were chained to their individual igloo shaped fiberglass shelters along with a dog dish. Our guide said those with the sleds were yelping with glee and saying “Nah nah, Nah nah, Hah hah,” to the others, who were yelping, complaining they had not been chosen to run. The brought a snow mobile over to take my mom to the other sled, and my mother expressed concern “Don’t I get to ride in a dog sled?” But she was happy to get the lift to the dog sled she would be riding in. They came back and picked me up as well.



They were running these sleds in tandem, with a lead sled capable of holding the musher and two passengers. The rear sled contained room for one rider and one person to stand on the rear runners to get the feel of being a musher. Anyone who wanted to stand as the musher on the rear sled would get a chance to do so. I started out sitting in the front sled, just in front of my mom, which sort of blocked her view of the dogs. It didn’t block it enough evidently, because she did see the second dog from us poop while running, nearly falling down, but our musher did slow the sled a bit to allow the dog to finish. Well, I guess that answers that question. The cliffs we headed towards were one-half mile from Dog Town, before turning left. The weather was so pleasant that I may have been overdressed in my ski parka. I had brought a pair of cold weather running gloves, and even those weren’t needed. The one thing I had forgotten was sun screen, and I could begin to feel that that was definitely going to be an issue. I’m beginning to think, that it wouldn’t be a cruise if I don’t get some sunburn. Our musher had told us that one of his passengers earlier that day had been standing on the rear sled to experience mushing. He said that it is very important to hold on tightly with both hands, and to have both feet on the runners. He had checked back to see if the passenger was ready, and the guy nodded, his hands securely in place. Unfortunately, his feet were standing on snow and not the runners. He did a nice head plant when the dogs lurched forward. And the description of the initial movement of the sled is definitely a lurch. The dogs stop a number of times to give the dogs a rest. This weather with temperatures in the fifties is very hot weather for the dogs. Their ideal weather is ten degrees below zero Fahrenheit. The first thing you notice about these Alaskan Huskies is that they are not particularly large dogs; and, they don’t resemble the Walt Disney version of the husky that so many of us are familiar with. Some of these huskies were brown or tan, others gray, so slightly resembled the wolf-like looking image many of us have of the husky. But these dogs were simply medium stocky looking muscular dogs. They consume about 5 pounds of kibble a day during the summer. In the winter they eat much more, and lots of meat as well, to give them the calories they need to keep warm and to run. On our circuit, the dogs were running about 6 miles per hour. Their maximum speed is about 15 MPH, and during a race such as the Iditarod, they will manage an average of about 10 MPH.



After the first stop, I decided to switch and stand on the rear sled. I made sure I was ready, and lurched forward with the sled. The sensation was very similar to skiing, and the lurch very similar to grabbing too quickly onto a rope tow. Something seemed wrong with one of the dogs, and the musher began to apply the brakes. I thought, no doubt erroneously, that I should apply my brake as well. As I looked down to see the brake, I lifted my left foot and planned to step on the brake; but, the dogs began to run and the sled shot forward. My foot stepped into the snow and kicked backward as the sled shot ahead. Fortunately, my other foot was firmly on the runner, and my hands were holding on tight, or I would surely have been this mushers second head plant victim of the day. Our nine dogs pulled us easily across the snow. We stopped one more time, and I got back in the front sled. We were the first sled back to camp, even though we were the last to leave, no doubt because there were just two of us and only one wanted to stand on the runners. My mom was clearly the oldest visitor, and I think I may well have been the second oldest. Back at Dog Town, the dogs got a chance to rest. Some plopped down in the snow; some consumed the snow to cool down. We got out, and got to pet some of the dogs who seemed very friendly. They gave us our life vests back, and took us by snow mobile over to the helicopters. The seating was now changed, my mother was in the back on the left side by the window, and I was in the back on the right side. There were more impressive views from above with excellent visibility. Coming into view in the Juneau harbor we could see our ship, as well as one other HAL ship the Zaandam. And there were four other cruise ships as well, with some set at anchor to tender people ashore.



My mother and I got back to the ship, and they just finished readjusting the gang plank. We were hungry and went to the Lido. We went to the Italian section and my mother had spaghetti with Bolognese sauce. I had the bow-tie pasta with alfredo sauce, and I also got a couple of pre-baked manicotti. Lunch was quite satisfying, and I had a Coke as well as iced tea. After lunch we went again off the ship, and across the street to a shirt store to buy a shirt for Linda, who is house/dog sitting for my mom. The idea was to get something animal themed, and I think she will be happy. My mom also found a blue wolf themed shirt for herself.





I did the Helicopter/Dog Sled tour 6 years ago with one of my brothers and my brother-in-law on a family cruise to Alaska. It was a great experience and John and I had it booked 2 years ago but it was cancelled since it was at the end of the season and the camp already closed. So when we booked this trip I suggested he take his mother on this trip since she is such a big dog lover. I knew my mother would not get anywhere near a helicopter (She must get that from my sister). So since this cruise doesn’t have a real glacier viewing day (remember John booked the wrong cruise as I have to keep reminding him J ) and the chances of getting down Tracy Arm are usually slim I booked the Tracy Arm & Glacier Explorer tour for my mother and I. We headed out to the pier early and some of those booked on the trip were questioning their decision since we’d had such a good day in Tracy Arm the day before. The Shore Excursion woman was checking on other tours for one couple. She said this had been the first time she’d actually seen Tracy Arm since they hadn’t gotten in the past 3 weeks. In the end the couple decided to stay with the tour since we all thought it would be a different experience from the smaller boat.



We boarded the bus and had to wait a while till they told the driver it was ok to leave but they had to wait a bit longer. A young man got on board and apologized for the delay but said the boat wasn’t quite ready and he was going to be our tour guide even though he’s not a tour guide. He pointed out a few things on the way to the boat which was not that far away. The Zaandam was docked next to us and the tour boat was just at the end of that. They told us we could wait under the tent until the boat was ready but by the time my Mother and I got out of the bus they were read so we headed down a short ramp and boarded the small boat. Apparently the actual tour guide/naturalist had arrived by then so the new tour guide headed back to the pier.



There were about 30 of us on the boat which would have only held a few more. There was an outside observation deck above and a small outside area in the back. This was the only place you were allowed to smoke but luckily there didn’t appear to be any smokers in our group. If there had been they would have only been allowed to do it on the back deck when we were going full speed. The guide said if they weren’t being blown over by the wind and speed they probably weren’t allowed to be smoking. Our guide was born and grew up in Juneau. There was also a deckhand who manned the small snack bar and of course the captain who was upstairs. Everyone was very nice and helpful bringing people drinks when they asked or cleaning up the water the group behind us spilled twice.



We headed out from Juneau back towards Tracey Arm which would take about 1 ½ hrs. Out guide told us some stories on the way and pointed out things of interest. He said they weren’t very good about naming things in the area which usually ended up with a specific name of what it was or based on some historic person. An example is the beach which is called Sandy Beach. They did have some minor electrical issue with the boat which caused the microphone speakers to stop working for a while so he stood in the middle of the cabin turning around to talk to us. They did get the speakers working a short time later which was much better. There were several taste samples provided along the way including some huckleyberry jelly (which actually was pretty good) and some famous candy from Sara Palin’s chef.



We arrived in the area of the Holkum Bay and headed towards the Fjord with another view of Sum Dum Glacier and he told us there used to be an actual town in Sum Dum. I remember Sum Dum Glacier with fondness since it was the first glacier I saw 27 years ago when my first husband Jim and I came here for our 10^th anniversary. It’s never been pointed out when I’ve been near here since. That cruise we went down Endicott arm which they currently use as an alternate if there’s too much ice in Tracy Arm.



The weather was beautiful again and the guide said they’ve had over a week of nice weather which is totally unheard of in this area but they’re enjoying it while they can. As we headed thru the arm we saw the many waterfalls coming from the top of the cliffs again. Though we were informed that they are actually cascades since they come from melting snow or rain. Waterfalls come from natural water sources like lakes. They pulled the boat over to one very large one that had a very water flow over rocks. It was really beautiful and they turned the boat often so we could get all the different angles of it.



We then headed in to Sawyer Glacier that could barely be seen from the large ship yesterday. There was quite a bit of ice but the small boat was able to get around it easily. We saw quite a bit of calving from the glacier which is always fun to watch. We then headed to south Sawyer Glacier stopping along the way to watch several the seals on the ice. My camera battery decided to die then but luckily I had a replacement so only missed a few shots. We didn’t see any calving from the South Sawyer Glacier until we started to turn away and then a big piece fell off so it was the perfect ending to glacier viewing.



As we headed out they passed out the bag lunches which included a Turkey wrap, bag of chips, red velvet cookie (with white chocolate chips), and an apple. I managed to get some of the turkey out of mine since the rest of it contained cheese and tomatoes which I won’t eat. The electrical problem prevented them from heating up any water so there was no hot tea or coffee remaining but my mother managed with some cold water.



The 1 ½ hr trip back seemed a bit longer but was relaxing and we arrived in Juneau on time. Some people decided to walk back to the ship and I’m not sure the bus driver ever got a good count but we headed back and he told those of us up front to let him know if we saw a Jewelry store. Of course my mother had to say “there’s one” not getting the joke that there are hundreds in a short 2 blocks. It’s a shame they had to put all of these into the area and remember my first time here 27 years ago when there were just a few shops in town. Luckily they’re mostly in the dock area so just getting a few blocks away gives you more of the Alaska experience.



We made it back to the ship around 3 so picked up John and Beth to head up to the Lido for a quick bite. Mom and I shared a plain hambuger and fries while they had ice cream cones.



At 5 Mom and I headed up for mass and it turned out to be a special one. One of the couples was celebrating their 42^nd anniversary and had asked the priest if he’d help them renew their vows. So after the gospel he called them up and had a short ceremony for them. I wish I could remember all of the words to the vows the priest had them repeat to each other but they were beautiful. She quickly teared up as her husband talked and when I looked around quite a few people (including me) were wiping a tear away. The woman in front of me pulled out her camera and took a few pictures. The priest also added them to the other prayers etc thruout the mass. Afterward the couple with the camera got a picture of them with the priest and they exchanged addresses so they could send them the photos. The rest of us walked out talking about how it was the nicest vow renewal we’d ever seen.







We made it to dinner at about 6:15pm, and we got a table for four. I had pre-checked the menu, and it looked like something for everyone. I ordered the bay shrimp cocktail in cream sauce; while Sharon ordered me the goat cheesecake pastry. Both were delicious. Then I ordered the sourdough bowl of fish chowder; while, Sharon ordered me the cold banana soup. My chowder was delicious, and what Sharon left me of the banana soup, made with vanilla ice cream, was also delicious. I even got my mom to try a spoonful. It was very, very tasty and refreshing. I ordered the crab cakes with black beans and jalapeno grits. This was wonderful. Sharon wisely chose the New York strip steak with roasted potatoes, cooked medium. Although the center came out quite red, she thought it was delicious and it was very tender. The moms however, chose the rustic Bolognese Lasagna, which was not to their liking. My mom and I ordered the hazelnut mousse cake for dessert, and it was very light and delicious. Sharon and her mom both had the Gold Rush Baked Alaska with chocolate sauce, and they enjoyed every bite. Shirley of course had hot tea, while my mom and I had iced tea. She still has that second bottle of wine in her room, with one glass left, but I suspect she’ll have it tonight.



The Show was a Broadway review featuring HAL singers. Most of the songs were modified for the two male and two female singers to perform with harmonies. I enjoyed the Man From La Mancha rendition done traditionally. My mom thought that the music was too loud. But Sharon and her mom found the performance very entertaining. The singers have great voices and pretty good range as well.





After the show, I decided to try my luck at the blackjack tables; while, Sharon took the moms back to their cabin, and they all decided to call it a day. I found my table in the back, all by myself, and proceeded to drop the first two hands. I knew it was going to be one of those nights when the best I could manage was a “push” while holding “21”. I think I lost eight hands in a row before winning a hand, and then the next hand as well. I quickly won two hands in a row again, and decided to press a little to see if I could get even. I managed to get $25 back, and decided to press again. This time I had a 5-hand losing streak, bud did manage to win my must-win bet. I then won the next couple hands as well. The dealer had already had three blackjacks; while, I hadn’t had any. We traded a few hands, and then my small parlay managed to win six hands in a row before losing. During this streak I was barely beating the dealer by one point (e.g. 18 beating 17, 19 beating 18, etc.). In the end the dealer got another blackjack, and I decided to call it a night, battling back to win $12!

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