Juneau's Mount Roberts . . .

---

The city of Juneau is surrounded by mountains. Right alongside the cruise ship pier, Mount Roberts rises above. A tramway runs up to the peak of Mount Roberts and today I was eager to get up to the top to see what there was to see. A couple of the girls went with me early off the ship and to the tramway building. We got our tickets and were whisked up the mountainside to the top.

We went to the nature centre right at the top to get some more information. We knew that there were nature walks and hikes around the mountain but didn’t really know what we should and could tackle. It’s still early in the season so there’s snow on the mountaintops; but it is also spring and so wildlife, including bears, are coming out. We were told that we’d be able to do the nature walk which is an easy hike around the mountain top (though not the very summit) and it would take us about 45 minutes. So we set off first walking along the cliffside where we had views down to the channel where our ship comes in and out of Juneau. Across the water is Douglas Island. We spent time at the lookout spots taking lots of pictures and just admiring the view below.

Then we headed off along the pathway as it sloped up slightly and then cut back across the mountain. This is when we reached the snow. I keep hearing about how back home it’s warming up and it’s been like beautiful summer weather. It’s so odd for me to now be amongst snow! It was about a foot or two deep, the deepest snow I’ve had to walk through in years! We continued walking, but the snow seemed to be getting deeper and we couldn’t really tell where the path was supposed to be. We wondered if we were supposed to be going where we were walking, but there were deep footprints in the snow and we could see up ahead a couple of other people walking. So we continued on. And the snow got deeper . . . and it became much more difficult to walk . . . and the ground under the snow was sloping downwards . . . we were stumbling and nearly falling over . . . Finally ahead we could see where the snow was melted and the path continued. We forged on, wet and cold, and made it to the pathway. Then we looked back behind where we’d just come from - and saw a DANGER sign! While there’d been no warning the way we’d come, the path was blocked off had we come from the opposite direction! So we had a good laugh at that.

We decided since we were already wet and cold we should play in the snow a bit. I threw my first snowball in at least 4 years! But our hands were frozen, so that didn’t last long.

We headed on along the path which now swung into the forest. It was so beautiful! The trees covered us above, but in the breaks between them we could see the neighbouring mountain peaks. I loved it, just walking through the forest, enjoying it’s peacefulness and beauty.

When we arrived back at the tramway, we went inside the main building to watch a film that they have their about the Native culture in the area. We learned some Tlingit words too . . . I have them written down but I’m certain I can’t pronounce them properly now!

We spent a bit of time poking around the gift shop, but I didn’t do any actual shopping. Soon though I need to get my souvenir/gift shopping done - though I don’t have a sign off date yet, I’m supposed to be going home soon!

Then we took the tramway back down the mountain. The girls wanted to grab lunch and I wanted to get some time online. So today’s outing was a relatively short one, but wonderful.

---