Glacier Bay to Juneau: Complete!

Greetings from Juneau, Alaska! After a 3-day ferry ride and 13 nights of camping, the longest leg of our trip is complete! For a while there it seemed like the universe was against us and that we were never going to make it, but we did. We even did it on time. Even though it's only been two weeks we have SO much to share and write about. But not a whole lot of time to do it. So here are some highlights! Stay tuned for more...

Although it started out as a slight logistical nightmare, the ferry from Bellingham to Juneau (and eventually to Gustavus) was lovely and relaxing. We got a pretty sweet tent spot on the back deck that was neither windy nor wet, and it was nice having time to relax and do not much of anything after spending lots of time running around getting things ready. It was also a great opportunity to do some scouting of the places we'd be paddling, and it definitely gave us some things to look forward to on the paddle back down.

Setting up our tent on the ferry in Bellingham.

A second ferry, a taxi van, a frezied grocery store run, and our first successful general delivery pick-up got us to Bartlett Cove, and from there our 7 nights in Glacier Bay were a paddle in the park (literally and figuratively)! The weather was wonderful (it was HOT!), the water was calm, and the scenery and wildlife was epically stunning. We were definitely spoiled by our good fortune for the first few days of the trip. The calm conditions allowed us to get in shape and work out our daily routine without the added stress of bad weather.

Morning at our firt campsite in the Beardslee Islands, Glacier Bay






A beautiful afternoon at Sturgis Island. Riggs Glacier is waaaayy in the background.

We had initially planned to paddle up to John Muir Glacier, in the east arm of the bay, but had heard that it wasn't really worth the long paddle to get there. Instead, the farthest north we got was McBride Glacier. We spent a day paddling past mini ice bergs as we approached the tidewater glacier. Once we arrived, we spent a few minutes admiring the ice until we were numb from the cold, congratulated ourselves on reaching the northernmost point of our trip, then hopped back in the boats and started heading south!

McBride Glacier

Enjoying cribbage, sunshine, and nearby humpbacks on a fine evening in Glacier Bay

Eventually it came time to leave lovely Glacier Bay and enter the "real world" of more exposed waters and worse conditons. Our 5am departure from Bartett Cove was met with headwind, whitecaps, and a tide rips as we rounded the Point Gustavus heading out into Icy Strait. And that's pretty much how the 7 days of paddling to Junea have been. Every day has involved some kind of battle against less-than-favorable conditions, and it was all capped off by a 6 mile paddle into 25 knot gusts as we headed into Juneau down the Gastineau Channel. It felt a little absurd fighting hard to gain a foot of progress while traffic on a busy highway whizzed by next to us, but our hard work paid off and we MADE IT! Celebratory beer, showers, and sleep followed.

Our campsite on a granite ledge on the Mansfield Peninsula, after crossing the Lynn Canal.