Monday, August 24, 1992 - Juneau, AK

What a great trip to Tracy Arm! There are two boats that go there. One costs $99, and the other $110. We took the latter, and it was well worth the extra $11. We were on a comfortable, fast yacht with a pleasant captain, who let us hang around the bridge. Lunch was included, which it wasn't on the other tour. Best of all, we went right up within 1/8 mile of the glacier! To get there, the boat had to plow through a bunch of floating chunks of ice (small blue icebergs that had fallen off the blue glacier). The water temperature was 32.5 degrees Fahrenheit! Hundreds of little seals were loafing on the ice or swimming in the water. The view was overwhelming! It was the greatest experience yet!
The captain knew all about Swanson Bay. He said they had made brick there. That's the last thing we would have guessed. So our curiosity was finally satisfied.
He also remembered a woman being crushed to death by a falling chunk of glacier four or five years ago at Mendenhall, so when we got back to Juneau, we went to the beautiful new public library and looked at the microfiched local newspaper for the summers of 1987 and 1988 (July through September), but we couldn't find anything about Roy's sister-in-law, Thais, who was crushed by a glacier four or five years ago. We didn't know the exact date.

Sunday, August 23, 1992 - Juneau, AK

Ate breakfast at a nice, clean, health-food restaurant, similar to the Good Earth. It had the unusual name of Fiddlehead, and was recommended by the hostel manager. Both the service and the food were excellent.
Took the city bus ($1) as close to the Mendenhall Glacier as it goes. Walked the other mile and a half.
The glacier has been receding 30 feet a year, so it's much farther away than it was the last time I was here. They've removed the walkways that used to go out over the glacier; the glacier's no longer there. We hiked up the East Glacier Loop Trail. When we were up about 500 feet, we could look right down on the waterfall and the glacier. Spectacular!
Walked through some beautiful green woods. Moisture seemed to hang in the air. We would have liked to walk farther, but the last bus runs at 5:30 on Sunday, so we had to return. Took a different trail than the one we'd come up. Passed a lot of old tracks, timbers, etc. When we got down to the Visitor Center, we asked a ranger about it. He said that back in the gold-mining days (1880-1944), the mining company had a huge generator up there. The tracks had been used to haul the generator and other machinery up the hill. The waterfall powered the generator, and the electricity went across the Gastineau Channel to the Treadwell Mine on Douglas Island.
We passed a lot of streams full of salmon struggling to reach their spawning grounds, plus the putrid, disintegrating corpses of salmon that had either made it or had died along the way.
When we got back to Juneau, we ate a delicious supper at the Fiddlehead.

Saturday, August 22, 1992 - Juneau, AK

Left Skagway on the 8:45 ferry. Had an hour-and-a-half layover in Haines, so we walked around a little, but didn't see much of anything except abandoned houses and a closed-down army base.
Arrived in Juneau around four. That is, we arrived at the Juneau ferry terminal, which is 13 miles from town. We were going to take the bus in, but Roy heard someone asking, "Are you going to the hostel?" Turned out a young woman who was traveling by herself was going to take a cab to the AYH hostel, and she wanted someone to share the cab with her (and the fare, of course). We immediately volunteered. That turned out to be a wise move. The hostel was packed; if we'd gotten there 15 minutes later, we wouldn't have been able to get in. Since we were near the head of the line, we were allowed to sleep on the living-room floor. The woman we shared the cab with slept on the floor of the upstairs hall.
After signing in and selecting our chores for tomorrow morning, we walked around looking for an ATM, a phone, and a place to eat. Found two ATM's. They accepted two of our cards but rejected the one I most wanted to use.
The public phone system here is weird. First of all, it's difficult to find a public phone, and when we finally did find one, we realized why: They only charge a dime! It's been twenty years since I made a phone call for a dime. Furthermore, you don't deposit the dime until after you've made your call, and there's nothing other than your conscience to force you to deposit it at all. In other words, you can make all the free phone calls you want! I don't see how they stay in business.
Ate supper at a so-so place. The food was tasty, but the service miserable.
Signed up for a tour of Tracy Arm Monday.
Walked around a little. Saw an abandoned, dilapidated gold mine way up on a hill. Tried to explore it, but couldn't find a road to it.
Returned to the hostel. The living room was hot, stuffy, brightly lighted, and full of people reading. Fortunately, at the last minute, the manager said a bed had become available and I could have it! I rushed gratefully upstairs to the women's dorm, which was dark, quiet, and well-ventilated, but poor Roy had to sleep on the living-room floor.

Friday, August 21, 1992 - Skagway, AK

Walked up to Lower Dewey Lake and Icy Lake. Tried to get to Reid Falls, but the trail sort of disappeared and we were running out of time, so we went back to town and ate lunch. Then we headed for the train station.
The ride was great. Went way up to the summit at nearly 3000 feet. Looked down on the raging Skagway River. Saw spectacular waterfalls. Saw part of the old gold rush trail. (The railroad was built right after the gold rush ended.)
When we got back to Skagway, we went to the ferry terminal and bought our tickets for tomorrow morning. Then we strolled out to Yakutania Point and back.
After supper, we walked a mile and a half to the Gold Rush Cemetery. It was dark when we got there, but we were able to find the graves of Soapy Smith and Frank Reid, who shot each other simul-
taneously, July 8, 1898. There were a lot of graves of babies and children who died in the meningitis epidemic of 1898.
A trail in back of the cemetery led to Reid Falls, but it was too dark to go up there, so twice in one day, we missed seeing Reid Falls.

Thursday, August 20, 1992 - Skagway, AK

Arrived in Skagway around noon. We had planned on staying at the AYH hostel, but thought we couldn't check in until 5:30, so we were going to put our bags in a locker at the ferry terminal and wander around until then. To our amazement, the woman from the hostel met us at the dock and drove us to the hostel! Never had that happen before. Turned out we can go in and out as much as we like during the day. Most hostels are locked from nine to five or whatever.
After signing up at the hostel for two nights, we walked over to the railroad station and bought tickets to ride the narrow-gauge railroad tomorrow. It follows the old Chilkoot Trail the gold-seekers so laboriously climbed in '97-'98.
Ate lunch and walked around. Skagway is a National Historical Monument. It was a major starting point for the Yukon Gold Rush of 1897. The sidewalks on the main street, Broadway, are made of wood, and many of the buildings are pretty much as they were nearly a century ago. We joined a Ranger walk that had already started. Will try to get in at the beginning tomorrow morning.
Ate a good supper at the hostel for only $5. Then we went to the perennial "Gold Rush" show. Gambled with play money for half an hour; then watched the melodrama. It was great. The performers are real professionals. Very enthusiastic.

Wednesday, August 19, 1992 - Skagway, AK

Roy on the Ferry to Skagway
What a neat ride! The ferry glides along so smoothly, we can scarcely tell we're on the water. But it sure creates a strong wind. And a cold wind!
This morning, a small pod of humpback whales was snoozing near our port bow. The ferry slowed down so we could get a good view of them. They were floating on top of the water, spouting through their blowholes, so we had a great view. They didn't wake up until they felt the vibration of our props. By then, we were within 100 yards of them. They dove and surfaced several times. It was neat watching them throw their flukes up in the air.
In the afternoon, there was a three-hour layover in Sitka, so passengers were permitted to go ashore. The ferry terminal is nine miles from town, so there were a bunch of tour buses and shuttle buses lined up to take us to town. We had been told the tour buses were $8 and the shuttle buses $5, so we were going to take a shuttle bus, but it turned out a new tour bus had just started competing with the old. The guy running it is a real go-getter. He charges $5 for the tour, which includes everything the $8 tour does, and he was making a strong pitch for passengers. We were lucky to get seats; the bus was nearly full. He was quite a character. He kept up a hilarious commentary as he drove.
Sitka turned out to be a really interesting place. Originally, it was inhabited by Tlingit Indians, famous for their craftsmanship, especially their weaving and their totem poles. In the 17 and 18 hundreds, Sitka was settled by Russians seeking otter pelts, which were worth an amazing $1700 apiece! Sitka was also the site of the ceremony turning Alaska over to the U.S. after the famous purchase.
We visited an old Russian church, a lovely park with totem poles, a museum, a beautiful forest of Sitka pine, and a stream full of salmon, another museum, etc. The guide even treated us to free apple cider. It was a terrific afternoon, and we only wished we could have spent more time there.

Tuesday, August 18, 1992 - Skagway, AK

Everything is going perfectly! We have a good place to leave the Jofian, the sun is shining, and the ferry to Skagway doesn't leave until 6:45 tonight, so we have all day to get ready.
Walked two miles to the ferry terminal and bought our tickets. Only $90 all the way to Skagway!
When we got back to the boat, we ate lunch, packed our bags, got the boat ready to leave, and walked around a while. Saw the infamous Creek Street area with its wooden streets and houses from the Gold Rush days.
The couple from the sailboat in back of us came by and chatted with Roy. The man had just lost two fingers trying to tie his boat to a log boom, so he was feeling pretty depressed. Roy greatly improved his morale by telling him about his fingers and being able to earn a good living in spite of their loss.
Got to the ferry plenty early. Glad we did. There's a "solarium" on the stern of the top deck that's protected on three sides plus the roof, but the back is open. There are reclining chairs that can be tilted all the way back to make cots. You spread your sleeping bag on one and sleep all warm and cozy but with plenty of fresh air. This is a popular place to sleep, so by getting there early, we were able to get two recliners in a good location.
After supper in the cafeteria, we attended a talk by the Ranger Naturalist on Wrangell and Petersburg. Then Roy watched a movie on whales, but I went to bed, which I later regretted, as it was a good movie.
Docked at Wrangell around midnight, and we got up to watch the unloading and loading. They have long, very expensive metal gangplanks.
Slept through most of the Wrangell Narrows. At one point, it's only 300 feet wide and 22 feet deep! The ferry can barely make it.