Capturing the Moment

  Over the last fifty days I have been implementing an expedition style program on one of Silversea's classic fleet ships called the Silver Muse. It can hold around 600 passengers and is far and away the largest ship I've ever worked on. Figuring out the logistics of where the expedition equipment would go, like all of the zodiacs and kayaks, and other gear was only one of the many challenges that my team and I faced with this assignment.    Now that we are all packed up and can relish in the success I can finally look back at the few times I did get off the ship for some pretty fabulous adventures in Alaska. When the ship was in port, and not all the expedition team was needed for our excursions, I would try to send the team out as escorts on shore based trips. This was one of my favorites.   On one rainy day in Juneau I watched the poor shore concierge team as flight after flight of sightseeing helicopters postponed and outright canceled. There was a lot of...

Glacier Hikers on top of the Ice Cave   If you want the ultimate mind-blowing experience in Juneau and you are a bit adventurous then the ice cave hike is the answer. These caves are slowly changing all the time so my suggestion is to go see them while they last. In just a year's time Mendenhall Glacier has receeded quite a bit, and even though the caves are different than last year they are every bit as beautiful. Imagine the bluest ice forming a dome over you with a river running through it, all underneath a glacier. I can't help but feel like I have been transported to another world, or superman's ice fortress while surrounded by the ice caves. And the beauty of this being in wild Alaska is that you don't have to pay anything to get here. There are some organized tours that kayak or canoe across the lake from the visitors center, but if you make it to the west glacier trailhead a 2.5hr hike across changing terrain will lead you right to the caves and the glacier ...

  There has been an adventure in the Juneau, Alaska area that has been on my to-do list ever since I saw pictures of it a year ago. In the pictures I saw a person standing in a cave created out of blue ice, somewhere on the western edge of Mendenhall Glacier. I visited the glacier last year with the tourist bus but saw no way to get to the western side. The glacier has receeded in recent times, about 1.75 miles since 1958, creating a huge lake which meant I would have to look more into finding these caves for next time. That next time was today!     I asked around with some friends in Juneau about the ice caves and got some good tips. Start at the parking lot for the western glacier trailhead. Follow this for a ways, over a bridge, up switchbacks with hand rails, then at an overlook take the smaller trail towards the lake. A short ways in there is a sign warning against backcountry hiking and the need in the past for a lot of search and rescues in the area. ...