Mendenhall Glacier and Nugget Falls

Underwhelming, Overwhelming and Oh So Awesome!!!

Today we went to Mendenhall Glacier and Nugget Falls.

Mendenhall Glacier is a 13-mile-long river of ice located 12 miles from downtown Juneau.

We booked a tour that combines glacier viewing with a hike to Nugget Falls.

Nugget Falls, also known as Nugget Creek Falls or Mendenhall Glacier Falls, is a waterfall downstream of the Nugget Glacier, at the base of Bullard Mountain.

I'll jump right in here and tell you that the underwhelming part was the Mendenhall Glacier.

Nothing wrong; and I suppose it was my fault really - I had lofty expectations. And truth be told, I wanted to walk on a Glacier and tour inside a cravasse. There was a tour available for this but it it could be I could be completely beyond our budget - and ultimately got cancelled for those that did book it.

That leaves us with the overwhelming and the "Oh So Awesome".

The overwhelming was the Nugget Falls.

We have seen a lot of falls. And I enjoyed Nugget Falls more than all of them. For me, better than Niagra Falls.

It was the surprise really. I wasn't expecting much and I got wowwed! We walked right up to the bottom of the Falls with the water crashing at our feet, and the falls towering over us. This was the best.

No, the size does not compare to Niagra nor many other Falls we have seen; it is really "experiencing" the falls.

The weather forecast for the week had shown rain everyday. Like 100% chance of rain. And yet, we had skirted by without rain so far. But today, our bill came due. But, as is normally the case with My Lovely's luck, our bill was quite manageable.

The rain was light at first, and to be completely honest, I find a nice walk in the rain to be incredibly romantic. Just imagine a couple walking in the rain, sharing an umbrella and dashing into a shop for refuge when the weather advances from drizzle, to shower. Then you share a coffee & danish, or you find a little trinket to purchase. What could be better than that?

Well, there was no coffee nor danish around. And no umbrella either, though we were dressed appropriately. But there we were, the 3 of us (Phanie Faye, My Lovely and I) walking in the rain to the Falls. As we hike down, we see rock (boulders) left behind by the Glacier. We see streams running under or path. And we hear Phanie Faye's excitement.

Phanie Faye was the Oh So Awesome part. The hike is about a mile each way, and about halfway down, the Falls came into view, and I thought Stephanie was going to lose her breath.

As we proceeded, the Falls were once again hidden from view. Her excitement built.

Then we hit the Falls, and Oh my gosh, she gushed.

We found a great trinket on our walk in the rain. We shared this awesome moment with Stephanie.Read more