Our first port of call on the Alaska cruise was Juneau, Alaska’s capital city…

and for our selected shore excursion we went to Mendenhall Glacier where we hiked out to Nugget Falls for a closer look at both glacier and waterfall.

Linda and Jann at Mendenhall Glacier

If we both look a little larger than usual, it’s the result of at least three layers of clothing. The sun never came out that afternoon, and the temperature was on the chilly side. (And yes, we’re spoiled Southern Californians who get cold when the temp drops below 65 degrees!]

Mendenhall Glacier is Juneau’s biggest attraction and it is impressive. We opted to make the hike to Nugget Falls first and hit the visitor center later, what turned out to be a wise decision.

The trail to Nugget Falls is two miles long and takes about 45 minutes to hike, unless you’re like us and stop every few feet to take photos of the lush foliage along the way. We stopped to examine bubbling streams, rocks covered in lichen, ferns and wildflowers.

By the time we got back to the visitor center, it had started raining and about a dozen more busloads of tourists had descended on the glacier, so we were glad to hit the restroom and head back to the cruise ship.

Princess cruise ship docked at Juneau

We really enjoyed out trip to Mendenhall Glacier and I’m so glad I got to see if before it melts even more. Next week, Skagway!

Linda