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Alaska Inside Passage : 2019 Trip Report
This is our most delayed Trip Report ever, being penned a full 3 months after our return from Alaska. This was our second trip to Alaska – the first being in July 2012, when we did the South Central portion of Alaska : Anchorage, Seward, Matanuska, Talkeetna, Denali, Fairbanks etc. It was our best trip ever, and we were determined to return to Alaska to do the Inside Passage. We had not taken a cruise ship the last time, and were determined to avoid cruise ships this time too. A family which hails from Alaska, and had been our neighbours in India at one time, helped us plan this trip.
We are a couple in our early 60’s, who are voracious travellers of the independent kind. We were being joined on this trip by our 32-year old son, who lives in New York. After much research and consultation on this site and by our acquaintances, we zeroed down to 3 destinations : Juneau, Skagway and Sitka. My Trip Reports are normally quite detailed and lengthy, but for once I did not maintain diary notes, and my memory is fading with the elapse of 3 months ! Better late than never. Here goes the Trip Report, in several instalments. Day 1 : Thursday, July 4th : We had selected the 4th July long weekend as the start date of our tour, to make it a bit easier for our son to take fewer days off from work. It was to be a long long travel day. First the 3-hour drive from our home city to Mumbai late in the night on 3rd July, reaching Mumbai around midnight. Smooth check-in on Emirates Business class, and a relaxed rest at their lounge. Then boarded the flight at 4:30 am, to ride the short 3-hour flight to Dubai, reaching at 6am Dubai time. Enough time to freshen up and have a sumptuous breakfast at their Business Lounge. Then boarded our next Emirates flight departing 10 am, for the long haul to Seattle. I enjoy Emirates Business class travel immensely. The seats are the best in class with respect to privacy and comfort, and the food and service is impeccable. The flight of 14.5 hours went by comfortably, with sleeping, eating, drinking and movie watching. Was quite rested when we arrived at Seattle at 1:15 pm in the afternoon (12.5 hours behind Indian time). The immigration wait at Seattle was the worst I have experienced in any country at any time. We were made to wait standing in a narrow corridor for over 90 minutes, before being let into the immigration hall. Even third world countries have better immigration facilities. Anyway, we were finally done, retrieved our luggage, re-booked them on Alaska Airlines for our next flight to Juneau, and finally met up with our son who had arrived a couple of hours earlier. We had a lot of time to kill, before our next flight at 8 pm. Seattle airport is not the best place to spend that much time ! We sauntered around a bit, and then had a meal (don’t know whether to call it lunch or dinner). Finally boarded our final flight to Juneau, reaching there 9:30 pm local time (another hour behind Seattle time). We called up the hotel, who sent their complimentary shuttle. The hotel was just a few blocks away – Best Western Grandma’s Featherbed Inn. The hotel was really nice, with rooms being quite spacious. We checked in, had a shower, popped our Melatonin pills, and crashed into bed. |
Day 2 : Friday, July 5th :
Woke up well rested, and had a great breakfast at the hotel. We called a Lyft taxi, which dropped us at the Visitors Center of the Mendelhall Glacier. It was an unusually warm day, with the temperature around 28 C (I am not exaggerating). No warm clothes were required, and even a normal shirt felt a bit hot. We walked up the steps of the Visitors Center. Unfortunately, there was a bit of haze in the air, which locals attributed to some heavy forest fires blazing elsewhere in Alaska. The haze detracted from the clarity of the views and the photographs, but there was nothing we could do. The glacier itself was majestic, and the views would have been better if the haze had not existed. We took a short walk to the Photo Point, and next to the Nugget Falls. Lovely views, and felt great to be back in the pristine wilderness of Alaska. After having our fill of photographs, we walked back to the Visitors Center, saw their exhibits, and called for another taxi to take us back. We asked the taxi to drop us in downtown area, at the Alaska State Museum. The museum was great, giving a nice illustration of various tribes of Alaska, including their culture, tapestry, tools and totem poles. However, we are not much of the museum variety, and we were exhausted in less than 90 minutes. We went to the Wharf building on the waterfront, and had some beer and some lunch. It was a nice setting, with floatplanes taking off nearby every now and then. After lunch and some loitering on the wharf, it was time to take our Flightseeing tour of Juneau Icefields. We had booked in advance for the Wings Airways floatplane tour starting at 4 pm. It was our first ever flight on a floatplane, and it was fun to take off from the water. The flight was lovely, lasting about 45 minutes, flying over multiple glaciers with jaw-dropping views. Once again, the haze in the air came in the way of great photographs. Very enjoyable nevertheless. After the flight, we strolled on the waterfront, then walked back into the downtown area, popping in and out of stores. After a lot of loitering, ice-cream eating, coffee drinking, we finally settled into a Mexican restaurant for a nice dinner. Can’t remember the name, but I think it was El Sombrero or something. Food was decent, and we ate heartily. Then a taxi back to our hotel, where we retired to bed. |
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Mendenhall Glacier |
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Flightseeing on Juneau Icefield |
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Juneau Icefield from above |
Day 3 : Saturday, July 6th :
Today was supposed to be a more relaxed day, with fewer activities. This was fine by us, as one of the objectives of this trip was to spend quality time with our son. Today we got up quite leisurely, and slowly consumed the great hot breakfast which the hotel dished up. Each progressive day was mildly cooler than the previous day, which was nice, because we had not travelled to Alaska to experience an Indian summer. Once again we took a taxi from the hotel, this time to the Mt Roberts Tramway embarkation point. There was not much of a queue, and our tickets were quickly purchased. A nice gondola ride to the mountain top, where we first watched a nice movie in their auditorium with panoramic scenery. Then we took the hiking trails recommended by the Visitors Center, and loitered around the mountain top. The views were lovely, and the waterfront was extremely picturesque. The views as you climb the mountain get better, although the views from the Viewing platform are not bad. We must have strolled around for over an hour, followed by window shopping in their souvenir shop. Finally, we came back down, and once again went to the Wharf building for lunch. We had been advised to undertake a self-walking tour of the abandoned Treadwell Mines (defunct gold mine), which was on the other side of the river. Took a taxi across the bridge, and it dropped us at the start of the trailhead. We walked around the trail for over an hour, but were quite lost. The signages were extremely poor, or rather non-existent, and it was very confusing as to which direction we should be taking at every fork in the road. Did not see any other tourists, and gathered that this was not a very popular place for visitors. Finally we gave up, walked back to the trailhead, and took a taxi back to our hotel It was early, so we just took some rest, and decided to have dinner at the hotel itself. They cooked a pretty decent meal, and we just lounged around the hotel, ate dinner, and talked. It was nice to just sit around and do nothing. |
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View from Mt Roberts peak |
Day 4 : Sunday, July 7th :
This was our last day at Juneau, and we were scheduled to take a day trip to Glacier Bay. This involved getting up very early, and taking the hotel shuttle to the airport, where we boarded a 5:30 am flight of Harris Air to Gustavus. We three were the only ones on the small aircraft, and we alighted at Gustavus in 30 minutes. We had used a local guide at Gustavus to do our cruise booking, and he arrived at the airport to receive us. We drove with him to the Glacier Bay Lodge, which organizes the cruise to Glacier Bay. Nice hotel, and we had enough time to have a hearty breakfast. Next, we had to take a short walk to the cruise boat, and we managed to get good seats. It was an 8-hour cruise, with lunch served on-board, taking us to various points in Glacier Bay. We saw a lot of wildlife on the way, notably puffins, otters, sea lions, and a few brown bears on shore. The high point was the long pause right in front of a large tide-water glacier. Small glacier calving activity was visible. Once again, a heavy haze in the air, which marred the views. Would have been a spectacular trip if the air was clearer. We returned to Gustavus at 3:30 pm, and after a short while, the hotel’s shuttle dropped us back to the airport. Had some coffee and soda at the airport terminal (if you can call it a terminal !!), until we boarded our 6 pm Harris Air flight back to Juneau. This time we had two more passengers, and we were back before 6:30. We went straight to our hotel, as were too tired to venture back into town. Once again we had dinner at the hotel, and retired to bed. |
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Calving Tide-water Glacier |
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Vistas at Glacier Bay |
Just started your report and will have to come back later to catch up . . . just wanted to say I always enjoy your TRs and this one is bound to be wonderful too. A big advantage to the 'New and improved' Fodors is we can now post photos!
(You two DO get around :) ) |
Hi janisj . Nice to bump into you again - we have interacted on this forum several times.
"You two DO get around " Yes, the world is huge, and life is short. So many places to visit, and so little time that we have on this planet !! |
I am enjoying your report. Thank you!
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<<Just started your report and will have to come back later to catch up . . . just wanted to say I always enjoy your TRs and this one is bound to be wonderful too. A big advantage to the 'New and improved' Fodors is we can now post photos!
(You two DO get around https://www.fodors.com/community/ima...ted/smiley.gif )>> Exactly what I was going to say, JJ. great to see another TR from you, Indiancouole, especially as ideas of visiting Alaska are formulating in my brain for a few years time. Loving the fact that we can see your photos too - a real advance. and I share your pain about US immigration, though my misery at DC's Dulles Airport last month only lasted about an hour. Although we were at least in the immigration hall the organisation was chaotic and i was unlucky enough to get behind a party of about 7 who as well as having their photos and finger prints taken seemed to be getting the immigration officer's life history. Coming in by train from Canada last year was much easier. Looking forward to your next instalment! |
Great start to your TR, Indiacouple. I'm sorry for the haze, but your pictures are great in any case.
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Day 5 : Monday, July 8th :
Today was to be essentially our travel day, from Juneau to Skagway. We wanted to experiment with different modes of transport, and had booked the Alaska Marine Highway ferry system for this leg of the journey. We were told that the State run “cruise” boats were very scenic, and that this leg was particularly beautiful. We were booked on a ship departing Juneau’s Auke Bay at 7:15 am, so we had to be up early, and reached the boarding point on time. We had booked a cabin also, to stow our luggage and have a place to rest, and I realized that this was a good decision – very small extra price for a lot of comfort. The ship was actually quite nice, and the dining facilities were much more than our expectations. Very good vantage points to stand and watch the scenery go by. We had breakfast on board, and loitered around the ship, looking at the mountains go by. Unfortunately, the haze was at its worst on this day, and I can only imagine how beautiful it would have been otherwise. When tired, we rested in our private cabin, then went back for lunch in their restaurant. Finally, we docked at Skagway at 2:15 pm. We called the hotel, who sent their shuttle to pick us up. As we drove into town, we immediately fell in love with Skagway town. The entire town was preserved in a vintage 1930’s look about it – like the wild west in days of yore. Very pretty – touristy no doubt – but we were tourists after all. A very small town, about 8 blocks long and 3 blocks wide ! We reached our hotel – the Westmark Inn. Pretty nice place, and right in the centre of all the action. We rested awhile, and then spent the rest of the evening just loitering about the cute town. Walked in and out of stores, had icecreams, popcorn, and kept clicking pictures. Great place for wandering. Yes there was a fair amount of cruise day-visitors, but with passage of time they all departed back to their cruise ships, and the town was a lot quieter and nicer. We had a round of beer at a nice pub, and dinner at a Thai restaurant. Then back to our hotel for the night. |
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Another look at Skagway |
Day 6 : Tuesday, July 9th :
Today was to be the high point of the entire trip – an action packed day. We got up early, and went out for breakfast, as it was not included in our hotel rates. Today were booked on a helicopter ride to a glacier top, where we were supposed to do dog-sledding on ice. We were really excited. While we were completing our breakfast, there was a call from the TEMSCO helicopter company, stating that they were calling off their morning helicopter tour due to bad weather. We were crestfallen. However, they said that if weather cleared up, they might be able to fly at 12:30 pm (instead of 9:15 am), if we wished to take a chance. We were all ready to take a later flight, and promised to check with them later. There was nothing to do but while away the next two hours loitering in the town, and praying for good weather. There was no further call from the helicopter company, and the weather seemed to be getting better. We landed up at the helipad at about 11:30 am, and to our delight, they promised to fly us at 12:30 pm. We were suitably outfitted for the adventure at their terminal, and a short while later we were airborne in the helicopter. The pilot told us that he would take a particularly scenic route flying up to the glacier, and he lived up to his promise. The views were jaw-dropping, and we felt an adrenaline rush as we crossed wonderful snow-clad mountains and lovely valleys. Finally, we landed on a large glacier, and as we stepped off, it seemed as if we had arrived in Heaven. The scenery was to die for, and it was hard to stop clicking the camera. We understood that the team sets up camp on the glacier top for a full 3-4 month period. About 250 Alaskan huskies live there for the entire summer, each with its own private portable kennel. Larger tents house the humans, who also live there with the dogs. The humans come down once every 10-12 days for a shower and rest, and then go back up again. They keep the place in pristine condition, and every bit of scrap and poop is all collected in trash bags and brought back down in helicopters, so as to not pollute the glacier. Very impressive. After a brief orientation at the top, we were led to our sled and our musher tied about a dozen huskies to our sled. The dogs were itching for the exercise, and they barked loudly, wanting to be picked for the journey ! After that, off we went. My son and I took turns at standing at the rear of the sled, pretending to be the musher – of course the actual marshalling was done by the experienced musher. It was a great sled ride, about a couple of kilometres, through pristine scenery. Never seen anything so beautiful, and this will remain as one of the WOW moments of my life. After the sled ride, we were taken to meet the puppies. First the puppies who were 3-4 months old, and finally to the new born pups, who had yet to open their eyes. We held those cute little things lovingly, while their mother kept a sharp vigil on our behaviour ! All good things have to end, and soon it was time to return. Reluctantly, we boarded the helicopter for the return journey. The return route was not as scenic, but we had had our fill. Back in Skagway, we ate a quick lunch, as we had to board a scenic train – the White Pass & Yukon Railroad for the Summit excursion, departing at 3:15 pm. We were told that they have a longer trip to Lake Bennett, which is prettier, but that involved crossing over into Canada – this meant getting a Canadian visa for us, which we did not wish to take for such a short excursion. Hence we had booked the Summit excursion, which remained within US borders. The train journey was undoubtedly scenic, and relaxing, with nothing to do but to sit inside an antique train, and watch the scenery go by. It was nice, but slightly anti-climactic after what we had experienced in the morning. Some old dilapidated bridges that we crossed by were particularly pretty. We returned to Skagway around 6 pm. Had some drinks and a quick dinner somewhere (have forgotten the names of most eateries by now !). We were booked for the “Days of 98 Show” at 8 pm – a live show depicting the days of the gangster Soapy Smith who had once wreaked havoc in this town. It was a nice show, and quite enjoyable, and I would recommend it to every visitor at Skagway. Finally, back to our hotel and into bed. A great day, that we will never forget. |
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Aboard the helicopter, enroute to glacier top |
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Dog sledding on the glacier |
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With the newborn puppies |
Indiancouple--enjoying your trip report, esp. the photographs.
You are indeed adventurous. Loving all the details and the fun stuff you all did and also had opportunity to spend quality time with son. What a blessing! So where is your next trip? Have you considered a Round the World trip. For you and your wife, it will be really a great experience. Looking forward to more reading about your adventures. Have a wonderful weekend and a great Indian holiday season. |
Thanks everyone for your kind words. Travelling today, so will finish the final installment of the TR tomorrow.
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Day 7 : Wednesday July 10th :
Today was once again essentially a travel day. We had an afternoon flight to Sitka, and not much to do in either Skagway or Sitka on that day. So we got up leisurely, had a nice breakfast somewhere outside, and spent the morning doing some shopping for odds and ends in the local shops. Whiled away time, had an early lunch, and reported at the airport for our 2:15 pm flight on Alaska Seaplanes. Small aircraft, which went first to Juneau, and then again from Juneau to Sitka, reaching there at 4:30 pm. Took a taxi from the airport to the Aspen Suites serviced apartments, where we were booked. Nice apartments, very conveniently located next to downtown. Today was a much clearer day, with the haze having substantially lifted. The sky was clear, and the visibility was unhindered. Walking through the town felt pretty, and the waterfront area was extremely picturesque. Very quiet town compared to Skagway, with much fewer people. Small downtown area with lots of interesting shops. We generally strolled through the town shops, walked a bit on the waterfront, and cannot remember where we had some drinks and dinner. More quality time with our son, before we called it a day. |
Day 8 : Thursday, July 11th :
We got up early and had a nice breakfast in a cute café across the street, which served nice fresh bagels and coffee. We had booked a private whale watching tour with a local guide named Jim Phillips (Annahootz adventures) well in advance. He came and picked us up from the hotel, and drove us over to the marina where his boat was parked. It was a smallish boat, with an inside covered seating area, and off we went. It was a 3-4 hour trip, starting 9:30 am. He was confident of spotting whales, as they are supposed to be plentiful in this region. But despite all his efforts, and sailing in multiple directions, the whales eluded us. We saw tons of otters, puffins and even sea lions basking on rocks, but no whales. It was a cloudy day, and the weather was not its best. The sailing was fun for the first two hours, but then it got a bit monotonous. I guess we were disappointed in not seeing whales. Of course we had seen lots of whales in our earlier Alaskan trip in 2012, when we took a cruise out of Seward, but our son was surely disappointed in missing out on his first opportunity to spot whales. However, the guide did cruise around a very pretty uninhabited island for us, which was very beautiful, and turned out to be the high point of the adventure. At about 1 pm, we decided it was not our lucky day, and sailed back to shore. Jim was very apologetic, as according to him this was an extremely rare day when he could not spot a single whale – we assured him that we understood that there was not much he could do about it. Nice guy, and he dropped us back at our hotel. We had lunch somewhere nearby, and rested for a few hours at our hotel. Late afternoon, my wife embarked on a solo shopping expedition in the local shops, while father and son whiled away time in coffee shops and beer pubs. We booked ourselves at a very nice restaurant for dinner, which Jim had recommended. Turned out to be a very popular place with locals, and excellent food – although I cannot recall its name. Clicked a lot of pictures of Sitka town, and retired to bed in the evening. |
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Trying to spot some whales |
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Sitka town waterfront |
Day 9 : Friday, July 12th :
This was essentially the last day of our vacation. We once again had breakfast in the bagel café across the street from our hotel. We took a long walk across town to the Raptor Centre. This is a very interesting place which any Sitka visitor must go to. They collect injured bald eagles, and nurse them back for release. Excellent guided tour of the premises, along with some audio visual explanations. Not only do they repair injured bones of these majestic birds, but they have elaborate flight chambers where the birds can train themselves to start flying again, before they are ready for release. Of course, some birds can never become fit for release, and they are housed in separate very large natural habitats, which are covered by a thin net. They also have a great collection of some owl species, and the overall centre is very well organized. On exiting the Raptor Centre, we walked through the nearby Sitka National Historic Park. The park has a very rich collection of Totem poles, with explanations of what each totem pole signifies. Nice walk through this park, and clicked pictures of virtually every totem pole we could spot (there are plenty !). Finally, we ended up at the Visitors Centre on the other side of the park, where we watched some audio-visual displays about the history and culture of the place. We slowly walked all the way back to our hotel, had an average lunch, and took some rest. Late in the afternoon, we called a taxi to take us to the Fortress of the Bears – another must see in Sitka. This is an impressive facility where they house a large number of grizzly bears and black bears, either orphaned or injured, and rear them before either transferring to a zoo or release back in the wild. There are several large enclosures, where the bears of different age groups can live in very natural surroundings. Food is never given in an artificial manner, but always concealed at various places, which the bears have to forage and locate ! They are allowed to go through their natural cycle of hibernation and awakening, and the bears seemed to be enjoying themselves. The viewing galleries are great, and offer excellent photo opportunities. We were so captivated by this place, and watching the bears playing around was so much fun, that we ended staying here much longer than what we had planned for. Finally, we called a taxi, and drove back to town. A nice dinner, and then to finish our packing for the departure the next morning. Day 10 : Saturday, July 13th : We had a 10am Alaska Airline flight to Seattle, reaching there at about 1:30 pm local time. Here we parted company with our son, who flew on to New York. Wife and I met up with some old acquaintances at Seattle airport, before taking a 5 pm flight back to India, via Dubai, reaching India in the wee hours of 15th July morning. This brings me to the end of a very delayed Trip Report. We enjoyed our trip; it was very relaxed and unhurried. In terms of overall beauty, I would rate South Central Alaska much higher, as there is greater natural beauty in Seward, Matanuska, Denali etc, and more “action” for those looking for hectic schedules. South-easern Alaska is slower, quieter, and very different. Would certainly recommend people to do both in their lifetimes, as they are Heavens on earth. |
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Sitka Raptor Centre |
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Sitka National Historic Park |
oh no, over much too soon. I greatly enjoyed your writing and your photos, thank you.
Where are you taking us to next??? |
Hi annhig. We connect together again. Thanks for the encouragement.
Have not decided on the next trip as yet. Will keep things posted on this forum as and when plans materialize. |
Thanks for the rest of the report. I truly wish we had been able to "do" Alaska the way you. did. The pictures were great too.
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Wonderful report and photos, thank you.
Your experience whale-(non)watching reminds of a trip I took to a camp in a very remote part of Tsavo East in Kenya. The gentlemen working at the camp told us that there had just been a group staying at camp who had come to that part of Tsavo specifically to see snakes. While they were there, nary a snake to be seen. Of course while we non-snake-seekers were there, we had snakes, big snakes, little scary snakes, snakes in the rafters above our tents, snakes everywhere. It's always something! I look forward to reading about your next trip. |
<<Hi annhig. We connect together again. Thanks for the encouragement.
Have not decided on the next trip as yet. Will keep things posted on this forum as and when plans materialize.>> I will certainly look out for them.. |
I love your trip reports.. thanks for sharing. my son lives in NYC too, and we are planning to visit next year. You have me thinking I should look into Alaska.
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Thanks everyone for the encouragement
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