5 days of blissed out sunshine on the coast. Well, the southern coast. Or southeast panhandle. It all depends on where you live I suppose.

We have just returned from an amazing trip to Juneau, Alaska, where we saw more cloudless, sun filled, action packed good times than any of us expected. There are many things to expect about Juneau but 5 days of uninterrupted (WARM) sunshine is not even in the top 25.

We went hiking on Mendenhall Glacier. A superb day hike up to look at the glacier. Not too many souls venture up this path which I would classify as a moderate hike. Easy elevation gain and not too long. Amazing views at the top as well. We then trundled back to our campsite (apparently the only one open this early in the season) at the foot of the glacial lake and drank wine while watching the last sun's rays reflect off the hills. Bliss.

Day 2: we decided to go kayaking. So off we went to Alaska Boat and Kayak to rent them. A short drive, nothing is close in Juneau, later we were in Echo Cove and kayaking against a wicked current until we made it out of the bay. Very hard and I am not a good kayaker. Some lovely sights, a playful habour seal and some funny sounding birds. Also, petrol powered paradise. More ATV's and gas powered whatever's than I have seen in a lifetime. Don't camp here unless you like the smell and sound of gas fired things roaring by at all times. We then watched the sun go down on Eagle Beach. Lovely. So much sunshine....

Day 3: we did yet another hike into Petersson Cabin on Petersson Lake, just past Petersson Creek. This was brutal. We post-holed for about 1.5 miles with some injured hikers in our party. This is not an easy hike. At the best of times it is a 4.23 mile long walk across a boardwalk. But there is an awesome little lake with a skiff to float around on from the amazing dock. The cabin is quite rustic but functional and has propane heat!!!

Day 4: Hiking out but earlier so there is less post-holing and progress is much faster. However, on our exit from the trail we see a large rock next to the remains of what used to be the drivers side window. We had been robbed by some a$$ that made off with a good chunk of our possessions. We spent the next few hours vacuumng out the car, filing a police report and generally feeling out of sorts.
But the weather was still nice and we had a 6am ferry reservation to make so we headed out for one last nice dinner at Twisted Fish and called it an early night.

Day 5: The short drive to the ferry terminal from the campsite was uneventful and the float home on the fast ferry (2.5hrs from Juneau to Skagway) was enjoyable in the sunshine. We even got to see some whales! The drive home was less than enjoyable as the plastic window we had taped up caused some significant noise and I had to wear an ear plug the entire drive home. Yow!

Even with the B&E on the car the trip to Juneau is highly for all to partake in. We will be going back.
Pictures will be going up as I get them sorted.