Glacier Hike....Is it strenuous??

[LuvShak]

My DH and I have had a heli-glacier hike booked for weeks now....the extended glacier hike out of Juneau. Well, he waited until last night (too late to change reserv now) to tell me that he's concerned that I might not be able to actually do the hike.

 

Can someone with knowledge of the 4 hour glacier hike tell me their experience please.:confused: :confused: Thanks for your help.

[jrask]

We just did the 2 hour version through the same company (Northstar Trekking via the ship). The guides found conditions so interesting that they were doing things that were more typical of the 4-hour version, without the rope climb up the ice wall.

 

The 2 hours flew by and we felt no strain whatsoever. Keep in mind that Northstar puts safety first, so whenever they perceive any difficulty (even when there is little if any) they will make sure that the group goes 1-by-1 so they can accompany each of you. This will slow the pace and give you some breaks (aka picture taking opportunities). Also, it is so ridiculously amazing that your adrenaline will be pumping the entire time. We could easily have kept going and going and had no idea of the time. Based on my experience, I don't think the 4 hours will wipe you out as long as you aren't doing a lot of hiking that same day.

 

One way or another, do a glacier trek (rather than the walkabout). We kept looking down at the people who were doing the walkabout (so tiny down there) and couldn't believe all the cool stuff they were missing...streams and waterfalls running on the ice, caverns of ice that you walk through... The best part is staring down a moulin. These are huge holes in the ice (2-3 people wide and about 200 feet deep) that give you the most amazing color of electric blue (not just windex-blue). They attach you to a rope plugged into an ice screw to secure you and then help you look over. Wow! Trekking was the most fun part of our trip (which was amazing through and through) and is the source of some of our best pictures (only comparable to great wildlife shots in Denali).

[LuvShak]

jrsask.....I appreciate you answering, especially in such an in-depth manner. I just read off your response to my hubby and he feels relieved. Don't get me wrong, I was going no matter what...this is one of those once-in-a-lifetime experiences and I am not going to miss out on a glacier trek. But at least now he will not continue to worry from now until 9/01 when we are in Juneau. Your description has me even waaaaay more excited than I already was.:D Thanks a ton.

[churee]

Hi,

We did the one hour glacier hike with Northstar at the end of July. The reasons we chose the 1 hr is because my husband has asthma, and didn't want to push the breathing thing. I have absolutely no regrets and he had no problems whatsoever. If we go next time, I could easily do the 4 hr. Northstar is a great company and very professional. Just relax and have a wonderful time. We have such great memories of seeing things there on the glacier that we have never seen before. I dreamt about it for a week after we returned (all good dreams). The guides are awesome!

 

Joyce

[jrask]

LuvShak,

 

Glad to be of service. I'm confident that my description holds for everyone on our trip (people ranged in ages, but I suppose all were the type that felt they could probably handle it). We had wanted to do the guide's choice hike that same morning and decided to back off on that one b/c we didn't want to be tired before the trek.

 

I'll be posting a review of our cruise and land portion soon and will probably be including pictures so you can get a sense of the terrain and the deep blue moulins. Hopefully, I can get that up later this week.