Mendenhall Glacier - is it cold on the walking trails ?

[KK11]

I will be in Juneau on Mon, 28-July and am planning to do the walking trails on the Mendenhall Glacier ... will it be any colder than in the town (since nearer to the Glacier and Ice)

[robinsegg]

It might be a couple of degrees cooler than town, because you are at a higher elevation. But not that you'd notice.

[RSWBADGER]

I will be in Juneau on Mon, 28-July and am planning to do the walking trails on the Mendenhall Glacier ... will it be any colder than in the town (since nearer to the Glacier and Ice)

 

We hiked the East Glacier Trail on June 4th and it was around 50, raining and very humid, wear layers. Not any cooler than town.

[amyk757]

We walked one of the trails about the same time several years ago. The temps were no issue -- wear layers -- but the bear that was coming up the trail as we were heading back to the parking lot was something that took us by surprise. All turned out well, except for the MANY gray hairs I got from the face-to-face meeting!

[PennyAgain]

If it is raining you may get soaked and then you will be chilled. You need a real waterproof jacket for your outer layer even if it doesn't look like rain.

 

Once you get hot and sweaty inside all those layers, you can also get very chilled. There is a art in knowing how to dress so that your inner layer stays dry. Don't wear cotton!

 

If I'd come up on a bear on my back trail, I would have been wet, plenty wet!

[southwardbound]

We did the east loop at at the end of May. Layers are good. We did come up on a mom bear and her cub. We stopped and slowly moved backwards. We then waited at the stairs for another party to join. No pictures and quite a surprise. They are out there. :)

[amyk757]

When we encountered the bear, we backed up and then went down an embankment. The bear lost interest in us and continued going, probably to the stream we had just left, to find the salmon. Fortunately, the bear was more interested in dinner than us, but it sure made our adrenaline rush! We had no time to even think about photos, but later we wished we had taken some. As if we were even thinking of photos at the time! HA!!!

[Acemac]

On some days you will notice a slight difference in temp...I mean its a big chunk of ice, if you get the wind coming off it..it will be slightly cooler.....but layers, as suggested, is a good idea

 

As for the bears....there are a few things you can do to try and avoid a surprised bear....tie a bell to your shoe or backpack......or just bring a loud mouth like me along...to keep making noise while you walk

[qqqsal]

Are you planning on walking on the glacier itself or the trails out by the visitors center? As far as I know, you can not walk out to the glacier and on the glacier unless by helicopter.

 

You can walk out toward Nugget Falls (I think that's the name of it) and get closer to the glacier. But there is a large field of large rocks that you need to climb over if you want to get to the spit of land at the bottom of the falls.

 

Good luck.

[Shelly97060]

as others have said, very little difference in temp between there and town.

 

on a side note, if you are walking out to Nugget Falls and are on an excursion, head there first. It is farther then it looks, and it seems we are always pressed for time by the time we walk out and back to the bus.

[travelbuds]

if you are walking out to Nugget Falls and are on an excursion, head there first.

 

Hi,

Is there a trail to the falls before you get to the rock area? Is it an off shoot from another trail?

Thanks.

[Shelly97060]

Hi,

Is there a trail to the falls before you get to the rock area? Is it an off shoot from another trail?

Thanks.

 

it is an off shoot from another trail, before you head down the final section of the path to the really rocky area though take a look to see if there is a way across the sandy area ( this will make sense when you see it, there is a little beach like area along the path and you can see the falls on the other side of it).

 

This year we were able to cut a bunch of time off by crossing over a little stone path someone had made to cross the water and the sandy area. It was a much easier hike.:)

[qqqsal]

If you need more time at the glacier, you can take a shuttle bus back to town for $7 one way. I

 

negotiated a free shuttle bus ticket going from the glacier back into town because I knew I wanted more time at the glacier. It was the last stop of the little city tour so I didn't miss anything and I got to stay as long as I wanted at the glacier. But you have to come back on that specific company's shuttle and they only ran every 30 minutes. If you want to come back on any of the shuttles, just pay the $7.

[travelbuds]

it is an off shoot from another trail, before you head down the final section of the path to the really rocky area

 

Hi,

Do you recall what trail it came off?

Thank you.

[gnocchi_mommy]

July is the middle of summer in Alaska too, and Juneau is way down in the south part of the state... it's not cold.