Picnic lunch? Options for food while hiking in Juneau

[alaskaobsessed]

I have several questions so I'll just explain my idea and see if anyone has similar experiences/suggestions. My fiance and I will be on the Celebrity Summit and we will be in port one day in Juneau. There is so much to see there, but I really would like to take both the East loop trail and the West loop trail at Mendenhall Glacier, a total of about 6-7 miles. Thanks to everyone that has recommended these hikes!

My question is, can we pack a picnic lunch from the breakfast buffet of the ship? What are the policies about taking food off the ship? I am interested in trying the local fare, we are booked for a salmon bake in the evening, but I'm wondering if there are any food options out by the visitor's center of the glacier. Any input would be greatly appreciated!

[garycarla]

Officially, you can not take food off the ship.

 

Realisticly, unless you flaunt it, they only want to check your ships Id as you lead the ship.

 

Enjoy yourself.

[Budget Queen]

I have several questions so I'll just explain my idea and see if anyone has similar experiences/suggestions. My fiance and I will be on the Celebrity Summit and we will be in port one day in Juneau. There is so much to see there, but I really would like to take both the East loop trail and the West loop trail at Mendenhall Glacier, a total of about 6-7 miles. Thanks to everyone that has recommended these hikes!

My question is, can we pack a picnic lunch from the breakfast buffet of the ship? What are the policies about taking food off the ship? I am interested in trying the local fare, we are booked for a salmon bake in the evening, but I'm wondering if there are any food options out by the visitor's center of the glacier. Any input would be greatly appreciated!

 

 

 

I would skip the East Loop and do the West loop only- if that is your priority?, you will need a cab to get there and a cell phone for later pick up, verify that you have service otherwise arrange your pick up with the same cab. That trail alone is about 7 miles and you need to allow 5 hours. You may also want to look into crampons if you plan on accessing the ice. There is no food options at the visitor center- which for clairfication- you do not have access to from the West glacier trail. I would just buy some carry out in downtown Juneau.

 

 

Moderate trail that follows the glacier's west side

Length - 6.8 miles

Time - 5 hours

Elevation gain - 1,300 feet

 

The West Glacier trailhead cannot be reached from the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center. Take Mendenhall Loop Road to Montana Creek Road and follow the signs to Mendenhall Campground.

[tetleytea]

You'll be gaining 5 pounds in 7 days. Starve. :)

 

Seriously, though, I tried to convince my wife to do just that, and she didn't like the idea. I ended up just taking some fruit from the ship along and abbreviated the hike. One nice thing about hiking Alaska in general, though: sometimes you can live off the land. :D Wild raspberries can get a little sour and have dirt in them, but--yum!

[CruiseIsGood]

Bring baggies, and you'll probably be able to pack a better lunch from the room service menu.

[alaskaobsessed]

I would skip the East Loop and do the West loop only- if that is your priority?, you will need a cab to get there and a cell phone for later pick up, verify that you have service otherwise arrange your pick up with the same cab. That trail alone is about 7 miles and you need to allow 5 hours. You may also want to look into crampons if you plan on accessing the ice. There is no food options at the visitor center- which for clairfication- you do not have access to from the West glacier trail. I would just buy some carry out in downtown Juneau.

 

 

Moderate trail that follows the glacier's west side

Length - 6.8 miles

Time - 5 hours

Elevation gain - 1,300 feet

 

The West Glacier trailhead cannot be reached from the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center. Take Mendenhall Loop Road to Montana Creek Road and follow the signs to Mendenhall Campground.

 

Thank for the clarification! I was reading in my travel book (Adventure's guide to the inside passage and coastal Alaska) and I thought that the East and West trails were both loop trails but now I see they list the West Glacial Trail as 3.5 miles each way! That's a big difference! Also, I'm from Chicago, our "hikes" are very flat, and we can cover 3 miles in an hour, I forget it's harder when you start going uphill :rolleyes:

 

My fiance balked when he heard 1,300 feet elevation gain, I still think it's do-able if it's the only thing we do that day besides the Salmon Bake. I guess my dilemma is I would like to get up close to a glacier, without paying for a hilocopter ride. Is there a shorter trail that will give us some closer Glacier views? My book mentioned the Herbert Glacier Trail, anyone have any experience with this trail? My book says it's 4.6 miles that's easy to do in 4 hours, and it's a good place to watch for bears!

 

As far as food, I know we should really just starve, but I'm a compulsive snacker. Thanks for the suggestion about the ziplock bags! I think we will bring fruit from the ship and pick up some sandwhiches to go in town.

 

Thank you everyone for all of your suggestions and please forgive me I'm quite obsessed with planning this trip!

[Budget Queen]

Thank for the clarification! I was reading in my travel book (Adventure's guide to the inside passage and coastal Alaska) and I thought that the East and West trails were both loop trails but now I see they list the West Glacial Trail as 3.5 miles each way! That's a big difference! Also, I'm from Chicago, our "hikes" are very flat, and we can cover 3 miles in an hour, I forget it's harder when you start going uphill :rolleyes:

 

My fiance balked when he heard 1,300 feet elevation gain, I still think it's do-able if it's the only thing we do that day besides the Salmon Bake. I guess my dilemma is I would like to get up close to a glacier, without paying for a hilocopter ride. Is there a shorter trail that will give us some closer Glacier views? My book mentioned the Herbert Glacier Trail, anyone have any experience with this trail? My book says it's 4.6 miles that's easy to do in 4 hours, and it's a good place to watch for bears!

 

As far as food, I know we should really just starve, but I'm a compulsive snacker. Thanks for the suggestion about the ziplock bags! I think we will bring fruit from the ship and pick up some sandwhiches to go in town.

 

Thank you everyone for all of your suggestions and please forgive me I'm quite obsessed with planning this trip!

 

 

NO you don't have any other close up glacier options outside of the Juneau port for hiking. You do get excellent close up views of Mendenhall right on the short Photo trail, and East Loop has few views actually, a lot of trees blocking viewing, but several open areas. Looking at descriptions of the Herbert Glacier trail, it doesn't sound like there is any access to the glacier, viewing only? For this however, you will need a costly cab to get there, AND arrangements for the ride back.

[alaskaobsessed]

Budget Queen,thank you so much for all of your help and experience, it really helps to be able to pick your brain! I think after weighing all of our options, we will stick with the photo trail and the East Loop trail. We are both active and enjoy a good hike, but what we really want to do is take pictures and I think these trails will give us some good views, and then we will also have time to do other things in Juneau, rather than just one real strenuous hike. I checked out this website:

http://www.juneau-guide.com/juneau-alaska-hiking.htm

and the pictures from the west glacier trail didn't look worth the hike! We don't feel the overwhelming desire to have to walk on the glacier, so I think this works best! Thanks again!