Hiking on your own near Mendenhall

[jeffbrig]

No, not solo. My wife and I are debating between doing some hiking on our own vs. signing up for a (much) more expensive group hiking excursion. If we do this on our own, we're looking at the Nugget Falls trail and/or the East Glacier Loop.

 

We are experienced day hikers, though usually places like Yosemite. We're no strangers to challenging hikes, for example, we've been to the top of Half Dome , which is 16+ miles roundtrip.

 

Our main concern comes down to bear safety. In Yosemite, bears are actively trained by rangers to fear humans. In Alaska, I'm not sure what to expect, and I won't be traveling with bear spray. Are the trails we're looking at well traveled? What are the odds of an encounter?

 

-Jeff

[Budget Queen]

No, not solo. My wife and I are debating between doing some hiking on our own vs. signing up for a (much) more expensive group hiking excursion. If we do this on our own, we're looking at the Nugget Falls trail and/or the East Glacier Loop.

 

We are experienced day hikers, though usually places like Yosemite. We're no strangers to challenging hikes, for example, we've been to the top of Half Dome , which is 16+ miles roundtrip.

 

Our main concern comes down to bear safety. In Yosemite, bears are actively trained by rangers to fear humans. In Alaska, I'm not sure what to expect, and I won't be traveling with bear spray. Are the trails we're looking at well traveled? What are the odds of an encounter?

 

-Jeff

All the trails on the east side are "busy" with a lot of walkers/hikers. Especially Nugget Falls. Rangers will close it, if there is bear activity. Bears are a possibility, any time. On the East Loop, what I do, is take an empty soda can with me, and put in some rocks. Ends up being pretty noisy. :) However, I don't recommend the west side unguided.

[xlxo]

Nugget Falls is very busy with frequent tourists. Don't need a guide. It can be flooded. Time is the challenge if you are there with an excursion. They say to budget 45 minutes on the Nugget Falls trail.

 

The older bears have leather tracking collars. Rangers are there to stop tourists from bear contacts. This happened to me for 10 minutes at the Photo Point trail.

 

No idea about the other trail. I'll let others speak about that trail.

[jeffbrig]

Time is the challenge if you are there with an excursion. They say to budget 45 minutes on the Nugget Falls trail.

 

 

No worries on time. We have 12 hours in port that day, and we're planning to shuttle to/from the Visitor's Center on our own.

[KAE27]

I would not consider Nugget Falls a "hike" but rather an easy walk, especially if you're used to things like Half Dome. It is a lovely vista but completely overrun with people - worth doing in combination with another actual hike since you have so much time.

[limoncello07]

For the OP: I've also been looking into (less ambitious) hiking options near Mendenhall. I'm not sure which guided tours you have looked at -- and any paid tour will be "expensive" compared to doing it on your own for free -- but I thought this one was an example of something that seems pretty reasonable in cost for the amount of time and small group size. Note: this is not/not a recommendation, as I have not been on the tour, and I have no idea of the quality. Rather, just wanted suggest that you may find a larger range of range of guided tour options available if you dig around a bit. I hadn't seen this one among the ship's offerings or any of the well-known sites that handle shore excursions, I think I found it through Google. Good luck whatever you decide!

Edited June 10, 2016 by limoncello07

[Off Shore]

We enjoyed the East Glacier hike that starts near the Park HQ, It is about 4 or so miles roundtrip, and has nice vistas. Make sure you take your own water and energy bars with you, as there is no food or water sold in the Park.

[jeffbrig]

Thanks again everyone.

 

Back from the trip, and we went to Nugget Falls, then hiked the East Glacier Loop trail. To echo what krista4 said, Nugget Falls is not a hike. It's a fairly flat gravel path, and heavily trafficked. We even saw a couple of strollers at the falls. Still worth it for the up close view of the falls.

 

East Glacier Loop was a nice hike in the woods. Interestingly, we came across 3 different groups on guided hikes while we were on the trail. We did the loop clockwise, but it seems many like to go counterclockwise. I suppose this is because some people may find it easier to climb the stairs on the east side? The hike took about two hours, including stops for photos, and all the scenic turnouts. I imagine the scenery was a bit more impressive 30 years ago, as the glacier has retreated from most of the overlooks. You get nice views of the lake, but not so much of the ice these days. ;) The upper portion of the loop is bounded by Nugget Creek, so you don't really get up to the level of the glacier on this trail.

[KAE27]

Thanks again everyone.

 

Back from the trip, and we went to Nugget Falls, then hiked the East Glacier Loop trail. To echo what krista4 said, Nugget Falls is not a hike. It's a fairly flat gravel path, and heavily trafficked. We even saw a couple of strollers at the falls. Still worth it for the up close view of the falls.

 

East Glacier Loop was a nice hike in the woods. Interestingly, we came across 3 different groups on guided hikes while we were on the trail. We did the loop clockwise, but it seems many like to go counterclockwise. I suppose this is because some people may find it easier to climb the stairs on the east side? The hike took about two hours, including stops for photos, and all the scenic turnouts. I imagine the scenery was a bit more impressive 30 years ago, as the glacier has retreated from most of the overlooks. You get nice views of the lake, but not so much of the ice these days. ;) The upper portion of the loop is bounded by Nugget Creek, so you don't really get up to the level of the glacier on this trail.

 

I really appreciate your coming back with a report on this! Very helpful for any future planning.

[marshhawk]

Thanks again everyone.

 

Back from the trip, and we went to Nugget Falls, then hiked the East Glacier Loop trail. To echo what krista4 said, Nugget Falls is not a hike. It's a fairly flat gravel path, and heavily trafficked. We even saw a couple of strollers at the falls. Still worth it for the up close view of the falls.

 

East Glacier Loop was a nice hike in the woods. Interestingly, we came across 3 different groups on guided hikes while we were on the trail. We did the loop clockwise, but it seems many like to go counterclockwise. I suppose this is because some people may find it easier to climb the stairs on the east side? The hike took about two hours, including stops for photos, and all the scenic turnouts. I imagine the scenery was a bit more impressive 30 years ago, as the glacier has retreated from most of the overlooks. You get nice views of the lake, but not so much of the ice these days. ;) The upper portion of the loop is bounded by Nugget Creek, so you don't really get up to the level of the glacier on this trail.

 

Do you have any pictures from your hike?

[jeffbrig]

Do you have any pictures from your hike?

 

Lol...yes, many. I took almost 800 shots on the trip! I'll see if I can post a few from this hike to help future travelers. Gotta pull them off my camera first... :D

[Budget Queen]

Thanks again everyone.

 

Back from the trip, and we went to Nugget Falls, then hiked the East Glacier Loop trail. To echo what krista4 said, Nugget Falls is not a hike. It's a fairly flat gravel path, and heavily trafficked. We even saw a couple of strollers at the falls. Still worth it for the up close view of the falls.

 

East Glacier Loop was a nice hike in the woods. Interestingly, we came across 3 different groups on guided hikes while we were on the trail. We did the loop clockwise, but it seems many like to go counterclockwise. I suppose this is because some people may find it easier to climb the stairs on the east side? The hike took about two hours, including stops for photos, and all the scenic turnouts. I imagine the scenery was a bit more impressive 30 years ago, as the glacier has retreated from most of the overlooks. You get nice views of the lake, but not so much of the ice these days. ;) The upper portion of the loop is bounded by Nugget Creek, so you don't really get up to the level of the glacier on this trail.

 

I always do this trail clockwise. I find, going up the switchback and the stairs down- "refreshing" at the end of the walk. :) It never has been a "scenic" trail, and I've often written about the very small amount of time viewing much of anything.

 

Next time consider the extension on the Nugget Creek trail, I did that once, it's more scenic and interesting.

[HDBoy]

We were there on June 23rd 2016. The round trip to Nugget fall from the visitor center takes approximately an hour. The trail was busy with visitors and it was an easy walk. From the end of the trail (which is near the fall) one can see the glacier which is an mile away. While we were there, the temperature was around 80 +.

[Crew News]

We enjoyed the East Glacier hike that starts near the Park HQ, It is about 4 or so miles roundtrip, and has nice vistas. Make sure you take your own water and energy bars with you, as there is no food or water sold in the Park.

 

Food in any form is discouraged as it attracts hungry bears like a magnet no matter how much noise you make per the Park Rangers we asked.