Wednesday 28 Jul 2010
Juneau, USA
Juneau
7/28/2010 - Juneau
Good Golly Miss Molly - Oh, What A Day!
We were off the ship bright and early to catch our first excursion bus to the heliport... Yes, my friends, we hopped into a helicopter and cruised along the glaciers to the mushing station located smack dab in the middle of nowhere !
It was just like on Magnum PI (I am dating myself now aren't I !) ... swooping to the left, swooping to the right, viewing the most beautiful glaciers imaginable ! We landed on the edge of the mushing camp and the dogs were already barking and anxious to get to work.
There were 4 team masters and we were quickly aligned with a team of dogs and given instructions on how to stop a sled. The team master was the lead sled and we were tethered behind but did do the breaking each stop we made. We stopped 4 times during our 2 mile trek to let the dogs rest. They yap and bark and bite snow along the way and when we stop, they roll in the ice and take a breather.
Upon return to the camp we spent some time getting introduced to each of the dogs that just took us on our 1st mushing experience. They love what they do and are glad to do it. It is their way of life.
We returned with the same helicopter pilot and soared over the hills and ice glaciers that were so blue that it looked like it glowed. Some patches of ice are over 1,000 years old. Another breathtaking day !
In the afternoon we did the Canapy & Zipline excursion. Nine platforms and over 6,200 feet of cable - we zipped our way through the rain forest found on Douglas Island. We ended the experience by repelling 100 ft down to the base cabin. Other than the ‘disco ball spin' I did (not what you want to do....!) and almost losing my finger because I put my hand in front of the equipment on the cable... I am none the worse for wear.
Tony did great, I did OK until the spin.... Not so good !....
Quite an adrenaline rush - Need a lot of faith that the harness will hold you ! I would do it again in a heart beat !!!
Pictures are still a problem so hope to have better luck at our next stop. More to follow...