Our visit to the Mendenhall Glacier was one of the highlights of our trip up the Inland Passage in Alaska. The glacier appears as a frozen river of blue ice on its way to the lake that is in the foreground. You can't actually walk on the glacier, but there are great views from all along the shore of the lake. Bear are sometimes seen far across the lake on the other side from the glacier. We saw 2 black bear ambling along. There are many opportunities for great photos in the immediate area. Wear some comfortable tennies or walking shoes; we did see women in heels, but why? A light jacket was all that we needed in Sept. which is at the end of the season.

Great site in Juneau Alaska to see. This glacier is easily accessable to see. If you are adventurous then you can hike the trail and get a close up view or you can still get a great view from the front side from the observation areas and even the parking lot. If you are a photographer you will really love the colors that come out in the ice of the glacier. The ice of the glacier has the nicest blue color hue. There also is a very nice observation area with a lot of interesting facts and displays.

I wanted to take the time to share my experience with Gastineau Guiding Company and the tour we took on Aug 26th, 2009, Portrait of the Mendenhall Glacier, guided by Brandon Hauser.

From the moment I stumbled across their Website, which I caught in a travel book, Fodor’s 2006, I had a great feeling that we were in for a good experience. Jeremy who called me within hours of me submitting an online inquiry form, to meeting Brandon at the pier in the pouring rain, to the moment Brandon returned us to the Pier to return to our ship, we were absolutely impressed and thrilled with Gastineau Guiding.

We knew we were in for an adventure just by the description, but now as we sit back and reflect, my daughter and I feel this was one of our best life experiences ever.

The hike to view Mendenhall from the West side was certainly a difficult one at times, which was made even more challenging by the rain, however we felt confident, comfortable and thoroughly thrilled thanks to the guiding expertise of Brandon. Being that it was just a single mom and her 14 year old daughter, this could have had a recipe for a disastrous outing. However, Brandon’s calm, confident and encouraging manner kept us on the right track. He felt we were more than physically capable of accepting the challenge of the hike and never once treated us as though we were helpless females. Brandon offered us a plethora of information about the land, wildlife, and of course his true calling photography.

What we came away from our time spent with Brandon, and Gastineau Guiding, was not only a wealth of knowledge, of the land we were traversing, the use of our newly purchased camera, but a stronger sense of self and increased self esteem from having completed the challenge of the hike, and the rock scramble and the return journey all in about 4 hours round trip. We even had the opportunity to visit Mendenhall from the Visitors centre, which only confirmed that having risen to challenge of hiking to the West Side made our views and visit to Juneau even that much more memorable.

My daughter and I have been reminiscing about our “summer adventure” and we both, without hesitation, agree that this hike was the highlight, which was only made that much better due to the efforts of Brandon.

Thank you Gastineau Guiding, and most of all Thank you Brandon.. it was fantastic, incredible….Indescribable, actually

Tanya and Sydnie Fiocca

St. Catharines, ON Canada

Our family took a helicopter tour that landed on the glacier and we were able to walk around for an hour on top of it. It was a wonderful time and probably the highlight of everyone's vacation. It's really a magical experience walking on top of the glacier. You really lose your sense of scale and proportions when you're on top of it. It's absolutely massive, but it doesn't feel that way when you're walking on top of it, that is until you look in the distance, see something moving, and realize that's another human being and they're barely recognizable.

On our tour, we wore cramp-ons to make sure we didn't slip and fall. We explored a lot of the crevasses and a cave. We tasted the glacier water. We peered down 60 foot holes in the ice. We learned about the history of the glacier, and so much more. It's wasn't freezing like I had read stories about, although I'm from New England, so I'm used to cold winters. I'd liken it to the spring skiing weather. A bunch of us were warm after a while and took off some layers, just like you typically do after skiing for a short time.

I think just being able to walk around and explore something that so few people get to experience in a lifetime was one of the coolest things. Everyone I talk to always asks what it was like. I always tell them it was amazing and unlike something I've ever experienced. It's so hard to describe and the pictures just don't do it justice. If you have the chance to walk around on top, do it. You won't regret it and it will be the highlight of your vacation.