Harv and Marv's and Mendenhall Glacier

[firsttimedisn]

Looking for advice on which order to do these excursions on our first Alaskan cruise. We will be on the Northbound Coral Princess that stops at Juneau on July 11. Our port time is 8 am - 9 pm. We want to do a lot of hiking at Mendenhall Glacier. Probably the West Mendenhall Trail to the Ice Cave Trail and possibly the Nugget Creek Trail as well. We are young and in good shape and we probably will complete these hikes in much less time than it's quoted to take. Our Harv and Marv whale watch options are either 11:30 (which we we would go to the glacier afterwards) or start early in the morning at the glacier and then go to the 2:30 whale watch. Is there a better option? Whale watching first seems to lead more time to hiking, but we're coming from the East and will probably be up pretty early each day, so I think hiking may be less crowded if we do that right away.

 

Secondly, what are our options for lunch? Can we buy boxed lunches or sandwiches at Harv and Marv's, or is there a place a taxi could stop off so we could grab some food in between excursions?

 

Thanks in advance.

[Budget Queen]

I think both of these, whale watches are poor timing. Isn't there a 9:30a whale watch you can take? I know "H$M" are well touted on this board but there are other excellent vendors to consider, if they don't have this tour time. The whole idea I get with your plan is to include both. Do you really want to be on a time frame for hiking? You claim it "won;t take you that long"? How do you know this? Already planning on being in a rush? Frankly I wouldn't give that much priority for me enjoying my day. Having a large block of time is essential- WITH conservative time estimates. I think you are way underestimating what this trail is and the time involved. In my opinion, this is the place to also go guided. There is certainly not going to be anytime for you to also include Nugget Creek Trail which is accessed on the other side of the lake.

[firsttimedisn]

Thanks for your response. Maybe I should look at other companies. The only other tour of the day is 7:30 am and our port time isn't until 8, so that rules out the morning whale watch, otherwise that would be a no brainer....

[Budget Queen]

There should be plenty of 9:30a whale watches.

[Glaciers]

I’ve always wanted to go to those ice caves at Mendenhall. I think I’d do it on a tour that goes by boat across the lake though. Even if not going to the caves, the West Glacier Trail is a very good hike.

 

Capital City Fire Rescue

[lovingalaska]

I believe an 11:30 whale watch with Harv and Marv would be ideal and then go hiking after that. This way it will warm up in the afternoon and your hiking/whale watch experience may be a little more enjoyable. Mornings are often chilly and foggy but will clear up around 9 or 9:30. Even if you get to the glacier as late at 3:00, that'll still give you plenty of time to experience it!

[alwaysfrantic]

Is there a way to get to the ice caves without hiking in? I just saw a photo of this and would love to see but I know we can't do 10 miles hiking in the time we have. Im not sure we could do 10 miles hiking if we had any amount of time!

[Glaciers]

Above and Beyond was doing trips to the ice caves via canoe/kayak last season although I don’t see it on their excursions online. You could contact them and ask.

http://beyondak.com/trip/day-trips/

 

There was still a short hike involved but certainly nothing as treacherous as accessing them via the West Glacier Trail.