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Alaska Te ground is soft and the light is


subdued, shaded by the trees. Some rocks are covered with green moss. At times, the trail heads up steep hills, with handrails for support. Te guides take many photos, freeing us from the distraction of documenting the whole thing. Eric explains all about the forest, the


different phases of growth, and how the land here is rising up between a quarter and a half of an inch a year, without the immense weight of a glacier bearing down on it. As the glacier recedes, more vegetation grows and this brings more animals. We meet a deer on the trail, and I notice Eric is carrying a large can of bear spray — just in case. After three hours of mostly uphill walking,


our hard work is rewarded. Te views over the expanse of ice are incredible, taking in the mountains and Mendenhall Lake. From our perch, around 700ft up, we can see a group of people walking on the glacier; they look like tiny dots. After seeing glaciers from a boat, and then


from above on a hike, my final adventure in southeast Alaska turns out to be the most fascinating encounter of all — a trip by canoe to walk on Mendenhall Glacier. We're kitted out at the tour company’s


base before driving to Mendenhall Lake, where our dozen-strong group is put into


two large canoes. With each of us armed with a large wooden paddle, we canoe across the lake, passing Nugget Falls and a monstrous iceberg along the way. After an hour of paddling, we pull up at a small silty beach next to the glacier. We put on our crampons and set off across the ice; the guides pointing out crevasses and patches of blue, caused by compressed snow within the glacial ice. We also see vertical shafts, called moulins. Te highlight of the day comes as


we reach the ice cave under the glacier. Inside, the walls are smooth and glossy, with bubbles of blue and white ice. Te sound of rushing water outside reminds us how fast the glacier is melting and how dangerous it is to be here — glaciers are constantly on the move and ice caves can collapse at any time, a danger our guides have made us aware of before setting out, adding to the adrenaline rush. As we walk back to the canoe, I look


up to the mountain I hiked the day before and realize that after seeing a glacier far off in the distance, seeing one from a boat, and hiking up the side of one, I've finally, become one of those tiny dots on a glacier — reduced to a mere speck by the power and scale of wild Alaska.


Sample


Viking Travel has five nights in Juneau, including airport or port transfers, four nights’ hotel accommodation in downtown Juneau, a full-day Tracy Arm boat trip, guided Mendenhall Glacier hike and half-day whale-watching cruise, from $1,200 per person, based on two sharing. Viking Travel also specializes in ferry trips on the Alaska Marine Highway. alaskaferry.com


Selling tips


Talk up the range of adventures: There’s something for all levels and tastes, whether clients want to take a leisurely boat trip on the Inside Passage, or get out into a kayak or onto a hiking trail or glacier. Other adventures include flightseeing tours, helicopter tours with glacier landings, glacier dog-sled rides and gold-panning.


Sell the wildlife: There are opportunities to view everything from deer and bears to sea lions, porpoises and whales, all in their natural habitats.


Sell the wilderness: Although Juneau is the state capital, it’s a small city, set between Mount Juneau, Mount Roberts and the Gastineau Channel, so there are lots of opportunities to get away from the city be in unspoilt nature and remote settings, even if it's just for a few hours.


From top: Coast Mountains reflected in a pond, Tongass National Forest; meltwater, Mendenhall Glacier


Promote the adventure involved in getting there: You can’t reach Juneau by road, so people can travel there by airplane, floatplane, by ship, or by ferry along the Alaska Marine Highway.


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