Going it Alone: The Waterfall at Mendenhall Glacier, Alaska

I stood at the observation point on the balcony at the Visitor Center overlooking the great Mendenhall Glacier at Juneau, Alaska. Before me was a beautiful scene. The glacier reflected in the large lake. Ooh, ahh. Both to the left and right were mountains. It was a beautiful clear day. I watched the people too, walking around taking photos, and looking at the scenery before us and at the displays in the center, just a few feet away.

A constant roar came from a tall and full waterfall to the right of the glacier. Once, the glacier covered the waterfall. No one was aware of its presence before the glacier receded. I looked closer at the base of the waterfall. There seemed to be a sandbar and people walking on it. With my binoculars I traced the path they must have taken below me. It crossed large sandbars separated by streams and covered with bushes. I found the general location of the beginning of the path. A ranger told me that there was a way to get out there, but it wasnt official, and that it was a little steep at one point. I decided that the best way to see such a beautiful place was up close, so I decided to try it. My mom and my husband were along with me. I told them I wanted to try the path, and asked if they wouldnt mind just hanging around waiting for me since they didnt want to join me.

Into the bushes I went. Immediately, I had to scramble along steep wet slate under the cover of brush. After following some wrong trails and trying again, I found myself in the large bush-covered sandy area heading towards the waterfall. I jumped little streams and plotted my course across to my goal. My last obstacles were climbing a large rock, and then traversing a 20 ft. wide stream dotted with well-placed stepping stones.

I walked right up to the roaring waterfall, and even climbed up along side it a ways on large rocks. Walking away from the waterfall I encountered a large cloud of mist that emanated from its base. I walked out along the sandbar towards the center of the lake and found a large rock to sit on. I had a snack, enjoying being present in this amazing location -- surrounded by the lake and flanked by a glacier, a grand waterfall and mountains. I met people too. Some kids were climbing up much higher than I had on the rocks. A gentleman from Germany took my photo, and I took a photo of two girls out on their own adventure.

After an hour of hanging around, I turned back. I crossed the creek, climbed the rock, and then looked for hikers emerging from the bushes to find the best path back. A couple times I had to stop and wait for new hikers so I could find the path again. The sun was setting, the floating icebergs were glimmering on the lake, and I enjoyed every moment of delay.

My entire trek took about two hours -- worth every moment. My husband and my mom were very understanding and said they enjoyed the visitor center and the scenery which included me through the telescope! Im glad I had the courage to ask for that time. It would have been easy just to do the scheduled tour, and to take no risks. William Shedd once said, A ship in the harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for. I find that when I go further, it makes all the difference. It creates treasured memories.