As a perk for working in the tourist industry, I've been able to go on a few tours this summer. It's been a great way to do things that I would not normally do here in Juneau, even though I have spent the majority of my life here! I've been whale watching with Allen Marine, ziplining with Alaska Canopy Adventures, and to two dog sled summer camps.
The sled dog tour I did through Temsco was a summer camp on top of the Mendenhall Glacier. I was amazed to learn that over 300 Alaskan Huskies spend their summer at the top of the glacier. Era Helicopters has a summer dog camp at the top of Herbert Glacier, and they have between 200-250 dogs. The camp near Eaglecrest has about 150, and there is another camp towards the end of Thane Road! These are all dogs that have ran the Iditarod or the Yukon Quest and are resting and training over the summer. The guides at the camp are actual mushers who race. One lady I met has about 50 dogs herself, although many of the dogs are from owners who live elsewhere and just send them here for the summer. The helicopter companies fly all their dogs up to the glacier at the beginning of the summer and set up camp. The mushers (about 20 staff on the top of the Mendenhall) spend their entire summer living up there, with a day off to come into town each week. So about 5 months living on the top of the glacier in the snow. Wow.
I went with my Mom, and we both had a great time! Before this summer, I did not even know this existed. So not only was it fun, but it was educational, too!
No comments:
Post a Comment