One of my favorite pastimes is hiking. Today I was walking down the Treadwell Mine Historic Trail on Douglas Island to our family cabin which is about a 3 and a half-mile hike from the Douglas boat harbor. To get down to the cabin we hike past the end of the Treadwell Mine Trail and continue on the beach if the tide is low enough or take a separate trail in the woods when the tide is high. I prefer hiking in the woods to the beach.

Here in Juneau, there are so many hiking trails that have a range of difficulty levels from easy like the Treadwell Mine Trail to hard like the East Glacier Trail which you can hike to ice caves that happen on the edge of the Mendenhall Glacier. There are a ton of other trails that I’ve never hiked myself. This summer it’s my goal to hike the trails I haven’t experienced yet. One on my list, and has been for a while now, is Perseverance Trail. This trailhead is right outside of Downtown Juneau. 

While hiking here and around Southeast Alaska there are a few things you need to look out for:

1. Look out for black bears especially mamas with their cubs. There’s a reason why they call a protective mom a mama bear. They are very dangerous and can attack when they think their cubs are in danger.
2. Devils club. Believe me, trying to get the spines out of your hand when you accidentally grab it thinking it’s a tree branch its no fun. 
3. Watch your step. Juneau is located in the middle of the Tongass National Forest which has lush vegetation that can hide all sorts of things. Deep puddles, huge rocks, and other things that can be dangerous.
4. Look up! you never know what is above you!

Until the next adventure!