- [Eric] In the Northwest corner of the Americas, Alaska is the largest and least populated state in the Union and home to some of the most awe-inspiring sights you'll ever see.

A vast world that's as beautiful as it is wild.

Alaska is a natural wonderland, full of rugged mountains, ancient glaciers, roaring rivers, and majestic animals.

Although Juneau is the capital city of Alaska and is rich in history with a population of only 30,000, Juneau has a small town feel.

It is surrounded by immense wilderness and has unrivaled access to the Backcountry.

Monstrous glaciers, endless alpine, and spectacular sunsets.

This week on Epic Trails, we're exploring Juneau, Alaska.

(bright music) I'm Eric Hanson, when I see a trail, I see more than a path from point A to point B.

(bright music) A good trail is the ultimate opportunity to explore, to discover new landscapes, and to challenge myself.

When I don't have a pack on my back, I'm thinking about my next big adventure because my mission is simple.

My mission is to discover the world's most epic trails.

(bright music) Set on the Gastineau Channel of the Alaskan panhandle, Juneau is the smallest but without a doubt, one of the greatest capital cities of North America.

(bright music) (truck revs) Even though it's technically on the main land, the town is surrounded by mountains, ocean, and ice, and so the only way to get to Juneau is by air or water.

As a result, the capital city feels isolated from the rest of society and far more connected to the natural world on its doorstep.

It's not uncommon to see black bears, moose, and eagles on the outskirts of town.

(bright music) Juneau is a fishing town with its economy closely tied to the rich waters of the Gulf of Alaska and the Bering Sea.

It's also a popular tourist destination with thousands of visitors coming every year to get up close and personal with the local wild life and towering glaciers.

But I'm in Juneau to explore the larger than life Backcountry that is just beyond the city limits.

Since I'm not familiar with the area, I head to a local gear shop called Nugget for one of my favorite parts of any expedition, loading up on supplies and chatting with locals about the best trails and camp spots.

(bright music) - Okay, so you are here.

- Yes, so do you have a favorite spot, like I keep hearing about Mount McGinnis.

- There's some good views there, and there's some decent camping, as you can see off.

There's some flat place where you can camp there, but kinda in between, it's pretty steep, so.

- Yeah.

- It's either you camp at the top or you camp down by over where the West Glacier Trail turns on.

- How do we get to Clark?

- Basically, well, you just, if you wanna tram, you just follow the trail to Mount Roberts.

- Yeah.

- [Ron] And then you go from Roberts to Sheep.

And then you go down Sheep, you go down and then back up again, which it's pretty straight forward.

- Yeah.

- It's just down the snow here and back up Clark.

- I wanna moderate amount of sketchy (laughs).

- Yeah.

- [Eric] Maybe not too much, but-- - Yeah, this is where it gets a little narrower.

- Oh, that looks sketchy.

- You get a little bit of this.

- Pretty airy right there.

- Yeah, and then, the thing is below it, it goes-- - Yeah.

- A thousand or so on either side of the saddle below, so.

- Wow.

I think I could pour over maps with you all day.

- Yeah.

- It's so much to go over, it's amazing, but I think I gotta get out of here and hit the trail.

- Exactly, yeah.

- Thanks so much for-- - You bet, yeah.

- Giving me the rundown.

- You bet, enjoy.

- Sweet.

- Enjoy.

- Maybe I'll check back in with ya at the end.

- Sounds good.

- Thank you very much.

- Yeah, take care.

- All right.

(soft music) With more miles of hiking trails than miles of road, the options for adventure around Juneau are seemingly endless, and so to help me narrow it down, I meet up with local, Kara Tetley, who has been exploring the trails around Juneau for years.

(soft music) We decide to keep things simple and serene with a hike through the rain forest to a remote beach and a great place to camp in Point Bridget State Park.

(soft music) It's not often you get to hike on flat ground in Alaska, and so, I'm enjoying the gentle introduction to what I know is going to be a rigorous several days of exploration.

(soft music) Even though this is only my first full day here, I can already tell you that this is the type of place that fills you with wonder and inspiration is never far way.

I love that the people here, like Kara, are so involved and connected with the outdoors.

As we set up camp, it feels like all the elements are coming together in surreal fashion.

The beach, the mountains, the ocean, and the sunset, it's an inspiring moment, and a perfect end to my first day in Alaska.

Just found this really nice dried grasses.

Looks like it should be a very promising fire starter, so I've got a spectacular sunset happening right now, and I'm on the beach and it's amazing.

The only thing that would make it better is a beautiful fire, so hopefully, we'll light it up.

(soft music) (fire crackles) On a night like tonight, it's hard to believe that we're actually in a rain forest.

And although, I'm sure we'll get our taste of wet weather at some point on this trip, at this very moment, the camping conditions are perfect, and there's simply nowhere else in the world I'd rather be.

(soft music) I wanted to show you this place.

(upbeat music) Alaska's landscape is so wild, vertical, and dominated by ice that roads around here don't go very far.

(upbeat music) Which means the quickest and by far the most fun way to get around is up in the air.

And so I'm meeting up with Jonathan Tuttle of Northstar Trekking to fly into the Backcountry and check out the 13 mile long Mendenhall Glacier.

(soft music) - Up, up.

- Yeah!

So that's the Mendenhall Glacier out there.

- Oh yeah?

- Huh?

- She's a beauty.

- She's a beauty.

You know it all.

- Gonna get up close and personal.

- Mendenhall River below is here, it's where all the mountain water flows out of it.

- Yeah.

Oh man, those mountains are spectacular.

- Pretty much all the land we're flying over and checking out is part of the longest natural forest.

This is the largest natural forest in the U.S.

Also part of the largest tempered rain forest in the world.

- Really?

- Yeah, Juneau gets around 220 days of precip' every year, so you guys are pretty lucky to get a little string here where it's not raining.

- I am very excited about getting a little sunshine.

God, this is great weather right now.

- [Tracy] Oh yeah, look at the wind on the glacier today.

Check it out.

Checkin' around, really see some of the cool sights, and then we'll take you guys over to the Blackerby Ridge, one of the most beautiful, iconic ridges in the area.

Give you guys a chance to hike off, have your own adventure tomorrow.

- [Eric] Ah, man.

That will be amazing.

So you're just gonna leave us off and just hope we do all right, make our way back.

- [Tracy] You'll figure it out (laughs).

- Yeah.

Our pilot, Tracy, touches down as we step out onto the ice.

I suddenly feel like I could become a tiny speck on a great river of frozen water.

(soft music) As Tracy flies away, I feel a surge of adrenaline and anticipation of the adventure ahead.

Because exploring a glacier is like discovering another world.

Hell yeah.

Let's get after it.

(soft music) Glaciers are both harsh and beautiful.

They provide a glimpse into the world's ancient past, and yet they are constantly changing.

So have you seen the glaciers change since you've been out here?

- Quite a bit.

I mean, it changes day-to-day, week-to-week.

- Yeah.

- Kinda funny.

It is a massive, moving sheet of ice, so.

- Yeah.

- We'll set our camp higher up in the year, and as the year goes on, all a sudden we're quite a bit down.

- [Eric] Really?

(soft music) Jonathan and I just got dropped off here in the Mendenhall Glacier, and he spotted this really awesome ice cave.

It looks a little bit narrow, but we're gonna go climb around and see what we can find inside.

You lead the way.

- Yeah!

(soft music) Watch your foot.

Kind of a big step across.

(water rushes) Nice.

(snow crunches) (soft music) - Such a wild place.

- A whole different world up here, that's for sure.

- Yeah, it changes every day.

- It's just incredible to see it change day-to-day, and most of this stuff here's for a week and gone the next week, so kinda sad too to see it melt back.

There's been some really incredible features that'll just no longer be there.

(soft music) (water rushes) - It's almost sweet.

- Yeah, it's 200 year old snow melt right there.

- 200 year old snow melt.

- Yeah.

- Wow.

(upbeat music) - [Jonathan] I think we're gonna head down and check out the moulin, probably one of my favorite features on the glacier.

It's essentially where these big rivers we've been seeing, they end up flowing into maybe the heart or the center of the glacier there.

- Yeah.

- The big, bottomless pits there, incredible.

Very beautiful, so.

- Sounds amazing.

- Check it out.

- You sold me.

Let's check it out.

- All right, let's go.

(upbeat music) - [Eric] All the little streams that run along the surface of the glacier merge into rivers, which when they hit a weakness in the ice, form one of the most terrifying and beautiful sights I've ever seen.

(upbeat music) (snow crunches) So what are we doin'?

(upbeat music) - [Jonathan] I'm hookin' up a rope that will allow us to look over the edge into kind of the heart of the glacier, the abyss.

- I'm gonna lean out over this?

- If you want to.

- Can I trust this?

- Yeah, you can trust it.

- Okay.

- That holds about 200 pounds, it's burly, so.

- I'm just under.

- Just under?

- Yeah.

- I'll think you'll be all right.

- All right.

- All right, let me hook ya up.

(upbeat music) - I'm a little nervous!

(upbeat music) The roar of the moulin shakes the very ice to which I've staked my life.

That's genuinely terrifying (laughs).

That pit goes down for who knows how far.

That is insane!

(upbeat music) Leaning out over the bottomless chasm is much scarier than I was anticipating.

It feels like I'm dangling over the maw of some terrible beast.

(upbeat music) I don't know if I've ever felt anything quite so terrifying as that.

(upbeat music) How far down does this go?

- [Jonathan] You can't really be sure, but the water's not fillin' up, so you know.

It goes down maybe a full thousand feet, yeah.

(bright music) (helicopter roars) - With my bowels now fully tested, the helicopter returns to pick us up, but today's adventure is not over.

Tracy and Jonathan are going to drop me off on the remote Blackerby Ridge.

(bright music) (helicopter roars) Just had the most remarkable day out on the glacier.

Mendenhall Glacier.

The helicopter's now dropping me off.

I've said goodbye to Jonathan and Tracy.

And now it is my mission to head down the ridge and find my way back to Juneau.

So this is quite the adventure, I'm excited.

(bright music) I feel like today was one of those truly magical days that I'll be remembering for a long time, telling my grandchildren about.

From the glaciers, through the air in the helicopter, and then to be dropped off in this spectacular spot.

I don't even know what to say.

I'm pretty overwhelmed.

(tent zips) (Eric exhales) (wind rumbles) (Eric slurps) (Eric exhales) (wind rumbles) (upbeat music) I got dropped off on Blackerby Ridge here last night, and now my mission is to get back down to Juneau.

So I can see where I am here on the map.

I've got Caren Peak just up this way, and then basically, I just have to follow this ridge and it looks like a spectacular place.

So excited to get back on the trail, and hopefully find my way back to Juneau.

(upbeat music) As Jonathan was preparing me for this adventure, he promised that Blackerby Ridge was one of the most spectacular spots around, and now I see why with the stunning mountain peaks on all sides.

But as I go, I can't get too caught up in the views because as breathtaking as these mountains are, they're also incredibly steep and unforgiving.

(upbeat music) Trekking poles are coming in super handy, but it's gotten so steep here that now, I'm goin' to have to switch to ropes, so.

Yeah.

Always an adventure out here.

(upbeat music) It feels like I've been descending forever.

Through the treeless alpine environment to meadows filled with wild flowers.

And of course, I started this adventure on one of the world's great glaciers.

This whole trip has been truly wild, and it's not over yet.

(cheery music) One of the really cool things about Juneau is the ability to get into the Backcountry straight from town, so I'm in the heart of downtown Juneau, and I'm jumpin' on the tramway to get to the trail head for Mount Roberts.

I'm still feeling the buzz from Blackerby Ridge, and I'm excited to tackle one more mountain adventure here in Alaska.

(cheery music) Inspired from my meeting with Ron at Nugget Outfitters, I'm heading out to spin the night atop Mount Roberts, one of the peaks that looms 3800 feet above Juneau and the Gastineau Channel.

(cheery music) It's pretty wild to have been in the downtown heart of Juneau just a couple of hours ago and gettin' on the trail and just being able to overlook this whole spectacular inlet.

(cheery music) Alaska's another place, man, it's wild.

Look, we're higher than the jumbo jets (laughs).

That is a crazy thing about Juneau here.

(cheery music) The ridge line trail that ascends Mount Roberts is steep but the views are otherworldly and well worth the effort.

Even so, I have to keep at least one eye on the trail at all times, as there are often steep drops on either side, and one false step could be disaster.

A spectacular place.

That's our trail over there.

Gonna go along that amazing, impressive looking spine.

Looks a little intimidating.

Down the other side, and then, up to that peak on the other side.

(cheery music) Should be a pretty wild place to spend the night.

(cheery music) I mean, look at this place.

This is nuts!

(cheery music) Whew!

Worn out too.

(cheery music) (Eric grunts) (cheery music) Peanut butter's one of my trail comfort foods.

Always carry it with me.

A little bit cumbersome to carry a jar, but, sometimes when you're on the trail, you just need that emotional support.

Feels like you're getting a big hug, so I love peanut butter.

(bright music) Since I'm gonna be camping on top of the mountain tonight, there's not gonna be water sources, or at least anything reliable.

So here, I found a nice little pond, and it's time to start hauling water.

So I'm gonna filter from here.

And then haul it up to that peak 'cause there's not gonna be any water over there.

(bright music) Oh, what an effort.

This last bit was pretty brutal, but my goodness.

I don't know if I've ever been in a more spectacular spot to set up for camp.

360 degree views all around as the sun's going down.

Holy moly, couldn't ask for anything better.

This is unbelievable.

(bright music) As the sun slowly drops behind the mountains, I can't help but think how fortunate I am.

I'm so lucky to get to travel to so many amazing places, but as my adventure in Alaska draws to an end, I know that I have just experienced something truly epic.

(bright music)