Fun on Mt. Roberts

Recently I've been guiding lots of tours up on Mt. Roberts. Mt. Roberts is a tall mountain located right by downtown Juneau where the AJ Mining and Processing Mill used to be. It's been said that if you could see into Mt. Roberts, the inside would look like a piece of swiss cheese from all of the mining tunnels that were created when the gold rush was occurring in the late 1800's to the mid 1900's. Our tours get to ride the tram up the mountain! Here's an image of the Mt. Roberts tramway. It goes 1800 vertical feet and is the steepest aerial tram in North America.

One of the first things you see after exiting the Mountain House at the top is a carving on a tree next to the Nature Center. All of the carvings along the alpine loop trail are examples of native Tlingit artwork. The Mt. Roberts Tramway is owned and operated by Goldbelt Inc., a local native corporation. That's why much of what you can find up on Mt. Roberts pays homage to the native Alaskans.

This is the Sentry. He's the silent observer who watches all guests that arrive onto Mt. Roberts. He relays messages to the next carving on the trail.

This is the Caretaker. From this carving, you can tell that the figure is a male by examining the head. He is of the Killer Whale clan (note the orca stretched across his shoulders) and of the Eagle moiety (the Eagle is on the pelvic region). He receives the Sentry's messages and offers an exchange- safe passage on the mountain in return for a promise to respect your surroundings. He also lets Raven, the next carving, know that there are visitors up on the mountain.

This is Raven. Raven is one of the two Tlingit moieties (Raven and Eagle). Raven was thought to be an extremely intelligent being and the trickster responsible for forming the earth, releasing man from the clam shell, and bringing daylight to the world. He is distinguished from images of Eagle by his longer beak.

After examining the carvings, the trail ascends into an alpine meadow. Here, a number of beautiful wildflowers are in bloom!

These are wild geraniums.

A chocolate lily graces the mountainside with its presence.

Here are some small alpine violets.

One of my favorite alpine flowers is the yellow violet because you can eat them! They have a light, sweet flavor.

A bit higher up on the trail I found this. I'm not quite sure what it is yet, but it sure was pretty!

Here's a shot of the meadow filled with a mixture of different flowers. You can see the prominent lupines in the foreground.

Some Rosy Twisted Stalk shows off its delicate dangling flowers.

And here are some of the views! See the snow? You can also see some muddy streaks where landslides and avalanches have occurred.

Long, sleek waterfalls cascade down the sides of the mountains from the snow melting at the peaks.

The trees in the alpine zone are uniquely shaped. They're twisted and have branches on only one side. They've been shaped by snow pack and heavy winds.

This tree is my favorite! It broke twice, started growing down, then looped all the way around before it grew back up! A complete loop!

And here's the best part about the mountain- the views! Here you can see Father Brown's Cross in the foreground. I believe it to be a memorial to a man who helped with the Boy Scouts in the area.

Leading out to Stephen's Passage.

The Gastineau Channel. You can see how it divides Juneau into two parts. One side is the mainland with downtown Juneau below, and the other is the community of Douglas on Douglas Island.

This is the wildlife I saw at the top of the mountain. A lone dragonfly.

Before I made my way back down, I made sure not forget about Lady Baltimore! She's an injured bald eagle that is currently cared for by the Juneau Raptor Center. She was shot in the beak, so she's blind in one eye and has bad rotator cuff damage. If she is allowed to fly, she just goes in a circle and does more damage to herself. She lives a happy life though with all of the wonderful care she receives! She even posed for this picture! Isn't she beautiful?

So if you're ever in Juneau, be sure to make your way up the tram and see all that Mt. Robers has to offer! Maybe I'll see you on the mountain next time!