Brotherhood Bridge
2 minute read
Monday after work, we ran the horse trail. The horse trail is next to the Brotherhood Bridge trail, which is really the Kaxdigoowu Héen Dei trail. It’s a mouthful of names, but they boil down to a jaunt through the forest.
The main trail is paved and level, and accessible. The route follows the Mendenhall river and drops slightly downhill from north to south. It’s well used by dogs and their owners, families with strollers, and kids racing bikes.
The north end is slightly less trafficked, and we immediately took the first side trail connecting to the horse track that parallels the pavement. The path is wonderful and spongy - perfect for running. A blanket of low clouds had settled over Juneau - evening light filtering through a light mist set off the fluorescent green foliage for almost ethereal conditions.
Of course nothing is ethereal when Dilly is involved. She sprints full speed ahead, keeps an exasperated eye on us, dashes back for sticks, and pushes through our legs. She is muscly and fast, and hates being at the back of the pack.
The trail is just over two miles long and crosses Montana Creek at the midpoint. We stuck with the dirt path the whole way, and bumped over a small hill that the pavement bypasses. Near the south end of the route the two trails merge and wind across an open field to the bridge.
Brotherhood Bridge spans the Mendenhall river, a torrent of glacial silt pouring off the Juneau Icefield. Roy Peratrovich Jr., the first Alaska Native civil engineer licensed in Alaska, led the team that designed and built the original structure in the mid 1960’s.
The bridge honors the Alaska Native Brotherhood, a civil rights organization that fights to oppose and overcome racial prejudice. The design incorporates a striking series of bronze medallions, sculpted by Peratrovich, that display the Brotherhood’s crest and representations of two Tlingit moieties, Raven and Eagle.
The Details
The Kaxdigoowu Héen Dei trail (Going Back Clearwater, in Tlingit) is level, paved, and accessible. The route parallels the Mendenhall river for 2.3 miles and can be accessed from Glacier Highway or River Road.
From downtown Juneau, head west on Glacier Highway 9.5 miles. Cross the bridge over the Mendenhall river, and park in the lot directly on the right. To access the north end of the trail, take Mendenhall Loop Road to River Road and park at the end. On clear days, the Brotherhood Bridge parking area has spectacular views of the Mendenhall glacier and the mountains of the Coastal range. Avoid the dirt trail along the river - the current has eroded sections of the bank and the water is cold and swift.
Stay safe out there!