Juneau Ridge
A challenging all day hike through Juneau’s high alpine backcountry.
5 minute read
On Friday, we hiked the Ridge.
This is the hike that people in Juneau talk about when they come into the office with a sunburn on Monday and casually say, oh yeah, we did the ridge this weekend. With a nice day in the forecast, we decided it was time. We packed lots of water, picked up an adorable four legged friend and some burritos, and made an afternoon start.
The route is a loop starting in Perseverance basin. You can hike Mt. Juneau, then follow the ridgeline east, or you can stay low on the trail system before scrambling to approach Juneau from the backside. We chose the former, getting the climb out of the way first.
The trail is a steep series of switchbacks that rise out of the rainforest. The crux of the route crosses what looks like a precipitous waterfall - but really the main danger is wetting your feet. We leashed up Dilly as a precaution, splashed across, then kept chugging uphill.
After an hour and half, we made it to the top. The summit is flat, wide, and open, and haunted by a series of underwhelming ruins; remnants of a halfhearted attempt to string a tram to the peak. We passed them by, unpacked our burritos, and found a seat in the panorama of Southeast Alaska.
On a clear day, Mt. Juneau offers some of the best views of the city, the surrounding mountains and islands, and is a great standalone hike. But having worked to gain the elevation, we wanted the reward of the full ridgeline adventure. The trail continues for miles - a remarkable route rolling through the alpine backcountry. High points require a few minor scrambles, but each leads to a more phenomenal view than the last.
In early July, the northern exposures were still layered in deep slabs of snow, but only a few sections of the trail itself were covered - the summer sun had melted clean the ridge and south facing slopes. Dilly climbed like a champ and only caused a minor panic flushing a grouse through the snow before we could call her back. We had worried about lack of water on such a hot day, but found plenty of pools for her to drink and splash through.
At the five mile mark, the trail branches - hugging the ridgeline continues up Olds Mountain, while dropping right leads to Granite Basin and the connecting loop back to the trailhead. The route fuzzed out down the slope, but we could make out a faint track at the bottom of the valley. We aimed for that point and took off cross country, navigating steep slopes, snow slides, and scrambles, to find ourselves back on the path.
Most summers, the skies above Juneau are thick with traffic. On sunny days, it’s not unusual to see formations of helicopters crisscrossing the sky from morning till night. Flight seeing, glacier treks, dogsled tours - all fueled by summer cruise ship passengers flowing through Alaska. The pandemic had put things on hold, but late in the afternoon a lone helicopter buzzed overhead before dropping out of sight. A few minutes later it circled back over the ridgeline and banked down the valley.
Exiting Granite Basin, the trail forks ambiguously - what looks like the path leads directly towards a waterfall while the actual route holds steady uphill. We’d taken the wrong track before and been forced into a scramble, and even so we almost missed the fork again before seeing our mistake. Circling back, we crested a low ridge to the next basin and came across a flurry of activity - a milling group of hikers with dogs, and responders in bright yellow.
We leashed Dilly back up and made our way to the scene. Apparently another hiker had missed the same fork, but taken the downhill scramble instead of turning back. He slid down a short snow slope, lost control, and smashed into a rock. Volunteers from a local search and rescue team happened to be in the area and provided aid while paramedics were airlifted in.
The helicopter wasn’t a tour or a late season heli-ski trip - it was the medivac flight in and out. By now the responders were organizing their gear and we could hear haphazard murmurs from the others in their groups. An accident, so abrupt, and on a fun hike in Juneau? That a sunny day could turn tragic in a moment seemed completely unreal.
The way back was slower and more sober. Even Dilly was tired - her exuberant sprints were becoming short little lopes almost matching our pace. At this point, we were back on the main Perseverance system. The trail is wide and well marked - just follow it out. An hour downhill, and we were back where we started.
The coda came a few days later - local media reported the injured hiker’s death. Thinking back, we had slid down similar slopes, and had in fact, almost missed the same turn. But through the calculus of judgement, gravity, and fate, we walked out the trail, while he was flown overhead, fighting for his life. A blunt reminder that in the backcountry, even the smallest of slips can slide out of control.
The Details
The Juneau Ridge is challenging. Give yourself lots of daylight, bring water, food, a windbreaker and an emergency layer. Hiking boots or running shoes are appropriate in mid to late summer. Had we gone earlier in the year, gaiters, microspikes, and hiking poles would have been essential.
From downtown Juneau, take Gold Street to the end of Basin Road. The Perseverance trail system is well signed, and the trail up Mt. Juneau is a marked left turn approximately one mile into the hike. Mt. Juneau gains 3,450 ft (1,050 meters) and took us 90 minutes. The ridge trail is well used and marked with cairns. The slope into Granite Basin is more ambiguous - take care to stay on route. The full loop is approximately 13 miles and we completed it in eight hours at a steady pace. Download the GPX route from summitpost.org.
Make a plan, watch where you step, and tell your family you love them. Stay safe out there!