As much as I enjoyed the ferry from Juneau to Glacier Bay, the best part of it was meeting a woman named Steph. She had come to Alaska to crew for a friend of hers who was attempting to run the 414 mile Dalton Highway with the fastest known time. (Steph’s friend, Jenny, did succeed, running the distance in just over five days and eighteen hours.)

Steph and I quickly hit it off and camped next to each other in the campground at Glacier Bay. In the morning we enjoyed the boat ride to the glaciers, spotting whales, mountain goats, many birds including two kinds of puffins, bear and some beautiful ice bergs at the end of the glaciers.

The following day Steph and I did some hikes around Glacier Bay, after which she was ready to head back to Juneau. I had been expecting to wait two more days so I could return on the ferry. But unless I wanted to do some off trail, backcountry hikes that would require hitching to get to, there wasn’t much else I wanted to do in Glacier Bay. Steph wanted to do some hikes in Juneau which I was interested in. I was ready for some company and decided I would head back with her.

Traveling between many places in Alaska is a challenge. If I wasn’t going to wait for the weekly ferry, and did not have my own boat, I would have to fly. Due to a number of factors Steph and I decided taking a sea plane would be better than a commercial flight, but I was concerned this would put me beyond my budget. Still, I was determined not to worry and to follow my inner guide directing me on this trip. Once again I was rewarded for doing so.

The second night in Glacier Bay, Steph and I hung out at the lodge, working a jigsaw puzzle and chatting with people. Steph has a deep interest and curiosity in people and is exceptionally good at drawing them out to tell their stories. I enjoyed working the puzzle while listening to the stories people were sharing with Steph.

The next afternoon Steph and I again were in the lodge using the internet to make arrangements for our return trip to Juneau. While doing so I put some pieces into the puzzle. Mason, a young boy, soon joined us and we struck up a lovely comradarie while putting the somewhat challenging puzzle of southeastern Alaska together. Soon Step and I were chatting with Mason’s entire family, including his mom, dad and older brother Max. Steph left to have a fire on the beach while I took up the family’s invitation to join them for dinner at the lodge. What a surprise when our waiter said, “Mary Badass, what are you doing here?” It turned out that four people I had met at the Florida Trail kick off were working at the Glacier Bay Lodge! One of them, Lip Balm, I first met over five years ago when he was hiking Vermont’s Long Trail. I gave him a ride to town when he was hitching in for food. I again crossed paths with him in Florida and now again in Glacier Bay. I love the way I often run into other trail people!

During dinner I enjoyed sharing stories with Boooke Beckett and her family. I was thrilled when she offered to let me shower in their room since it had been about a week since my last one. And I was astounded, honored and grateful when they offered to help support me on my trip. It offset my worries of the extra cost of getting back to Juneau!

I enjoyed the views from the small sea plane which flew at 3500 feet as opposed to the 10,000 feet of a commercial flight. In Juneau, Steph and I spent a lovely night camped along a beach. We also visited a salmon hatchery where I saw yet more salmon swimming back to where they had been born. The area just outside the fish ladder was alive with jumping salmon as well as with birds, seals and humans fishing, all taking advantage of the incoming feast.

Steph and I also did a lovely high altitude hike and spent time interacting with some indigenous people who were demonstrating their skills. I was sorry to part ways with Steph when it was time for me to head to Anchorage and her to head home to the lower 48.

There was a mechanical problem with my plane to Anchorage so I had to de-board and switch planes so was many hours delayed. As a result I would arrive too late to be able to pick up the budget rental car I had prearranged. I made a number of phone calls from the airport. The only other car I could get would cost quite a bit more. By now, I have been waiting in the airport for almost almost an entire day. I was hungry and tired and I started short-circuiting, worrying about the cost of things and how I would make it work. But because of all the years I’ve now spent publicly writing about putting one foot in front of the other and not worrying, I knew I had to let go of it live from the place of trust I write about. I had a book I had gotten from SOS and Kindabird in Port Angeles after I finished the PNT. For a few weeks I enjoyed the feeling of just having it with me, but I decided while waiting in the airport, it was time to start reading. It quickly shifted me away from my concerns.

Eventually, we were all loaded onto another plane and I arrived in Anchorage. Again my choice to trust was rewarded. I had arranged for a budget rental car online. When I booked it, I didn’t realize it was not at the airport, and had limited hours of operation. When my plane was delayed, I rebooked it but had to pick it up at the airport at a much higher rate. They didn’t have the car ready for me when I arrived, so I checked out some other car places and discovered I could pick one up from a different company for much closer to the original price I had been quoted. So in the end, it worked out better because I was able to pick the car up directly from the airport, reenforcing for me my philosophy of trust.

From the airport, I drove to REI to pick up a new can of bear spray and fuel for my stove, both of which I had to leave behind when I got on the plane. Then I drove north towards Denali, unaware of the amazing things in store for me. But as this blog is already long enough, you’ll have to wait till the next one to hear about Denali and beyond.

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