{"id":1673,"date":"2018-05-25T21:59:29","date_gmt":"2018-05-26T05:59:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.prwriterpro.com\/blog\/?p=1673"},"modified":"2021-05-05T19:45:49","modified_gmt":"2021-05-06T03:45:49","slug":"__trashed-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.prwriterpro.com\/blog\/alaska-news\/__trashed-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Happy Trails – The Magical Wildflower Meadows of Mt. Roberts"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The wildflowers pallets of Mt. Roberts’ meadows are glorious to behold in early to mid-summer, including the monk hoods.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

One of my favorite Juneau hikes traverses through the seemingly magical alpine meadows of Mt. Roberts, about 2,000 feet above sea level and downtown Juneau. Reaching the wildflower blazon meadows is a strenuous 2+ mile adventure if you are not a seasoned hikers. To access the Mt. Roberts trailhead from Basin Road is an easy 1-mile walk from the heart of downtown Juneau. I regularly meet cruise ship passengers hiking the trail, probably with the intent of burning off some of the calories ingested on the all-you-can-eat cruises. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Tourists and beginner hikers can access the lower meadow trails thanks to the Mt. Roberts Tramway that spirits tourist up 1,745 feet to the Mountain House, the gateway to the many magnificent miles of trials across Mt. Roberts, Mt. Gastineau and Gold Ridge. Admittedly, I often take the tram as there are times I don\u2019t want to trek miles just to bathe in the beauty of the mountain\u2019s meadows with their cornucopias of colorful wildflowers. Or, if I choose to hike beyond the tourist-trodden lower trails, it is much easier starting from the tram trailhead. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    The Mt. Roberts Tram allows easy access to view wildflower meadows, snow covered mountain peaks, Douglas Island\u00a0and views of Juneau and the Gastineau Channel.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    The tramway and Mountain House are owned by Goldbelt, a Juneau-based Alaska Native corporation of the Tlingit people. Therefore, the Timberline Restaurant, Chilkat Theater, gift shop and near-Mountain House trails showcase awe-inspiring Tlingit art, including a variety of finished totem poles and poles in progress. If you make up to the Mountain House, you must, yes must, watch Seeing Daylight, an 18-minute award-winning film highlighting Tlingit history and culture. It\u2019s wonderful, colorful and thought provoking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    Magenta Dwarf Fireweed cozies up against granite boulders at the higher reaches of the meadow. <\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

    Gastineau Guiding also has a Nature Center\/gift shop adjacent to the Mountain House. There, you can buy a map of area trails, including info on my favorite hike to Gold Ridge another strenuous mile from the Mountain House. If you hike up from Basin Road, but choose to ride the tram down to sea level, it will cost you $10. Instead, spend $10 at the Timberline Grill and your receipt doubles as a ticket down to sea level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    Broad-petalled gentian “sleep” when cloudy by closing their petals and come out to “dance” when the sun shines, opening full blossom to take in the sun’s warmth.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

    Once you leave the mountain house, it is just minutes to the first meadow and several platforms and viewpoints showcasing Gastineau Channel, Douglas Island, Mt. Jumbo, the peak of Mt. Roberts and downtown Juneau. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Caution<\/strong>* If you walk or hike across Mt. Roberts, it is imperative you stay on marked trails. There are 300 miles of old mining tunnels carved throughout the Mt. Roberts with many air shafts and access points now covered over with dense vegetation. Locals and visitors have mysteriously disappeared on Mt. Roberts, never to be found. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    • \"\"
      Hoary marmots are\u00a0tolerant of humans and are often seen in\u00a0\u00a0meadows perched atop\u00a0boulders or browsing on vegetation. <\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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      Monkshood is beautiful to look at,  but do not eat this colorful flower as it is can be deadly.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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      Monkhood, western buttercups, alpine bistort, Sitka valerian and northern geraniums blanket the mountain sides and meadows from the Mountain House to the higher reaches  of  Gold Ridge.<\/strong> <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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      Nootka lupin, known in the Southeast US as a bluebonnet, can reach three feet tall at sea level but are much smaller on the mountain.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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        Alaskans harvest the flowers of Northern geranium as they make a colorful and tasty addition to salads and casseroles.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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          Moss Campion’s miniscule yet lovely pinkish flower grows low to the ground to protect itself from mountain gales wile retaining warmth and moisture.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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          One of the most striking of Alaska wildflowers, and one of my favorites, is the western Columbine. Hummingbirds are attracted  to its fire-red spurs and yellow anthers. The flowers are nectar laden and make a nice trail snack or a colorful addition to salads. <\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          One of my favorite Juneau hikes traverses through the seemingly magical alpine meadows of Mt. Roberts, about 2,000 feet above sea level and downtown Juneau. Reaching the wildflower blazon meadows is a strenuous 2+ mile adventure if you are not<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1723,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[22],"tags":[3,172,160,143,165,166,173,4,171,167,169,162,164,146,170,163,168,145],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.prwriterpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1673"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.prwriterpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.prwriterpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.prwriterpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.prwriterpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1673"}],"version-history":[{"count":31,"href":"http:\/\/www.prwriterpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1673\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2005,"href":"http:\/\/www.prwriterpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1673\/revisions\/2005"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.prwriterpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1723"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.prwriterpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1673"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.prwriterpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1673"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.prwriterpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1673"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}