Dog Day in Juneau

Friday June 13, 2025 - Juneau

Day 5 at sea

Juneau is the capital of Alaska, but there are no roads connecting the city to the rest of the state.  It is yet another city that you can only reach by air or boat.  

It was a calm day as we entered the port in the early morning.  You could see clouds hanging midway over the coastal hills, and an occasional eagle flew by as if to greet us.

 

There are about 32,000 residents in Juneau, and 10,000 cruise ship passengers join them each day!  There were 3 ships in today, including the massive Quantum of the Seas which holds twice as many passengers as our boat.  

Our adventure today was a trip to a musher camp…where they keep dogs in training for the Iditarod.  The dog teams were harnessed up and waiting for us as we boarded the “sleds” (on wheels) for our ride. 

The dogs were barking constantly, ready to go.  

As soon as the musher gave the command, the dogs took off.  It became quiet, and the dogs went to work, pulling us along the trails at a pretty good clip!  It was so interesting to see how the dogs work together, and amazing they love to do this!  The musher’s signals were very quiet, but the dogs immediately responded to commands.  

One of the guides talked to us about how they train and prepare for races.  This guy grew up in Indiana (West Lafayette) and now lives in Wasilla, Alaska.  He owns 30 dogs and is preparing to do the Iditarod in the next few years.  We’re going to watch for him so that we can cheer him on…Mark Walker, of Walker’s Wild Ride. 

The Iditarod is an 1000 mile race in March each year that starts in Anchorage, travels across the Yukon and ends in Nome.  There are only about 100 entries accepted for the race, and it takes 8-14 days to complete. It costs about $50,000 to run the race, considering supplies, travel, gear, etc. for both the dogs and the musher. Each team uses 4,000-5,000 footies for the dogs each race.

There are about 18 dogs in a team, and during the race, dogs can be dropped (they are taken to Nome or home, and tended to by vets.  No dogs can be added, and at least 12 dogs must finish the race, with only one musher allowed to accompany the dogs throughout the race.   The dogs are brought to these “summer camps” which are in the Tongass national forest, as it gets too hot for them in the northern part of Alaska.  These dogs can be comfortable at 65 degrees below zero!!!  

We were able to play with some of the 6-week old puppies, and the kids were ready to put them in a backpack and bring them home! 

At the end of the ride we were treated to hot chocolate and a fire.  

We ventured back to the dock and had lunch at the Red Dog Saloon, a local watering hole. 

The streets were lined with shops (and people.)  One of the guides told us there is very little crime in the city, and maybe that explains the miniature police vehicles!

Later, the sun came out for us and warmed things up.   It was quite a treat, even for the locals who said it rains in Juneau 222 days a year!  

The ship had a Pacers watch party in one of the lounges, and those of us that wanted to eat, watched the game on a phone at the dinner table!  We had high hopes for a win.  

And to cap off the night, a group of whales gave us a show from the starboard side of the boat, as the sun set and bid us a beautiful farewell.