We arrived in Juneau on Alaska Airlines, but before we took our bush plane to Gustavus, our cousin took us straight to the Mendenhall Glacier in back of town. Spectacular!Our Nordic Walking Poles came in handy as we followed the paths, trails and boardwalks. We toured the stream full of Salmon and Dolly Varden Trout. And then followed the trail out to Mendenall glacier waterfall.
We then took a quick trip to Sheep Creek. My son kicked off his shoes waded out and held up a Salmon for a picture and released it gently to finish its run upstream.
The flight to Gustavus was totally unbelievable as we cruised above the peaks that make road travel impossible between Juneau and Gustavus. The town of Gustavus is surrounded by the Glacier Bay National Park. The trails around Gustavus proved ideal for Nordic Walking and Nordic Running. Our grand finale was a marathon Nordic Walk on the Bartlett Lake trail. Our poles came in super handy on this rugged trail with tricky sections of rocks, roots and wet-spots.
We traveled to Alaska with our trusty one-piece SWIX and EXEL Nordic Walking Poles. These poles are hassle free – no twist-locks or flip-locks. Our poles don’t rattle, vibrate or self-adjust and/or collapse unexpectedly. We have proven during our own adventures and have also been told repeatedly by others that our one-piece poles prove to be safer, lighter and much more durable then the cheap twist-lock and/or flip-lock poles that can and do collapse without warning. For information about Nordic Walking Poles and Nordic Walking Instruction go to SKIWALKING.COM and the American Nordic Walking System.
Perfect length poles help us to automatically walk with a super straight back - better walking posture is biomechanically a good thing. This improved walking posture when combined with the unique 4-Wheel-Drive type action of walking with poles radically reduces the stress to the shins, knees, hips and back. Nordic Walking is low impact and yet provides a highly effective workout - burning more calories and working more muscle groups than regular walking.
This perfect vacation including Nordic Walking Clinics at the Gustavus Inn, Nordic Walking the trails around town and the Bartlett Trail System, whale watching, stream fishing and salt water fishing for halibut. Whale watching and salt-water fishing included numerous viewings of porpoises, sea otter, seals and sea lions.
For lodging info in Gustavus go to http://www.gustavusinn.com and inquire about 2010 reservations.
It was great to add Alaska to our Nordic Walking calendar. Our dependable and hassle free one-piece poles have been tested in the city, around town and in the Alleghenies, White Mountains, Green Mountains, Grand Canyon, Sleeping Bear Dunes, Pikes Peak, ……….
Walking with poles is the best!
