[44: Human Nature]
The morning of the flight to Juneau was a mix of excitement and tiredness. Eleanor was already up and ready, packing the things she needed for the expected hiking. Momo was doing the same, having woken up a bit later. Ochaco, however, was still struggling a little bit.
"How do you two handle it so well? I'm still not used to all this sun. Even with the curtains, there are still those tiny bits of sunlight that peek out from the edges of the curtain," Ochaco said as she still had a hard time getting a good sleep.
"Don't worry, Ochaco, you'll probably get used to it during the week. Do you have your rain jackets prepared? As well as hiking stuff? The glacier we're going to 'see' is very far away, and requires a lot of hiking. I would've gotten the helicopter tour, but we're doing that one for Kethikan," Eleanor said.
"How much hiking exactly?" Momo asked.
"A lot. Expect to be very tired, even if we pace ourselves well," Eleanor said.
"What else should we expect?" Ochaco asked.
"Maybe some Germans," Eleanor said.
"German people? What? That's kind of random?" Ochaco said.
"We're going hiking in one of the premier hiking places in the world, Ochaco, so don't be surprised if we see some Germans," Eleanor said.
"What? What do Germans have to do with hiking?" Ochaco said.
"A lot, actually. Look, maybe we'll see some, maybe we won't, but if I were a betting woman, I'd bet on seeing some Germans on the trail," Eleanor said.
"Uh…okay," Ochaco said. She just accepted what Eleanor said. She knew more about this place than she or Momo did.
"Alright, let's go to the plane," Eleanor said as she put on her backpack.
/\\//\\//\
The girls made their way through Anchorage by car, heading to a small airport. The foggy morning air provided a different look to the city compared to what they saw when they first arrived. And luckily, no moose this time. When they made their way to the small, regional airport, they could see numerous planes operating.
"Whoa…I know you told us that this was common, Eleanor, but seeing it actually operate is something else," Ochaco said. Small planes, mainly bush planes, were landing and taking off. "Are we going on one of those?" Ochaco asked.
"Yes. And don't worry about how small they look. There are a bunch of different models of those planes for different purposes. We're getting on one for mainly transporting people. The sights…oh man, just prepare yourself for the sights from the plane. Get ready to take a lot of pictures," Eleanor said as the car came to a stop at the airport.
The girls got off, gathering their things and heading inside. The airport was much quieter than the one in Anchorage. Eleanor showed the code of their tickets to a machine. The machine beeped and confirmed their booking. They went through the airport, going to a terminal. They spent some time there before it was time for them to go to their plane. It was small, but it wouldn't be a tight fit. (A/N: Pause! Get your mind out of the gutter!)
The girls, with the help of the pilot, put their backpacks into the plane before they boarded. Some time later, it started to take off.
"Give it a minute, you two. This is going to be awesome," Eleanor said as the plane climbed higher and higher.
When the plane was properly in the air, the scene outside the window was beyond breathtaking. Numerous mountains pierced the sea of clouds. Endless forests sprawled all over the land, seemingly engulfing the buildings and remnants of human civilization. Trees covered the base of some mountains and completely covered the smaller mountains. Various lakes reflected the nature around them.
Ochaco became practically glued to the window as she took it all in. Momo had her mouth slightly open in stunned silence. The nature and scenery they were seeing were impossible to get in the concrete and dense jungle of Tokyo. They had forgotten to take photos.
"Do remember to take photos, you two." Eleanor silently reminded them.
"Oh, yeah! I can't believe I forgot," Ochaco said, quickly taking out her phone to take multiple photos.
"It's just…I can't put into words how amazing this all looks," Momo said, also taking out her phone to take pictures.
Eleanor also peeked out, but her mind was different. 'The glaciers…there's a lot missing,' she thought to herself. She appreciated the view, but there was a bit of melancholy in her eyes.
/\\//\\//\
A few hours later, the plane landed in Juneau. When they got off the plane, the smell of misty air hit them. Eleanor took a deep breath. "Yeah, that's the stuff." It was very cloudy, and some misty, slight rainfall was present. Eleanor got a rain jacket from her backpack and put it on. "Put your rain jackets on; it might not seem like much rain, but it'll add up." Momo and Ochaco put on their rain jackets.
"Alright, before we go hiking, we'll go to the downtown area of Juneau. It'll be a quick ride," Eleanor said as she pulled out her phone and ordered a car ride. "Alright, let's head to the pick-up area."
Some time later, the girls were in the car. Ochaco and Momo were looking out the windows. They passed by countless docks and boats. Mountains covered in coniferous trees loomed right next to the city, looking just a few minutes' walk away.
"There are so many boats and docks. Whoa, there's even some cruise ships," Ochaco said.
"Yeah. The only way to get to Juneau is by plane or boat. And it's also cruise season at this time," Eleanor explained.
"What will we do first? Are we going to spend all day hiking?" Momo asked.
"We can do some whale watching. A helicopter tour, and then hiking to the glacier I was talking about. Then we'll enjoy some food before we take a plane back to Anchorage. Considering the amount of daylight we have. We'll do whale watching first, the helicopter tour next, and then the hike to the glacier," Eleanor said.
"This is going to be so exciting!" Ochaco exclaimed.
/\\//\\//\
The first part of the trip was whale watching. They took a bus ride from downtown Juneau to Auke Bay, a neighborhood in Juneau. Once the bus arrived, the girls got off, along with many other tourists. "Have your phones ready. The moments won't last long," Eleanor said to Momo and Ochaco. Eleanor and the girls walked to the docks and got on one of the boats. It had a heated indoor cabin and a spacious outdoor deck.
"Hello, everyone! I'll be your naturalist for this three-hour tour! I'll be your onboard guide and your eyes and ears! I'll tell you what you need to know about whales during this tour, as well as point out when we spot one, so pay attention! Our captain will get the boat moving shortly, but in the meantime, I'm going to go over a safety demonstration before we get moving," The naturalist, who was a woman, explained.
After the demonstration ended, the boat started moving. As the boat moved away from the dock, the cold, blue ocean could be seen as far as the eye could see. Of course, from the other side, mountains could also be seen. The boat rocked slightly along the water, spraying a bit of the ocean water up. In the distance, there was fog, and a beautiful sight of fog along the mountains.
"Now, as we move along, keep an eye on the jagged peaks and the trees; you might see a bald eagle perched," the naturalist explained. "While we watch and try to spot whales, do enjoy the scenery and other potential wildlife. The rocky outcroppings may have sea lions, and you might hear them bark even from this far away. We may also have some porpoises making an appearance near our boat, so keep an eye out on those."
Eleanor and the girls moved along the outer deck of the boat. They scanned the area, looking for wildlife. A bald eagle flew in the distance. Ochaco pointed it out and snapped a picture of it on her phone. Momo also took a picture of it, while also taking pictures of the nature around them.
"It's amazing how the people here have such easy access to such sights," Momo said as she took pictures.
The boat kept moving further. "The whales we'll be looking for are humpback whales. These whales come to Juneau as part of their migration. The whales travel over three-thousand miles from the warm, tropical waters of Hawaiʻi and Mexico all the way here to Alaska. They spend the winter months in the tropics, mating and giving birth before they start their migration in spring and spend the summer feeding and building up their fat reserves. Now, one of the reasons these whales come to Juneau is the food available for them. Humpback whales feed on krill, herring, and small baitfish, and Juneau has those in abundance during this time. In fact, there's so much food that adult humpback whales can eat up to one ton of food a day," the naturalist explained.
As the boat moved along, it started to slow down. It did a slow turn. Eleanor and the girls scanned the water, along with other tourists who were there. "Alright, we're closely watching for whales. Now, due to safety, we have to be at least one-hundred yards away from the whales we spot. This is to protect whales from noise pollution and vessel strikes, and for vessels that fish, to protect them from entanglement in fishing gear," the naturalist explained.
Eleanor and the girls continued scanning the water. There was anticipation in them as they looked for any sort of movement in the water. Ochaco and Momo had their phones ready to capture a picture. Actually, both of them were recording video, so nothing would be missed.
Just then, a sudden spout of water came from the ocean. An explosion of water from a whale's blowhole was visible.
"Whoah, did you see that‽" Ochaco asked in excitement. Her phone captured it on video, but it may have been a bit too shaky from the excitement.
The top of the whale was slightly visible before it dove down. When it dove, its tail was visible before splashing down.
"If you noticed, the tail of a humpback whale has a unique black-and-white pattern, similar to human fingerprints. If you take a picture of the tail, and come back again this time next year, you can most likely track the whale and see the same one," The naturalist explained. "Now, the whales are still around, so keep your eyes out for more spouts and tails, and if the whales are feeling nice, they might even breach the water!"
A few more spouts and tails appeared, not a lot, but enough to make everyone excited. "I've never seen anything like this before," Ochaco said.
Just then, an entire humpback whale breached the water. Its entire body was in the air before it crashed back down into the water. Ochaco was screaming in excitement, her eyes wide at the scene. Momo was quietly stunned at the scene.
"Hell yeah," Eleanor said, grinning at the humpback whale that breached the water.
The rest of the trip continued with a few more whale sightings before the boat traveled back to the dock. The girls got off the dock. Ochaco was excitedly checking her phone for the photos and videos she took of the whale sightings.
"You can check them on the bus ride back, Ochaco," Eleanor said.
"Oh, yeah, you're right," Ochaco said as they got on the bus.
/\\//\\//\
"We must've gotten lucky, Eleanor. The way the whale jumped out of the water was so cool! I wonder what we're doing next," Ochaco said as they returned.
"So, there's a change of plans. We can't go on the icefields. And I mean, physically. We can't physically walk on the ice fields, but there is an aerial tour for it. I'd rather do the one in Ketchikan than this one, though. That one will for sure be better. Anyway, the last activity we'll do is hiking. Prepare yourselves for a minimum of five hours of hiking," Eleanor said.
"Five hours‽" Ochaco said.
"Don't worry, it'll be worth it. We can walk around the city for a bit before we go. We can eat some food, and stock up on things we'll need," Eleanor said.
"And what place are we hiking?" Ochaco asked.
Eleanor sighed. "It's…Mendenhall Valley."
"A valley? If the environment is anything like so far, it must be amazing," Momo said.
"Oh, trust me, it is," Eleanor said.
"And how will we get there?" Ochaco asked.
"You know those docks where the cruise ships are? We'll just go there. There are vendors that sell tickets that go straight to the visitor center, so we'll just take those," Eleanor said.
/\\//\\//\
After shopping around and eating food, the girls walked to the cruise ship docks, where they picked up some tickets for a shuttle that went straight to the visitor center. The trip was a nice ride, but the real excitement was when they got off. When they got off, there was a massive lake, quite literally next to the visitor center. A massive valley stretched as far as the eye could see. Snow-capped mountains with trees at their bases made up the valley, and trees filled the area. Only the visitor center reminded the girls that they were still in civilization.
The valley seemed to be filled with forests, but there also seemed to be massive and smooth rock surfaces, almost unnatural. An erosion pattern evident of a glacier.
"Whoa…this looks like something straight out of a brochure or something," Ochaco said as she saw the lake and valley.
"We'll be hiking that. Not the valley, but some trails that kind of follow the valley. Be prepared to get wet and slippery," Eleanor said. (A/N: YOOO!!! WHAT!!! NAH! PAUSE ON THAT!)
The girls made their way through the visitor center before arriving at the hiking trails.
"Alright, we shouldn't encounter any wildlife up close," Eleanor said.
"Not even moose?" Ochaco said.
"Moose in this area are relatively rare. Black bears will be a more common sighting, though. If we do encounter one, we just bear spray, or make a lot of noise," Eleanor said.
The girls started their hiking. It wasn't a hard hiking trail, but the length would test their endurance. As they walked, the sound of boots on wet ground could be heard, but more than that, the sound of nature around them. The distant sounds of rushing water from new waterways formed by the glacier retreat. The wind through the trees and the occasional chirping from birds, as well as the high-pitched chirps and whistles from a bald eagle. The distant sound of waterfalls could be heard from the valley. But sometimes, what mattered the most was the silence. Periodically, as they hiked, there would be a momentary silence.
As they hiked the trail, there were a few markers they passed. "Eleanor, what are those?" Ochaco asked.
"Those are markers that tracked the glacier as it receded. As the glacier receded, these markers would be placed to track it and also serve as a reminder of where the glacier used to be," Eleanor said.
"So where is the glacier?" Ochaco asked.
"We have quite a ways to go, Ochaco, but we'll encounter some really beautiful sights on the way," Eleanor said.
Some more time passed as they continued hiking. As they walked, the sound of a waterfall became more and more prominent. When they got closer, the scene was dramatic. A massive waterfall emptying into the lake, one that was visible from the visitor center, came into view.
"Whoa…" Ochaco trailed off as she saw the scene. The water crashed down heavily, emptying into the massive lake below. An intense mist splashed the area.
"This is Nugget Falls. It looks a lot more dramatic ever since the glacier retreated. And the lake it's emptying into is also a lot bigger than it was in the early 21st century," Eleanor said.
"How much has changed?" Momo asked.
"A lot," Eleanor continued. "We should get moving. We can visit the waterfall again on the way back," Eleanor said.
The girls continued the hike. As they walked, they could see into the valley from occasional spots that overlooked the valley. In the valley, there were bright colored blue lakes filling in spots of the valley. Leftover water from the glacier. A little fog started to settle into the valley as they hiked. As they hiked, Eleanor held out a hand. "Stop for a second." Eleanor pointed somewhere in the distance. "Look at that, take a picture."
When Momo and Ochaco saw where she was pointing, they saw a black bear. Ochaco immediately took out her phone to take a picture, and Momo followed a bit after. They took a few pictures.
"We're actually seeing a bear. That's amazing," Ochaco said.
"Good thing it's from a distance, and not close to us. That would not be a good time," Eleanor said.
After taking a few pictures and viewing the black bear, they continued their hike. As they continued, Ochaco was feeling tired. Momo was keeping up, but she was fine, at least for now. Eleanor, meanwhile, seemed not to be exhausted at all.
"How are you not tired, Eleanor?" Ochaco asked.
"Did you two not see the tests Aizawa had us do one the first day of school?" Eleanor said.
"Oh, right, yeah, I forgot," Ochaco said as she took a deep breath. "The air feels so nice, I can't get enough of it."
"We're almost there, Ochaco, just a bit more. We're approaching a big overlook; it'll be worth the effort put into this long trail," Eleanor said.
Sure enough, they reached an overlook, near the end of the trail. When they approached it, the sight that greeted them was breathtaking. The valley they hiked along seemed to stretch endlessly. Clouds moved between the mountains, and the dense forest growth in the valley seemed to stretch just as much. In the distance, there was a shimmering blue color that stood out among the cloudy gray sky.
"This is…I don't know what to say," Momo said.
Ochaco was also speechless. Both of them stood at the overlook; they even forgot to take out their phones for pictures.
Eleanor pointed to the distant blue color. "You see that over there?" Eleanor asked before continuing. "That's the glacier."
"What? That's the glacier‽" Ochaco said. "It's so far."
Eleanor continued. "That glacier carved out this entire valley, leaving a path for a new ecosystem to take over. It's what we just experienced. You can thank the glacier retreat for giving us this valley. If you want to know what it was like before, imagine the entire valley we just hiked along covered in ice, reaching all the way to the lake we saw at the visitor center."
"That's how it used to be?" Ochaco asked.
"Yes," Eleanor said. "Beginning in the early 21st century, like the 2020s, the glacier was receding at a very rapid pace. By around the year 2050, it was out of sight of the visitor center."
"Wait, the glacier used to be visible from the visitor center?" Momo asked.
"Yeah. You can see photos of what it used to look like. Calling what we see today in the 22nd century 'different' is an understatement," Eleanor said.
"Wow…but it's still amazing," Ochaco said.
"Oh yeah, no doubt about it, I just want to tell you how things have changed. Anyway, take pictures, we still have to go back," Eleanor said.
"Aww, I forgot we have to go back! My legs are like jelly!" Ochaco said, but she started taking pictures. Though she complained, inside, it was all worth it.
The return hike was just as magnificent. After a few hours, they returned to the visitor center. "Geez, that was so nice, but so tiring." Ochaco said.
"You should improve your stamina and endurance when we get back to Japan, Ochaco. How can you fight crime and villains when you get too tired too quickly?" Eleanor asked.
"Yeah, you're right, Eleanor," Ochaco said.
"Well, we're still on vacation. We'll eat and then head back to Anchorage to rest before going to our next destination," Eleanor said.
After returning to downtown Juneau, they ate at a local spot before taking a private flight back to Anchorage and heading back to their hotel.