Mt Juneau is a short hike you can get to starting in downtown Juneau. A short hike with 3,576 feet of elevation gain ain't easy though, especially on a rainy day.

I'd started by riding my rental bike from my hotel. Even while still in town, the grade is steep and it might have been easier to just hike. Juneau is filled with pedestrian stairways for a reason.

The route I took went about 1.5 miles along Basin Road up to the Perseverance Trailhead where I locked up the bike and started hiking.

According to signs, it was the Alaska's first road, providing access up the canyon to miners and the occasional tourist. Being a former road it isn't too steep but it is quite treacherous with sections where a slip would send you sliding down to the river a hundred or so feet below.

After about a mile, the Mt Juneau trail splits off and heads seemly straight for the ridge thousands of feet above. While I'm sure there's a lot of work done on the trail, it was basically a tangles of roots, rocks, and mud as steep as a staircase and completely overgrown with bushes with 'leaves of three'. Turns out there's no poison oak or poison ivy in Alaska, but I wasn't sure at the time.

As I neared the ridge and had my first views of Juneau, the light, sporadic rain become hard and steady. The mud hadn't been too slick but the rain was making it slicker. I listened to my instincts and ... pressed on a little further. The rain got even worse though and I finally turned around before the top.

I'm sure the Mt Juneau trail is easier and more fun on a dry, sunny day, but it makes a great rainy day adventure if you're prepared to crawl back if you slip and tear your ACL.