Monday, October 12, 2009

Flattop Mountain of Chugach State Park

Tom went on a hike Sunday morning.  This is one of the things he was hoping to do an a regular basis here, and there are so many choices of where to hike!  Bonnie and I skipped this one until he could find out if it was something we could handle or not.  (Bonnie is not real steady on her feet in uneven terrain.)

He had a great time and took lots of pics during the hike to keep us updated.  He'll have to post here or comment below to give you all the details.

Here is what Wikipedia has to say about it:
Flattop Mountain is a 3,510-foot (1,070 m) mountain in the U.S. state of Alaska, located in Chugach State Park just east of urban Anchorage. It is the most climbed mountain in the state.
It is usually reached by driving to the Glen Alps trailhead and following a well-maintained 1.5-mile (2.4-km) trail, with an elevation gain of 1280 feet (390 m) from the parking lot to the summit. Since it is the most accessible mountain to Anchorage, Flattop is a very popular location for hiking, climbing, berry picking, paragliding, and backcountry skiing. Campouts are held on the summit at the summer and winter solstices.
Flattop is known for its panoramic views of Anchorage and the surrounding area, including Denali, Mount Foraker, and Mount Spurr.

There was one part of the hike where there was a thick patch of trees.  He said it smelled like Christmas in that area!

There is also a part of the hike called "Blueberry Loop" that Tom said Bonnie and I could handle easily and enjoy.  So we are going back there next weekend.



Another place I'd like to go is Earthquake Park.


When the "Good Friday" earthquake rocked Anchorage in March of 1964, the area that is now the park was an affluent residential area on the bluffs above Cook Inlet. The 9.2 earthquake dropped these homes into 30-foot crevasses and destroyed this entire area. Developed as a park years later, it carries monuments and reader boards with information on the great quake. The Tony Knowles Coastal Trail winds through the park.

Enjoy the pics from Tom's hike.

Have a great day!




1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I love this post – totally kewl!!! Well done! I’m coming back to this one …