Foster - Hiking Alaska: a guide to Alaskas greatest hiking adventures

HIKING ALASKA

A GUIDE TO ALASKAS GREATEST HIKING ADVENTURES

Third Edition

Mollie Foster

A person on foot, on horseback or on a bicycle will see more, feel more, enjoy more in one mile than the motorized tourists can in a hundred miles.

Edward Abbey (19271989)

Dedicated to those everywhere who have worked to keep Alaska wild.

The 4-mile Harding Icefield Trail winds through forest and meadows and climbs well above tree line with breathtaking views in every direction.

HagePhoto

the hikes

Appendixes

MEET YOUR GUIDE

Alaska-based editor, photographer, and writer Mollie Foster is passionate about storytelling, specializing in outdoor lifestyle and adventure. She loves to spend her time exploring by human powerhiking, biking, skiing, and packrafting. Mollie has been a contributing editor to Alaska Magazine , has directed and guided week-long educational programs, and teaches field-based photography courses in Denali. She moved to Alaska, fell in love with the Alaskan lifestyle, and now cant imagine living anywhere else. She splits her time between Anchorage and Denali.

Acknowledgments

The foundation for this guidebook is the work of Dean Littlepage, the author of the first and second editions of the book. Dean hiked, researched, and wrote about literally every detail covering the one hundred hiking trails around the state, in both editions. He is the reason this guidebook exists, for this and future editions. This is simply a revision of his groundwork.

In addition to Dean, Id like to send a big thank you to the following people, agencies, and organizations.

Justin Wholey for his dedicated attention to detail with the trails in Alaska State Parks; Beth Trowbridge with the Alaska Center for Coastal Studies; Seth Spencer of Wynn Nature Center; Jacob Marshall of Kenai Fjords National Park; Irene Lindquist and Carolyn Seramur of Chugach National Forest; Darcy Harris of Alaska State Parks; Eric Haggstrom and Mark Goetsch of Matanuska-Susitna Borough; Molly McKinley and Jared Zimmerman of Denali National Park; Lynne Brandon with Sitka Trail Works; Mark Ross with Department of Fish and Game; Tim DuPont and Eric Yeager with Bureau of Land Management; Lee Hart with Levitation 49; and Dave Zastrow (Cordova), Gina Meucci (Petersburg), Corree Delabrue (Wrangell), and Jon Regetz (Ketchikan) with the USDA Forest Service.

A special thanks to all the contributing photographers in this edition: Willie Dalton, Justin Wholey, Will Koeppen, Matt and Agnes Hage, Scott Dickerson, Nathaniel Wilder, Haley Johnston, Sarah Stehn, Mike Ausman, Ynez Slaymaker, Andy Hedden, Craig Brandt, Erica Watson, Mike Records, Carl Battreall, Harrison Scheib, Jason Reppert, Alexander Lee, Chelsea Haisman, Beezer Muth, Lee Kuepper, Ryan Delaney, Charity Hommel, Rachel Deehan, and Ilona Singh.

Thanks to Kirsten Anderson with Ramble Out Yonder Design, for the illustrations.

Thanks to all my friends and family for their support. A special thanks to Joe Meyer for his continued encouragement and expertise throughout a big project.

Thanks to friends and family for wonderful company on the trail: Joe Meyer, Willie Dalton, Sarra Khlifi, Sam Longacre, the Shea Family, Sharon Howrey, Bruce Bland, Sean Sweeney and Gena Layman, Nathaniel Wilder, Michael Howard, Emily Myhre, and off the trail to Kent Foster, Nick and Niki Goddard, and Terry Boyd. For the generous hospitality of Chuck Klemer and Dulce Havill, for sharing their home with the best view in Denali, while I edited this book. Not to forget our four-legged hiking buddies: Spur, Reese, Stewart, and Scout.

Finally, thanks to this editions editors: Dave Costello, David Legere, and Julie Marsh. A special thanks to Dave Costello for his attention to detail and considerate approach to creating this edition of the guidebook.

Map and Icon Legends

Each hike begins with The Rundown , a summary that describes the length of the trip and the basic geography. For day hikes, most entries indicate the approximate time required for the hike, using these three categories as general rules of thumb, based on an average adult hiking pace and decent trail conditions: Short day hikes are, generally, hikes of 3 hours or less; half-day hikes take roughly 3 to 5 hours; and long hikes will keep you outdoors more than 5 hours and up to an entire sunset-free day in midsummer. There are options for shorter hikes on most of the longer trips covered; options are listed in Shorter hikes at the end of the narrative.

Distances shown are the actual distance of the trail or route. For traverses or loops, this is the entire distance of the trip. Distances shown as one way indicate out-and-back hikes; if you do the entire round-trip, youll cover double the listed trail mileage.

Difficulty ratings give a general sense of how strenuous a hike is. The ratings correspond to elevation gain, tempered by the grade, length, and hiking surface.

Easy: can be completed without difficulty by hikers of all abilities

Moderate: is challenging for novices

Strenuous: may tax even experienced hikers