Hiking Flattop Mountain

Monday, we decided to tackle a rather ambitious hike: Flattop Mountain. Flattop is a mountain in the Chugach Mountain range next to Anchorage, distinctive not for its height but for its flat top. As the most accessible hike from Anchorage, it is the state’s most-climbed peak. “Accessible” does not mean easily-climbed, however, as we were to find out!

We arrived a little before noon, having taken a variety of clothing since we didn’t know what the weather there would be like. It was overcast and in the low-60s when we arrived, so layers were the rule of the day. After a stop at the trailhead’s pit toilets, we set off for the summit.

We hadn’t made it up to the first saddle, a mere few hundred feet away from the parking lot, before Kelly and I were already huffing. This clearing offered our first incredible view of Anchorage below us, though, so we took a moment to catch our breath and take it all in. Trudge on we did, though, winding our way along the east side of Blueberry Hill loop.

Just about the time we reached the fenceposts on the eastern side of the loop, the summit of Flattop came into view. Our jaws dropped at the sheer climbing that awaited us.

“Are those people?” we asked in disbelief as we squinted at the tiny figures above us. “Holy crap! What have we gotten ourselves into?” It looked to be the steepest mountain I’d ever laid eyes on, and there was no hesitation coming from the rest of the family about our goal. I considered whether my life insurance was up to date as I rushed to keep up with
Kelly and the kids.

The trail soon wound its way to the first flight of “stairs,” landscape timbers hammered into the ground, with big gaps of ground in between. This was followed by yet another set of stairs, with steps stretching farther and farther upward. The jacket I had been wearing was soon packed into my bag as I began working up a sweat. We all stole rests where we could, stepping aside for other climbers while catching our breath. Occasionally I felt lightheaded as I pushed myself farther up the trail.

After a particularly punishing stretch of stairs we reached the second “saddle” of the trail. Hallie and I shared a bench I had declared the most comfortable bench I’d ever sat on. Other climbers explored the hill to the south of us while over our shoulder loomed the steepest part of our climb yet. With one more swig of water, we set out again.

The last section of hike was part climb. Signposts warned of difficult hiking and advised not to bring children. We followed two women up the trail until they seemed to lose their way. Faded blazes made finding the trail difficult as the path disappeared into jumbles of rock. Eventually, I found a zig-zagging switchback and began leading the way up.

About 100 feet below the summit any semblance of path disappeared into a jumble of rock. Here’s where we began to do more climbing than hiking. I was looking for as many handholds as footholds as I followed Travis up the mountain. It was slow going, daunting climbing but foot by foot we eventually clambered over the edge to the summit.

And what a reward it was! Dozens of other hikers milled around the moon-like surface of Flattop. An American flag fluttered strongly from a post planted in a stone circle. Once Kelly and Hallie had reached the summit I handed my camera to another hiker for a photo of us all. It was quite an achievement!

We then went about exploring the wide summit and the views it offered. Heading east, we passed a cairn before coming to the edge that overlooked the Pacific ocean and parts of Anchorage below. Hallie gravitated to a wooden bench perched precariously close to a precipitous dropoff. We passed around a bag of carrots, snapped photos, and moved on to further explore our new conquest.

After about 45 minutes of taking in the views, we decided it was time to descend. The wind had picked up again and jackets came back out of our bags. With one last group photo we began the trip back down.

The rock field near the top turned out to be much easier to traverse going down than up! It also helped that we found the blazes and thus took the best path. Even so, the trip down wasn’t all a cake walk: my legs began to feel a bit like jello as navigated the steep staircase down, dodging the gaps between the timbers. There was no doubt now, though, that our hiking was getting easier. Our laughter increased accordingly!

Safely back at the trailhead, we marvelled at the insanely steep climb we had just made. It was the most challenging hike I had ever made. The kids? Both of them were gung-ho from start to finish. Kelly and I couldn’t have been prouder of how into it they were. They both repeatedly exclaimed how epic the hike had been. And it was.

Tired and beat (and not really having had lunch – what?), we drove to Qdoba for a burrito supper. We were back at the rental home by 6 PM and spent the rest of the night just tending our sore muscles.

It was an epic day, indeed.