Last year I made this hike about fourteen times during the summer.
Due to some unforeseen complications concerning my job, I have not been able to make it up even ONCE this summer. So since today was a holiday, and there were no phone calls to worry about, or projects that required my immediate attention, I decided to set aside about an hour and half and commune with nature. (Fortunately for me, this nature is only about a ten minute drive away from my house.)
The first part of the hike is called Blueberry Loop and even it can be a little taxing for those unaccustomed to steep hikes over rough terrain.
As you see in Alaska you can ALWAYS find someplace that does not yet realize that it's summer time. ("Hey snow, its' freaking July! Melt already!")
This sign lets you know that you are leaving the easy trail and that it is time to put on your big boy (or girl) pants. I have climbed this peak hundreds of times so I am filled with confidence that I wll fly up the mountain. (And by "fly" I mean stumble over rocky outcroppings like an Alzheimer's patient, while sweating profusely, and using wildly inappropriate language.)
I call this the halfway mark, though in fact it is actually a little more than halfway. However this is where the hike gets serious as you can see from the sign. People have fallen and had to be rescued or, in some cases, even suffered a fatality. (One of my great fears in life is that I will fall and have to be helicoptered down the mountain. I would NEVER live down the humiliation.)
Seriously is somebody adding more rock to make this damn thing higher?
The view from the top.
Breathtaking don't you agree? Though considering that I was still sucking wind and trying to slow my heart rate when I took this picture I did not exactly need the view to take my breath away.
Still, in my opinion it is one of the most beautiful views in Alaska! And the fact that you have to risk life and limb to see it only makes it more so.
Well time to head back down.
Oh did I tell you that the descent is the most treacherous part of this particular hike? Wish me luck!
WOW! So breathtaking! Lucky you, G-Man to spend the day as such.
ReplyDeleteNow, this is O/T, but this journalist/writer person has made my day with this little gem of an article:
Bristol Palin’s Memoir Confirms Her Arrogance And Stupidity
A simple examination of the life of Bristol Palin shows her to be a deceitful fool with the arrogance of a lion – imagine doing a speaking tour trumpeting sexual abstinence when you were an underage and unwed mother currently involved in another relationship? Nobody but Bristol Palin would even dare!
Another example of her hubris can be found near the end of her memoir where Bristol Palin declares that her love story with Levi Johnston is “not unique” and places it in historical perspective for the reader. “Women throughout history have looked back at their relationships and wondered how they could’ve loved a man who treated them so badly,” she writes. “From Hillary Clinton to Sandra Bullock, from Jackie Kennedy to Jennifer Aniston, from Elin Woods to Princess Diana.”
Imagine the gall of Bristol Palin placing herself in a group of supposedly scorned women that includes the secretary of state and Jackie Kennedy!!! I mean Bristol wouldn’t have even qualified to be a Monica Lewinsky, let alone a Hillary. Bristol was wild girl who screwed around with a boy and got impregnated and then dumped – this hardly makes her a tragic figure – just a skank.
At the age of 20, with all the wisdom of her experience to draw upon (LOL), Palin has written a memoir about the ordeal of being Johnston’s partner, a teenage mother to their child and a contestant on “Dancing With the Stars.”
Johnston is called a “gnat” and a “big guy who had a talent for trash-talking but nothing else.” He’s “inarticulate,” “cocky” and “obnoxious.” He’s the bully who pulls hair, trips people and “put Ex-Lax in some kid’s brownie.” He lies to her all the time — about other girls, about having bought a new truck even though he was broke, about reeling in “12 fish when he didn’t catch any” and assorted other misdeeds.
“Like many women throughout history, I went for the ‘bad boy’ who didn’t care about authority,” she says. “Levi’s bad behavior wasn’t a deal-breaker for me.” They had an on-again, off-again relationship from the moment they met in seventh grade that, according to Palin, was always being tested by his romps with other girls and her family’s disapproval of him.
She begins the book with their lowest moment together, promising that “No one has ever heard this part of my story” and that what we’re about to read “would affect my life in ways a teenager could not comprehend.”
One summer night in high school, Palin lies to her mom, saying she’s spending the night at her friend’s house. Instead, she goes camping with Johnston and some friends. She writes that she had never taken a sip of alcohol before the camping trip — “I knew nothing about anything bad really . . . especially the differences between vodka, beer, and whiskey” — but as she sits by the fire, she finds herself enjoying the way the wine coolers Johnston is plying her with make her feel “young and carefree.” The next thing Palin remembers is waking up in his tent with his empty sleeping bag by her side.
How do you spell BULLSHIT?
“What I don’t remember is what transpired between the moment when I was sitting there by the fire talking and the moment I awakened the next morning,” she writes. She goes on: “Suddenly, I wondered why it was called ‘losing your virginity,’ because it felt more like it had been stolen.”
‘Squandered’ would be a better word Bristol.
http://www.celebdirtylaundry
.com/2011/bristol-palins-
memoir-confirms-her-arrogance
-and-stupidity/
A comment from the article on Bristol.
ReplyDeleteKeep in mind the Bristol dumped Levi, who was willing to marry her not once, but twice.
As for this ridiculous claim that she was date raped is just that: a ridiculous claim. Her MySpace blogs showed her to be a jealous and possessive girl who drank, smoked pot, and whose mother thought she might be pregnant before she even started dating Levi.
While date rape is an important issue, it's also important to remember who we're talking about here. Admitting that she liked to drink and have sex at a young age would not play well with the Palinistas. Her fame and fortune depends on playing the victim, which she and her mother are absolute experts at doing.
Looks like the descent is hard on the knees. Thanks for sharing the beautiful views. How I'd love a chance to walk barefoot in that snow. 97 degrees and steamy here in TN.
ReplyDeleteBelieve it or not there are still places in Southern California that are also late with the summer message. I drove to Las Vegas a couple weeks ago and was completely surprised to see snow near the tops of the San Gabriels as I was passing through Antelope Valley.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely beautiful. Thanks Gryphen!
ReplyDeleteI haven't done that hike for a few years. I could relate to your wonderful description(s)! Made me laugh. Yes, getting down is rather treacherous, but ... faster. :-)
ReplyDeleteBeautiful! I'm glad you're taking some time for yourself.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your hike!
ReplyDeleteWhat?? Gryphen has a job?? How the hell does he gave time to keep up this blog? Crikey, get some sleep man!
ReplyDeletegreat pics gryphen, thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteWhat a super day you've had. Thanks for sharing it with us.
ReplyDeleteThe view from Hatcher Pass is just as breathtaking, but since you can drive up there, it isn't quite the workout you had.
ReplyDeleteAlaska is totally beautiful, but it has more than it's share of Xtian whackos.
Gryphen, What a beautiful view and I would love to climb this with you. Thank you for sharing your pictures.
ReplyDeleteHappy 4th! to you and your lovely daughter.
Good job Gryphen, you need to come out to the Valley and do "Lazy" Mountain and Matanuska Peak sometime. I do love FlatTop though because my life in AK began in Anchorage. I had a basset hound that love to do Flat Top and I miss hiking and hanging out in Anchorage.
ReplyDelete(And by "fly" I mean stumble over rocky outcroppings like an Alzheimer's patient, while sweating profusely, and using wildly inappropriate language.)
ReplyDeletehahahaha...Gryphen, you do have a way with words! Thanks for the view and the giggle.
I love mountains. Thanks for dragging us along. I the Great Smokies, there is a mountain names Mount LeConte and I know some hikers that carry rocks to the top to eventually make it the tallest one in the park. So, my friends might be adding to yours as well.
ReplyDeleteGryph - thanks for taking us along with you on your wonderful hike. By your words and pictures, I feel like I've really been with you, not tied to a desk in front of my computer today! XXOO
ReplyDeleteThe Palin's books should be filed under "revisionist history"...
ReplyDeleteGee, it looks steep like a goat trail. I'd never make it to the top, glad you are in great shape.
ReplyDeleteAhhhh the view, the sweat, the triumph!
ReplyDeleteSweet!
Completely off topic. I ventured to the SeaofPee out of morbid curiosity and sheer boredom. Um, wow. What a trip down the rabbit hole that was. I have no idea where they get their rock solid belief from. Their love of the Idiot Palin is only outmatched by their hatred of President Obama. And they truly, genuinely, sincerely believe she is smarter, more capable, and better suit to be POTUS. Have they not seen a single interview the woman's ever done- ever?!
ReplyDeleteAs I read through some comments, and I really did try to read through them, I kept shaking my head. The entire site has to be satire, because I cannot believe that that many ignorant people exist- I just can't.
Went to Hatcher Pass today and climbed to Gold Cord Lake with kids 2, 4 and 6. Great hike - not as treacherous as Flattop, even though it was slippery coming down in the rain.
ReplyDeleteThis is what Alaskan summers are for! Glad you had a chance to get out and hike.
Love you Gryph! Happy 4th!!
ReplyDeleteHow is a person arrogant and stupid when 1. they own up to their huge past mistakes and 2. when they say at the end 'I am not a role model" blah blah blah
ReplyDeleteWTH is wrong with you all? She's a perfect example of how stupid girls get over high school catches (I tried not to vomit writing that) It's so easy to lose yourself over a guy.
I think I found out where RAM hides out: at People of Walmart! Look who is working behind the counter:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.peopleofwalmart.com/47000
A bit OT. Remember Scarah paddling that kayak so she could have a "patriotic baby" born on July 4? And all that effort was in vain?
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday, Malia.
Thanks for sharing the sheer beauty nature has to offer. I visited Alaska ages ago and hope to one day see it again.
ReplyDeleteNothing in life grounds us more than communing with nature.
A Happy 4th to You, your Daughter, and all your readers!
Gryphen,
ReplyDeleteI am jealous. Since we have all of the fires going on here in New Mexico - we have 20 active wildfires encompassing some 500,000 acres right now, 124,000 of them just a ridge away from me - I can't get out in the mountains. Everything is closed.
Feel free to post as many such adventures as you want, for I will enjoy them vicariously.
I sure hope you had trekking poles on the way down. My knees would give out about half-way without them.
ReplyDelete