Dan and I both really enjoy hiking, and one of the first things we do when we get to a new location is scope out the nearby hiking opportunities. Anchorage and the surrounding area offer plenty of hikes, and we’ve taken advantage of two outstanding trails since we arrived here: Twin Peaks at Lake Eklutna and Flat Top at Glen Alps. Both of these hikes are in the half million acre Chugach State Park, the third largest state park in America. These were both hefty hikes, meaning that there was fairly serious elevation gain over fairly short distances. The twin peaks trail gained 1800 feet in elevation over 2.5 miles, and the Flat Top Hike gained 1350 feet over 1.5 miles. But the work was well worth it, as the views both on the trails, and from the tops of the peaks were unrivaled. Words like breathtaking, gorgeous, magnificent, and stunning come to mind. I have never seen as many wildflowers as I did on the Twin Peak hikes - and what made that even more fun, was being able to identify them using an illustrated pamphlet of local wildflowers. Both days we hiked were threatening rain, and it seemed we were hiking in the clouds and the mists, but I think this only added to the ambience; it seemed both mystical and ancient, like something out of Lord of the Rings or The Land that Time Forgot. Of course pictures can’t begin to capture the essence of these places, but I’ve attached some snapshots just the same!
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