It's the Climb

So for our Labor Day activity we decided to go for a hike. This is the typical Anchorage hike that everyone has to do, and I did not expect it to be this intense! I didn't get to take as many pictures as I expected to because I needed my hands to climb up the side of a mountain. SERIOUSLY. It led to some breathtaking views though, that's for sure.

Here's the crew! From left: Marissa, fellow NSEer from New Mexico; Cheyenne, lifelong Anchorage resident and our hiking guide for the day; and Gabrielle, fellow NSEer from Wisconsin.

Trust me, only the beginning of the hike looked like this. The rest was straight up a mountainside.

The ocean!!!

*wondering what's taking us Lower 48ers so long to hike this*

You can barely see it, but there is an American flag on the very top there and that's what we hiked to. The very steep side you're looking at is what we climbed.

Look at that pro photo stance.

We saw a sign about staying on the trails to protect this pretty plant.

Yeah there were stairs for some of the hike, but they looked like this...

Look at that view! I can see Russia from here!!! (That was a joke.)

This mountain is called Sleeping Lady. I don't know about you, but it makes me think of Te Fiti.

My inappropriate shoes for the level of activity.

Almost to the top! Took a break to get some glamour shots.

"Hey look! There's all of my energy, I left it at the bottom of the mountain."

*totally not posed casual drinking from water bottle shot*

Yup. That. That is what we climbed to.

It was at this moment that I realized I had no idea what I had signed up for.

But it all turned out fine because after a strenuous climb over some boulders (which I did not photograph because I needed all four limbs to get up) we made it to the top!!! Shoutout to us for not tumbling down the mountain!

Check out that flag. She's a beauty.

I almost lost my hat because it was so windy at the top.

In conclusion, even though my legs and knees hurt for two days after this, it was so worth it!!! One more thing checked off the Alaska bucket list.