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Snowy Flattop

Matt and I wanted a chance to get outside and do something fun with Noah while he was here. We suggested either skiing or hiking and he was definitely more interested in hiking. After loading up the car with all the appropriate gear, we headed off to Flat Top!

There was a bit more snow on the ground that the last time we hiked Flat Top and because we had such a "fun" time trying to hike the top part of the trail with snow on the ground last time, we definitely had better footwear for today's hike!

It was really a gorgeous day for a hike though! After being cooped up most of the day yesterday, it was nice to get out and stretch our legs. And it turns out that Noah hadn't ever hiked a mountain before - a fact he didn't mention until after the hike. Ok, so Flat Top isn't all that much of a mountain in the grand scheme of hikes in Alaska, but it's still a better hike than he would get back home. :)

Of course, it's getting darker and darker every day, so we did have a bit of a daylight crunch to get this hike accomplished. The upside to this was that the lighting was just gorgeous. Of course I can't ever seem to capture it's full glory with the camera, especially when I am fussing with the camera settings on a hike. Oh well!

Noah was dutifully impressed with the view back toward Anchorage. I tried to get a photo of him and Anchorage, but apparently teenage boys do not cooperate when asked to look at the camera. Guess that's a fair warning for me...

Also when we got to the parking lot and were putting on gloves and hats we realized Noah didn't have either one of those. Of course, Matt and I packed extras for him, so he ended up with Matt's gloves and one of my hats. Don't worry, Noah's parents, we wouldn't let him freeze!

His favorite gear though, were the crampons. Matt bought these before his deer hunting trip on Kodiak and he loves them! I don't think he intended for this to be the pair Noah ended up with, but Noah's feet are bigger than both of our grippers and the crampons were the only pair that would work with his giant feet! I assume that means that Noah is also going to end up being a very tall guy when he stops growing. Better be nice to him now... ;)

Halfway up! We paused for a quick rest (and to eat chocolate we stole from Pawpaw) before the last climb. There was a bit of a debate on whether we should keep going or not. We were losing daylight pretty fast, but Matt was adamant it was fine. He had packed headlamps, so even if we were off on timing, we would be fine to get back down. So we continued on and up!

Noah was actually ahead of me for most of the last part of the trail. But the snow got deep toward the top and it was super hard to see the trail. He got off to the side and had to work his way back just below the summit. So I took advantage of that and bolted to the top so I could get photos of him coming up the last few feet - you might be able to tell from the photo that the "last few feet" are a little steep! :)

And he's up! He was pretty proud of himself! Don't get views like that in North Texas, do you?

Speaking of comparisons to Texas, Noah and I had a in-depth discussion on the relative sizes of the two states and how maps make Alaska look smaller when it is really several times larger than Texas. He didn't believe me at first until I showed him Texas superimposed on Alaska with both at the same scale. He was so impressed that he ended up buying on of those Texas/Alaska shirts you see in all the tourist shops. Something about "Alaska - pissing Texans off since 1959".

Ok not that *exact* one, but you get the gist!

The last time I hiked up Flat Top it was super windy and I think it was even windier today! You can see the flag blowing in the breeze - it was also super cold wind. Noah was ready to go down right away, but I insisted we had to get a few photos to prove he made it. (Plus we had to wait for Matt - the downside to bolting ahead of him.)

We had enough light to make it almost all of the way down without pulling out the headlamps, but we were hustling enough that I didn't take many photos. I did get ahead of the boys at one point, so I stopped long enough to get a photo of the city lights. Thanks to the invisible turbulent air, they all looked like they were twinkling from up here. So festive!

Back safely at the house, we resorted back to technology to keep us entertained. There were so many Wii tennis tournaments between Matt & Noah that it was like the Wii olympics in our house. I think here Noah is blaming technology for not being able to return a serve. Or he's accusing Matt of cheating - can't imagine why...

Probably because his Uncle Matt kept beating him! And Matt like to rub it in a little when he wins. I didn't get into the tournaments too much because it started to bother my shoulder after a few games, but I did manage to beat Matt. Technically that makes Aunt Jen the best player, right?? ;)

Everyone is headed back home on Tuesday. I have to admit that I was a little worried about how to keep a 13 year old boy entertained, but it wasn't stressful at all! Plus, all three of my boys were happy to have someone new to play with and I really think Noah enjoyed spending time in Alaska.

You are welcome back any time, Noah! Though I might recommend the next trip for a summer month just to get the full Alaskan experience!