Matt and I have discussed going for a hike on one of our Friday's off, but for one reason or another, it hasn't ever happened. So when he threw it out as a suggestion the other day, I was on board for getting a hike in before winter settles in! Plus the autumn foliage is gorgeous and I thought I could get some really pretty photos on the hike up.

See what I mean? Everything is already turning red and yellow from it's previous bright green! But wait... what's that white stuff in the background?!?

Snow?!? Well I guess we weren't paying enough attention to the fact that it dumped several inches on the Chugach Range the day before we decided hiking was a good idea! I'm mostly kidding - we knew there was snow, we just underestimated how much there would be and didn't think to pack our ice grippers for the hike.

We are *those* people... Sigh.

But apart from the snow, it was a good day for a hike. The air was cool, but not too cold and it was nice and sunny. We'll take it - it's still a great day by Alaskan standards!

The hike up wasn't as strenuous as I was worried it was going to be, but when we got to this sign, I still got a little concerned. I have heard multiple people talking about what a scramble it was to get to the top and we were already slipping and sliding a little bit up to this point...

But we carried on! Matt is going on a hunting trip next month and he was testing out his pack options on our hike. I liked that because it meant I only had to carry my camera while he carried my multiple layers in case it got too cold. :)

We made it to the top! It was a little sketchy at the end, but doable! Probably a bit more fun when it's not covered in snow and ice, but it was still fun!

There weren't many other people that went up to the top, but there was someone that nicely offered to take our photo. Which was nice, because you know my motto is that if there isn't a photo, it didn't happen. Ha!

Of course, the weather went from awesome to awful in the span of a few minutes once we got to the top. We already needed to hustle down to make it to daycare in time to get the boys - getting pelted by sleet made it even easier to move fast. Luckily, the nasty weather blew over us in about 10 minutes and was back to being awesome again. It was a great ending to a super fun hike up Flattop! :)

Here's hoping we'll get more hiking in next year (or just be more prepared for snow & ice on the next one!)