Thunder Mountain - Conquered!

Thunder Mountain Trail
Length: 3 miles (one way)
Elevation Gain: 2,700 feet

Graham and I set out early Monday morning, Memorial Day, before the girls were awake to take on Thunder Mountain.  It was the first hike we attempted after Graham returned to Juneau following Naval Justice School last October.  We were short on time and so only made it as far as we could that day, knowing we would return.

Most of the hike was through the forest.  About an hour and a half in, we started to get little glimpses of what would be the views from the top.

It's also the beginning of wildflower season and every once in a while we'd walk through a muskeg or meadow and be treated to color like this.  The lupine at this elevation are just beginning to flower a brilliant blue.

Can you tell how hot and sweaty we are in this picture?  The trail book describes this hike as a "steep and arduous 3 mile climb" and it is not kidding.  Truth be told, we took this picture because this hike was kicking my butt and I was ready to be done.  My legs were wobbly and it just didn't look like the trees were ever going to really break to give us a better view than what we had at that moment.

We could even spot our house!











But then we ran into two other Coasties (miraculous in and of itself because we had only run into two other people the entire time we had been out that morning) who had done this hike before and said we were probably only 15 minutes from the end and that it was so worth it.  I'm so glad we listened to them.

Snow had not quite all melted off the upper parts of the mountain.  The snow ball that Graham threw at me actually felt really good :)

At the end, the trail got very steep.  This is probably my favorite picture from the whole adventure.  The last push up.  But the perspective, just to take it all in - from the small wildflowers on the ground below us to the vast expanse of snowy mountain ranges in the distance. 

And then we made it to the ridge.  Success.  Upper portions of the Mendenhall Glacier are center of this picture.  I found some clumps of what I think are mountain goat fur on the ground and brought them back down to show the girls.

From the top of Thunder Mountain.