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Deborah Ascends to the Clouds

While my trusty companions were awake and on the road at the ungodly hour of 4am to catch tonight’s salmon dinner on the Kenai River, I slept in a bit and decided to conquer Skyline Ridge. Thanks to Amy, the Chevy Tahoe was waiting to chariot me out of Kenai and onto the Sterling Highway, and onward about 30 miles out of town to find the trailhead. Before I left, I got some hiking advice from Alaska homeboys Braxton and Josh, who gave me pointers on what to do if I run into any grizzly bears or (gulp!) moose. Let me insert the fact that my mother has been worried sick about my solo hike, certain that I will encounter and subsequently be mauled by these magnificent beasts. It is true that I have zero experience with these types of confrontations, and mom’s well-meaning but periodic pleadings not to go sorta freaked me out. Nonetheless, I went. There were no other cars at the trailhead, meaning I was the only one around. Crap. The clouds were covering the peak, but I decided to hike it anyway. It is a steep ascent to the top; 600 m over 1.2 km = 50% grade!

I honestly was a little paranoid about being stampeded, but made sure to clap my hands and make weird noises on my way up. I felt like a crazy person. Luckily, there was not a soul in sight, and the scariest thing I saw was a woodpecker. When I reached the top, all muddy and sweaty, the visibility was only about 10 m.

I walked for a bit longer, but it started raining, and I lost my nerve so I headed down… mostly scooting on my ass since it was so steep and slippery. Heading back to the car, I stumbled upon a few humans, including one who was carrying a shotgun.

I eventually found my way back to Amy’s to greet my awesome friends and hear fun stories about their day on the boat. Now it’s time for us all to take a nap and prepare for tonight’s festivities!