Flattop Mountain Hike

Flattop Mountain hike, located in Chugach State Park at the outskirts of Anchorage, is a 3 mile round trip hike that gains 1300 quad busting feet of elevation on the way to a spectacular summit view of downtown Anchorage, the Cook Inlet and Knik Arm. This hike is not for the faint of heart. A reviewer on Trip Advisor sums up the hike thusly, “much harder than it seems”, and I agree 100%. 3 miles…1300 feet…should be no problem. I think our late start contributed to the fatigue given we were under the baking sun the entire hike, in the middle of the day, on a hot summer day.

View of Anchorage from Flattop Mountain on a hazy day

View of Anchorage and the Alaska Range across the Inlet from Flattop Mountain Trail

Looking back at the trail near Saddle One

The first 1/2 of the trail is straightforward, ascending at a moderate clip on well maintained surfaces. The next 1/4 is all up, mainly via numerous sets of very steep stairs. At this point you’ve reached the second saddle and are rewarded with views in all directions. Many people end their hike at this point, and I would also if hiking this trail again.

One of the numerous sets of stairs between the first and second saddle

Another example of the steps

A view of the Chugach Mountains from the step section of the trail

The final 1/4 is less trail and more scrambling using any route that seems viable. The #1 impediment is loose scree on very steep slopes, which is more of a problem coming down. The lines of people scrambling all over the place reminded me of hiking Longs Peak. I should point out that exposure is minimal here, so completely losing it would likely not result in severe injury. The top is flat, as is expected given the name of the hike. To be honest, the views are not markedly better from the top as they are from the saddle, which requires no slipping and sliding to reach.

Flattop Mountain Trail is heavily used, though many people turn around at one of the two saddles. A line of hikers is visible on the trail below

Mike scrambles up Flattop Mountain

There was quite a bit of loose scree on the scramble section

Looking up at the final scramble section

Karla made friends on the way up with a couple of local girls who were picking wild berries. The berry that was currently ripe is not one we were familiar with: the crowberry. They girls offered up a sample and Karla reported it was very tasty. I declined to try one, saying to Karla, “strange girls walking on trails distributing berries is no basis for edible flora.”