I’m not big on selfies but I did okay with this shot getting  the clouds of mist in the photo that surrounded Flattop Mountain about a week ago when we all decided that family day should be spent high atop the city of Anchorage. The smoke from fires that were burning to the south of us had blown out and it had cooled off so we were all full of energy. The trails were lined with fireweed flowers and the color contrasts of the pink and greens were spectacular. This is the making of a great photo day with Your Photo Lady.

From down in the bowl of Anchorage, Flattop Mountain can be seen from just about everywhere and is the most famous of all the mountain peaks particularly since it is so flat on the top. Can you pick it out from this lineup?

There are several different trails to hike depending upon your skill level. Since this was my  five year old granddaughter’s first real mountain hike we chose the easier trail along the back of the mountain that is comprised of long switchbacks that zigzag their way up through the treeline.

From left to right are my hiking buddies granddaughters Sheyna 13, and Bella nearly 5, along with my daughter, Kristin. It’s a ladies day on the mountain with Anchorage far below!

We always take lots of photos. Kristin likes to use Snapchat filters and templates and is quite skilled at taking selfies.

So off we marched. It wasn’t too long before Bella became a little discouraged. She was anxious to get to the top; She was not interested in the process of climbing there. She needed some motivation to help her so as we looked ahead we told her we were climbing into the clouds and that was a goal she could see and a goal that was interesting. She didn’t know we could climb into the mist of the clouds. Now she was ready to get moving.

Without the switchbacks the mountain is very steep.

We added lots of fun and learning along the way. Sheyna tried some crowberries.

They are similar to blueberries but can get really messy and may stain your face and clothes with what looks like red grape juice.

We petted lots of puppy dogs!

We learned about fireweed and Bella had to pick numerous fireweed buds to check to see if they had a flower and seed inside.

We rested on all of the rocks and snacks were a must. After all, if you can’t see your goal it helps to eat some crackers and gummies.

Big sisters make the rocks a lot softer!

We had to stop and decorate our hair. Did you do this with dandelions when you were young?

The flowers kept very well since it was so cool and moist out that day.

We kept going, and going, and going back and forth across the back of Flattop Mountain.

We finally found the blueberries that were just about ripe. Shhhh! don’t tell anyone where this patch is. We will be back with our buckets to fill!

As we left the fireweed behind and the trees grew smaller we huddled in the mist. We had finally made it. Bella was mystified.

We were deep into the mist!

We finally made it! And it was time to sit on another rock and have more gummies. Then we went down as fast as we could.

Recommend0 recommendationsPublished in Hobbies, Travel