Mt. Roberts - Juneau, Alaska

date hiked: July 24, 2007
distance: 2.7 miles
highest elevation: 2030 feet
elevation gain: 2030 feet
time: 1 hours 10 minutes

They have a name for people like me in Alaska. I’m ashamed to admit it. There are signs describing me. I’m sure it may eventually be included in the DSM-V and there will be a medication. What’s wrong with me? I am suffering from bearanoia. It’s true. I’m terrified of bears. It’s amazing how fast you hike up a mountain when you are are suffering from an irrational fear of a big, scary monster that is capable of eating you.

The Mt. Roberts trail was actually pretty cool. I chose it because Tyler was able to ride the tram to the 1800 feet level instead of hiking and I met him at the tram station. The trail leads through a rainforest…and I became quite muddy, which was fun. I spent a lot of time trying to overcome my bear anxiety…and I think I finally managed to gain a rational perspective. Then, I enjoyed myself. I only saw one other person hiking up the trail, but once you reach the tram station it becomes a busy place. There’s a restaurant, gift shop, theater, art gallery, and raptor center. Tyler and I met up, walked around some of the trails, and bought some art. The Mt. Roberts trail continues up the mountain to its’ peak at 3019 feet, but we didn’t go all the way to the top. We explored, overlooking Juneau far below, and rode the tram down the mountain.

This entry was posted on August 7, 2007 at 12:38 pm and is filed under hikes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.