Rainbow Ridge

((Let me start out by saying that I have done this backpack trip before. We found this trip in a local hiking book that was written in 2007. According to the book, the trail head was near the small pond at a bend in the highway. This pond no longer exists because a fiber optic cable was installed in 2009 and the area is completely different. We have never been able to find the trail head. This was also my wettest backpacking trip EVER where the rain stopped for only 30 minutes the entire weekend.))

Early this morning, we made a last minute decision to make our first night a backpacking night. This added about an hour more of packing, but by noon we were finally on the road. We made a quick stop in North Pole to meet Santa. We saw some of his reindeer, sat in the sleigh--just couldn't get anyone to pose for a photo with Santa. Really, I thought he was a little scary. After one more stop at the Knotty Shop, we made our way to Rainbow Ridge. The colorful ridge loomed above us, bathed in sunshine. I was excited to find out what the area looked like when it wasn't immersed in clouds.

We searched for the trail, expecting to finally find it if we looked hard enough. After about 20 minutes, we decided to blaze our own path up the twisted alder covered mountain. We crawled on our hands and knees, grasped alder branches like ropes and somehow we made it to the first shelf, drenched in sweat from the effort and warm day. Each of us had a few places where we lost our balance and were glad the alders were there to hold onto. At the shelf, the breeze felt nice. We continued on through two more large, steep alder patches when a scree slope replaced the brush. We welcomed the terrain change, but it meant that nothing would break our fall. Since Mark is considerably less athletic than Matt, Joel, and I, he had the toughest time. We joked that he needed to have five Near Death Experiences before he could get on the plane home. Alders on this trip were NDE #1.




At the top of the bowl we'd been climbing for three hours, we chose a camping spot. It was sunny, and beautiful views were in all directions. There was a constant 20mph wind that tried to pull down my tent. Strong wind means no bugs, so it was alright.



By late evening, I retreated, windburned, to the tent while the boys sat outside enjoying the scenery. They called me out to see a giant rainbow that had formed over Rainbow Ridge.



It was beautiful and almost cliche in it's appearance over that particular spot. Rainbow over Rainbow Ridge. Alaska was showing off for our visitors, for sure. I couldn't miss this, so I dragged out the sleeping bag and enjoyed a somewhat sheltered view from my nest.



Fantastic first day.