Getting Steep

Day 2 At Hatcher Pass

Jul 31, 2026

streaked with lingering snow and patches of green tundra frame a broad U-shaped valley. In the lower right, a lone hiker in a green jacket with a small pack stands on a rounded rock outcrop, back to the camera, looking out over the valley. Below and beyond lie talus slopes, snowfields, a small blue-green tarn, a braided creek, and a dirt road winding along the far right toward peaks fading into low cloud. Early-summer conditions, snow still held in the shaded gullies. — Another fabulous day hiking with Cassidy

I woke up after my first night in Hatcher, somewhat well-rested. I don’t know… I don’t really sleep much. Someday that’s going to catch up to me, right? The night before was kind of perfect: a relaxing walk with Cassidy and Astra in the mountains, lots of wildflowers to photograph, a fantastic sunset. Then I unzipped the tent to this.

A panoramic view of a rocky alpine valley under a bright blue sky scattered with thin white cloud. At left, a dark rock buttress rises steeply above slopes of grey scree. A jagged line of pinnacled peaks runs across the middle distance, small snow patches held in the shaded couloirs, green vegetation climbing the lower slopes. The foreground is a green tundra valley floor strewn with grey boulders, a calm, green-tinted creek curving through the center of the frame. Full summer light, most of the snow gone. — The view from outside my tent | Prints and Wall Art

I ate a minimal breakfast. Most of this trip I had been struggling with a lack of appetite, something that has been happening with me hiking and backpacking the last few years. I don’t know quite how to describe the feeling. Something like: a feeling close to melancholy, but at the same time relaxed and calm. It might have something to do with my brain calming down a bit when outdoors. Regardless, I snacked on some granola and cashews before the group left to climb for the morning.

Nootka lupines at our river crossing. Flower info coming soon in my Alaska Wildflower Guide.

We made the team figure out how to navigate to their boulders for the day

Pincushion plant (*Diapensia obovata*) holding onto the side of a boulder in the Archangel Valley | Prints and Wall Art

It was a short walk beyond Archangel Creek to their first climb, Captain Jack, a V4. The ‘kids’ went through the pre-climb routine that they’ve been doing for years before getting on the rock. I’m glad we’ve spent so much time stressing the importance of warming up properly for injury prevention. It’s something I don’t see many other climbers doing while I’ve been working at the climbing gym

Alli, Lacey, and Jules doing arm circles

A woman sits cross-legged on a moss- and lichen-covered boulder, smiling at the camera, wearing a dark red patterned sweater, olive pants, and a red and white cap. Behind her, large lichen-spotted boulders pile up a slope that rises to a sharp grey peak streaked with small snow patches, under a blue sky with white cloud. — Chenoa relaxing on a vegetated boulder while the kids do pre-climb

A climber with long dark hair, seen from behind in a brown shirt and grey pants, moves up the steep face of a tall grey boulder. Below, two spotters stand with arms raised: one in a green hoodie and jeans, one in a dark red patterned sweater and cap. Thick bouldering pads with geometric patterns cover the landing. A small white dog watches from the rocks at left. Boulderfield and sunlit tundra stretch behind. — Elliott sending Captain Jack while Alli and Chenoa spotting

Close view of a young climber partway up a grey granite face, gripping a high edge with a chalked hand, her eyes fixed upward past it. She wears a light tank top and dark pants, hair pulled back in a loose braid. The rock fills the right of the frame, textured with white lichen. The background falls away soft and dark. — Alli focused on Captain Jack

A girl in sunglasses and a colorful shirt sits on a lichen-covered rock with her knees up, laughing as she wraps an arm around a white dog lying across her lap, the dog's mouth open in a wide pant that reads as a grin, tail mid-wag. Behind them, grey talus and a green-sloped peak rise under an overcast-bright sky. — Jules and Nala taking a break

A teenage boy in a blue t-shirt, green pants, and a tan cap presses down with both hands on the rounded top edge of a tall boulder, one foot smeared high on the face as he climbs over the lip, looking down at the rock. Behind him, a green mountainside with a thin waterfall gully rises to the left under a blue sky with bright cumulus. — Sam topping out Captain Jack

After an hour or so, the group moved up the hill a little to try another route that we had gotten on last year. It was nice hanging out in the sun. I snacked some more and took more photos of the kids climbing for a while. There was some sadness in the back of my chest that I wasn’t climbing, even though I simultaneously didn’t really want to climb.

Shot from above: a girl in a purple shirt and dark leggings climbs the underside of a steeply overhanging boulder, body nearly horizontal, both feet hooked on a rail above her hands, smiling mid-move. Orange and patterned bouldering pads are stacked on the ground below. A spotter in a dark red sweater stands to the right watching. — Lacey on Seasons in the Mist, V5

A woman sits on a rock with a small notebook open on her knee, pen in hand, looking up at the camera from under the hood of a pale green sun hoody. Yellow-patterned socks show above trail shoes. Beside her on the rock sit a phone and a Hatcher Pass bouldering guidebook. Behind her, a boulder-strewn green valley rises to dark ridgelines holding streaks of snow. — Cassidy writing while the group climbs

Shot from above: a girl in a blue tank top and shorts climbs the underside of an overhanging boulder, one arm reaching high to a small edge, one heel hooked on the rock near her hands, long braid hanging as she looks up at her target hold. Orange and dark-patterned crash pads cover the ground below, with a spotter's hand visible at the frame's right edge. — Jules on Seasons in the Mist

Cassidy and I had plans to hike, though. No what or where yet, just somewhere in the area. While they climbed, I spent some time on the GPS looking for something interesting nearby. We chatted for a bit and decided to explore uphill from where the group was climbing. From the USGS topo, it looked like there might be a pass we could use to cross over and drop into the adjacent Fairangel Valley, which could make for an interesting loop back to camp.

We planned with the group to possibly meet up in Fairangel Valley, where there were some climbs near where Cassidy and I had walked the previous night. We said goodbye and started up the talus slope.

Cassidy led the way. It was steep. Way steeper than it looked from below. Half the time it felt as if I was looking straight up at her.

Looking up a steep slope of green brush and tundra toward a hiker in a pale green sun hoody and dark pants, who pauses mid-climb to wave down at the camera. Above her, a dark crag of fractured rock rises against a blue sky with bright white clouds. The angle of the shot makes the hillside fill the lower half of the frame. — Thankfully, there were bushes to grab along the way

Passing some old mines and mining equipment, we made a detour to scramble up into a rocky slab side valley. We didn’t get too far up before deciding the risk wasn’t worth the reward and continued up the talus sidehill a little further. It wasn’t long before we found a more agreeable path with less mangling potential.

A rusted piece of old mining machinery, roughly the size of an engine block with a rounded tank on its side, sits abandoned among grey talus. Behind it, a boulder slope rises to a sharp dark peak flanked by snow-filled gullies under a blue sky. Weathered timbers and scattered iron lie among the rocks nearby. — Some kind of diesel engine, I think

Close-up of three small magenta-pink primrose flowers with notched petals and yellow-orange centers, growing low among green toothed leaves. Around them, the tundra mat is a mix of tiny green leaves, russet moss, and the dried brown remains of last season's growth. Only the flowers and nearest leaves are in focus. — Wedge-leaf Primrose (*Primula cuneifolia*) - a new flower for me. Article forthcoming for my Alaska Wildflower Guide

A smiling hiker in a pale green sun hoody climbs directly toward the camera across lichen-covered rock, a black pack on her shoulders and a canister of bear spray clipped at her chest, small tattoos visible on both forearms. Behind and below her, a broad green valley floor winds between dark, snow-streaked ridgelines under a sky of broken cloud. — Climbing madness. Clouds building to the east behind Cassidy.

I had some concern for the clouds that were building over the mountains to the north and east. It looked dark in places, darker than a shower. The forecast had showers later in the day, but maybe they’d be coming early.

A hiker in a teal cap, pale green hoody, and dark pants climbs away from the camera up a rib of large angular boulders, one hand down for balance. Ahead, tiers of fractured grey cliffs rise toward the skyline, and a snow-holding peak stands at far left under a blue sky with rows of white cloud. — This was our less steep option. The mountain in the back is The Pinnacle.

We stopped to talk before going the last bit. Partially wondering if we were just going to hit a false ‘summit’ that keeps going, or maybe the terrain would just drop off a cliff. We had no idea. Cassidy led us over. Pardon my language in the video below, but I was out of breath, and the view was…

Looking down into a high mountain valley from the pass. Rows of jagged grey peaks recede into the distance under a heavy, overcast sky, their gullies streaked with snow. A green-and-scree valley floor curves below, holding a small blue-green tarn near a large snowfield. One hillside catches a band of sunlight through the cloud, glowing green against the surrounding grey. — Our view at the top of the Fairangel Valley | Prints and Wall Art

Yellow Ross' avens flowers with five rounded petals bloom from a mat of feathery green leaves on a steep rock slope in the left foreground. Beyond them, the view drops into a high bowl of snow-covered talus ringed by dark pyramid peaks streaked with snow, under a sky of mixed blue and cloud. The flowers are sharp; the mountains soft behind. — Ross' Avens (*Geum rossi*) at the pass

A hiker sits on the tundra at the edge of a pass, seen from behind in a pale green hoody and teal cap, holding up a phone to photograph the view. Her black pack with pink accents lies beside her. Below and beyond, a wall of jagged grey peaks rises above a valley holding long snowfields, a small tarn just visible far below, under a heavy overcast sky. — Cassidy taking photos while we rest at the pass

We had a decision to make, whether to attempt the descent that we knew nothing about and complete a loop, or to turn back the way we came. The sky told us that rain was inevitable. It would suck to get halfway down and need to climb back up in the rain. We stopped to rest anyway, so I scouted ahead to a small ledge to get a better view of what was beneath us.

We regrouped and talked it over. The pull of adventure into something new was outweighing the hesitation in both of us. So we went for it.

A lone hiker in a green jacket stands on a rock outcrop between two patches of old snow, back to the camera, looking down the length of a mountain valley. Green and grey slopes fall away toward a braided creek and a distant road, and ridgeline after ridgeline of dark, snow-streaked peaks recede under low grey cloud, rain hazing the farthest ranges. — Rain rolls in over the Archangel and Fairangel Valleys

A phone selfie taken mid-descent: a woman in a black beanie and green rain jacket looks into the camera with a flat, determined expression, filling the lower right of the frame. Behind and above her, a man in a grey jacket, cap, and orange pack picks his way down a gully of wet grey rock under a flat white sky. — Cassidy’s selfie with me behind

A hiker in a green rain jacket, black beanie, and black pack descends a slope of tundra and scattered boulders away from the camera. Far below, a small blue-green pond sits at the base of the valley, and the wall of peaks beyond rises dark and snow-streaked into overcast light. — Halfway down or so. The pond we visited the day before visible below.

A hiker in a green jacket pauses on an open tundra slope, looking out over a broad green valley threaded by a creek and a dirt road. Across the valley, a massive pyramid peak stands wrapped in low cloud among a chain of darker summits, rain greying the air over the farthest ridges. The tundra in the foreground is a mix of russet and green, dotted with small white flowers. — Almost down to the talus slopes

The rain became heavy when we hit the talus field below. The rock was slick, and navigation was tricky as the blocks were enormous and moss-covered. Eventually, we decided to try to sit it out for a bit. I’m not sure how long we stayed under the rock talking about all sorts of things, including the giant bolted boulder just up the snow from us

The rain tricked us. It let up a bit and looked like it was clearing. But we waited too long, and the downpour restarted. It was time to leave our shelter. I didn’t take any more photos for the rest of the day because I had to throw my camera in my pack, and it was raining too hard to use my phone.

Once out of the talus, we were able to return roughly on the path we had taken the day before. When we made it back to camp, the rest of the group was there, pads under the rainfly as they were trying to set up a second fly.

We both changed and dried off before the group got together to make dinner and play games under a tarp.

It was only about a 2.5-mile hike, with 1500 feet of elevation gain in the first mile. But the whole thing took us about 4 hours. We never knew what we were doing or where we were going, and it turned out to be one of the best day hikes I've ever done.

Field notes from the north

Discussion about this post

Ready for more?