September 29th
I landed in Anchorage about 9 pm, besides a nap on the plane I hadn’t slept in 20 hours or so. I was feeling pretty beat as I headed to the hostel I had booked, Spenard International Hostel. It was close to 10 pm and I could have easily just called it a night but that’s not how stories are made. I decided to rally, I found a bar that was fairly close and had good reviews. Unfortunately, I didn’t have much for going out clothes, I hadn’t even packed a pair of jeans. I didn’t look my cutest but it would have to do.
Chill Koot Charlies happened to be having a concert that night, Afroman. Therefore, there was a line of people out the door waiting to get in. All of a sudden I wasn’t so sure this was a good idea. All the people were making me nervous. Normally I would have been excited to see so many people waiting to get into a bar. But I had been in near isolation for 6 months. Being around this many people was giving me anxiety, I almost turned around. I decided I would make myself stay for 1 drink and then if I still felt uncomfortable I would leave.
Chill Koot Charlie’s
Unfortunately, the place was packed so I wasn’t able to sit at the bar. It feels less awkward sitting at the bar alone than sitting at a table. I awkwardly stood in the corner unsure of what to do, I wanted to strike up a conversation but with who? And how? I forgot how to do this. Everyone seemed to be in groups which makes it harder to interact, they aren’t paying attention to the other people in the room just to their group. I was enjoying people watching though, it is one of my favorite activities after all.
Since I was feeling a little less uncomfortable I decided to get another drink. As I was standing in line the guy behind me started talking to me. He was seemed very young and kinda dorky but sweet, his name was Thomas. Thomas had recently turned 21, he was there for the Afroman show with his mom.
Making New Friends
Thomas and I ended up talking for a while, he had a girlfriend but she wasn’t old enough to come to the bar yet. He was just a nice guy looking for someone other than his mother to hang out with. He introduced me to another guy named Jake, he was also newly 21 with a girlfriend at home. It was definitely an odd group to end up with but they were both super friendly and seemed like genuinely great people.
Thomas had been born in Alaska but moved around a lot, he had only just moved back to Anchorage a few months ago. Jake had lived in the lower 48 until moving to Anchorage a year previously. They both had tickets to the show but we agreed to meet up after. It’s not like I had anywhere better to be.
We met up on the dance floor once the show was over, we all danced a little then the guys kinda wandered off. Some other guy asked me to dance and before I knew it I was making out with some guy on the dance floor, story of my life.
That’s when I notice Thomas is calling me wondering where I am and if I wanted to go back to Jake’s place with them. I decide that’s probably a better idea than sleeping with this random guy I met on the dance floor. Thomas falls asleep pretty much immediately but Jake and I stay up talking until 5 am. Jake is pretty mature for his age and really smart. Jake offers me the spare bedroom but I’m tired and all my stuff is at the hostel so I just go back there.
Day 1 in Anchorage
Jake texts me pretty early in the morning given our late night, he asks if I still plan on making them breakfast. Apparently, I had offered the night before alright alright I guess I could get out of bed. I had somehow conned them into hiking Flattop with me so I suppose breakfast was more than a fair trade.
Flattop Mountain
Flattop was the one thing all the guys in Deadhorse had told me I should do while in Anchorage. They said it was an easy hike but the view from the top was incredible. Hahahahaha ok bit of advice when an Alaskan says it’s an easy hike don’t believe them. Easy to them is my idea of challenging. There are a couple of parts that are pretty steep, along with about 200 stairs three-quarters of the way in. The last hundred feet or so you more or less have to rock climb up. I was completely unprepared for this hike. I hadn’t really done any physical activity in 6 months I was in no shape to do doing something like that.
Had I know the difficulty of the hike I probably never would have attempted it though so I’m glad I hadn’t really looked it up. I would strongly recommend having a car to get to and from this trailhead. The trail is a little outside of Anchorage in what is referred to as the valley. There are no buses that go out that way and there was no cell phone reception to call for a cab. Had I gone by myself I probably would have ended up having to walk back to Anchorage or hitchhike.
About halfway up a huge bull moose came up over the hill and walked right across the path. It was the last animal on my Alaskan bucket list I was so excited! Do keep a lookout while hiking anywhere in Alaska as you really never know what might be around the corner.
Thankfully Thomas and Jake were really patient hiking partners. They pushed me to finish the hike when I really wanted to give up. I was super grateful that they pushed me, the view is definitely worth it. From the very top, you can see Anchorage off in the distance. Anchorage looks so tiny from up above, the mountains in the distance dwarf the skyscrapers, making the largest city in Alaska seem like a tiny little plip of a town. If you walk around on top you do get a really nice 360-degree view.
The trail is about 3.3 miles, taking you up 1,300 feet. The peak sits at just over 3,000 feet, it is, however, the most climbed mountain in the state. We saw lots of people on our hike, so if you do decide to go it alone you won’t be completely alone. Bring lots of water and a snack it will take about 3 hours give or take depending on how prepared you are for this type of hike.
We were all pretty pooped after our long day of activities and drinking the night before so we called it a night pretty early, I was in bed by 9.
Day 2 in Anchorage
My final day in Alaska, what was I to do? I wanted it to be memorable but there’s not a whole lot to do in Anchorage its self. There’s the Anchorage Museum but I just wasn’t feeling a Museum day. I decided to check out Tinder, after all, I hadn’t had sex in 4 or 5 months so why not go out with a bang. Besides, maybe they would have some recommendations for me. I did match with one guy who said he would be happy to meet for coffee when he got out of work and even offered to bring me to the airport. Sweet!
Earthquake Park
In 1964 Alaska experienced a 9.4 magnitude earthquake that lasted for 4 minutes. An entire neighborhood slid into the ocean, it caused unimaginable damage to the area, some of which can still be seen today at this park. The park was very peaceful and informative to walk around.
It is free to get into the park and all of the walking trails are paved. There are some benches along the path and all the paths are paved. It’s a peaceful place to read a book and learn about some of Anchorages history.
Anchorage Tinder Date
My tinder date picked me up from my hostel, not something I would normally do but we had snapchatted a bit so I knew he was who he said he was. The date itself was a little awkward he seemed very judgey about people from the east coast for some reason. All he did was talk about himself so no big loss there. He dropped me off at the airport and on my way I went!
Goodbye Anchorage
Sitting in the airport I was all of a sudden very sad. I didn’t want to leave Alaska, it felt like home. If you’re lucky every once in a while you go somewhere that immediately feels like home. It feels safe and comfortable as if you’ve known it your whole life. Alaska felt that way for me, while also being full of new adventures. I could see myself living there, making a life there. But was I really ready to have a home? No probably not I had so much wanderlust left in me. The world was calling my name I would be a fool to ignore it.
On the flight back home we flew next to the Northern Lights for nearly a half hour, it was the perfect Alaskan goodbye.
