Clinging to Rock Face: Coming Up Against the Page

A rocky climb up Flattop Mountain in Anchorage, Alaska.

I knew what would happen when I agreed to hike Flattop with my sister and our aunt — since it’s happened before.

The hike up Flattop in Anchorage, Alaska began easily enough, the trail weaving upwards from the parking lot up and over the green hillside. It’s not a particularly long site in terms of distance, but it makes up for that with an elevation gain of about 1,300 ft. As…