Heitman Mt.

Date Hiked: 13 October 2023

Distance: 3.88 miles

Elevation: 2,275 ft

Difficulty: Hard

Features: Summit, open meadow, views of the Bay of Chiniak, steep and exposed final ascent.

Description: There are two trails to summit Heitman Mt. My good friend, visiting from another Alaska town, and I were in a time crunch, so we hiked the steeper trail. The trailhead for the shorter, steeper, hike is farther down the road towards Pasagshak. It was a beautiful hike, but many little false peaks tricked me, so don’t be fooled! The best part was the final steep ascent to the summit. There we climbed up the exposed east facing shale slope, with wind whipping all around us. It was dramatic and beautiful. The summit is mostly a round flat area where we hung out for a bit. Pretty 360 views of the mountains and water.

While I have not hiked it, the longer trail is popular and is said to be quite enjoyable. It takes you past Heitman Lake, up a gentle ridgeline, with a summit push from on the west f ace of Heitman Mt. Apparently, the lake is beautiful and the views of surrounding mountains up the ridgeline are great.