Sharatin Mt.

Date Hiked: 7 October 2023

Distance: 9.45 miles

Elevation: 3,460 ft

Difficulty: Hard

Features: Rivers, waterfalls, open meadow, dramatic landscapes, colorful lake, cliffs, forest, gentle peak

Description: This hike was amazing and remains one of my favorite hikes on Kodiak, maybe ever. There are two trailheads, one just a ways after the Pyramid Mt. trail head and one at the end of Anton Larsen Rd. We parked one car at each trailhead, hiked up the steep face, and down the backside to the other car. The journey up was gorgeous, with stunning views of the inland mountains and valley-like area that we climbed up. Shelly Lake is one of the most stunning lakes I have seen, with every shade of blue in the basin of two small peaks, overlooking the ocean.

Careful, we got lost at the summit when we ascended into the clouds. The summit was entirely gently sloping shale with sudden cliffs, so the trail is not apparent. We walked in circles at the top for about a mile, stumbled across the foundations of some weird buildings, but eventually found our way down. After climbing up the steep face, spending time looking for a way down from the summit in the clouds, we descended the sloping backside. There were some deer, and we crossed a shallow river, sat and enjoyed the view, and enjoyed hiking through a magical forest at the end.