Harp Mountain to Hanging Valley Hike

Ryan taking a break on the way up Harp Mountain, looking down into Hanging Valley and the South Fork of Eagle River

Ryan overlooking Hanging Valley

Looking up Eagle River from  Eagle's Overlook

Ryan conveniently got home from Akutan on a Friday so we have the weekend to have fun and for him to re-acclimated to regular life, warm weather, and green vegetation. For his first full day home he picked a hike we've wanted to do for some time - Harp Mountain in the South Fork of Eagle River. For some extra fun (and training for our upcoming backpacking trip in Katmai), we traversed from Harp to Eagle's Overlook, then dropped down into Hanging Valley and followed the trail out. I haven't measured the distance yet, but it took us about seven hours.

The weather was absolutely perfect with the exception of a strong wind, but on the other hand that kept it from being too hot for these Alaskans. The only people we saw were during our climb up Harp - after that we didn't see a single person (partially because much of our route was off-trail). We had 360 degree views of the Chugach Range. The Alaska Range, Denali, and Foraker were also all clear, as was the far side of Cook Inlet. Such fantastic views so close to home!