First Week in Sitka, Mt. Verstovia

When I first arrived in Sitka I was met by Steph, her dad Louise, and his friend Adam. Louise and Adam had flown to Sitka from Seattle to see Steph and dip their hands in the cookie jar of fishing that is prevelant amongst south east Alaskan towns such as Sitka. Amongst the tales of bear encounters, kayaking, and fishing I managed to talk Louise into doing a steep hike with me up Mt. Verstovia.



Louise is a great guy, in good shape for a man his age, and eagerly joined me up Mt. Verstovia.

One of the first hikes I did here, and certainly no pushover. Mt. Verstovia can be summed up in two parts: 1) The first 2,550 ft to a pleasant overlook of Sitka, and 2) The saddleback and ridge, another 1,000 ft of steep ridge hiking to a rocky switch back all the way to the summit. Its a beautiful view of Sitka, and just one of the many peaks that populate the Sitka back country.

We made excellent time, putting down the first 2,500 feet in a little over an hour, and then trudged up the next 1,000 feet in about an hour. It was nice to nock a peak out in the first week of being here; it made me feel a little more connected to my surroundings.



I had a great time swilling beer with Louise up on the shoulder of Verstovia and chatting about life the rest of the way down.