Hike to the Summit of Sharatin Mountain

From downtown Kodiak drive southeast on W Rezanof Dr, turn onto Anton Larson Bay Rd north towards Buskin Lake. Follow Anton Larson Rd over the Red Cloud River Bridge and there will be a small turnout to park on just after the bridge. Look to your left and you will see a trail cutting through the salmonberry bushes and a slightly obscured trailhead sign (during summer) on the left side of the road. 

The salmonberry flowers (pictured) are edible, so try some out while they are around. They can be kinda sweet and tart. Pull all the peddles off and eat the center of the flower. The trail is flat for a few hundred yards, then it begins to gain elevation quickly. This short hike can pack a lot of punch. The trail to the summit is only 3.4 miles long but it gains close to 3000 feet of elevation in that short time. 

The trail is very overgrown in summer and nearly invisible in winter, but once you are on the trail it is fairly easy to identify. It is very steep and slippery in some sections. I don't usually get blisters, but on this hike I did, due to the trail heading nearly straight up in some sections. So I would recommend bringing some duck tape or moleskin. Definitely bring the trekking poles. The first 1-2 miles of the trail winds its way through thick alder bushes and tall grass. 

Once the trail finally breaks free of the treeline the views open up for miles around. You will be in a bowl with ridges nearly surrounding you. Its around this same time that the trail seems to slightly disappear and you have to rely on the old GPS and a little map study. The bowl you are in is a beautiful meadow area with flowers and a creek/pond you can use to cool off on those really hot days. 

You will see a large water fall cascading down on your left/southwest. Stay to the right of the waterfall and over the saddle. The summit of Sharatin sits to the north/right of the small saddle and is very flat on top with a small green antenna hut. Navigating by terrain association is easy and you can see the road where your car is parked, almost the entire time.

Shortly after you reach the saddle you will find snow during the winter and summer months. Although we never put our crampons on, there were some short sections they could have been useful. If it has been raining a lot, the crampons are great for the steep muddy sections of the trail. Once you push over the saddle you will make a hard right, northwest and you will begin to the see the summit. From here the summit is very flat and gradually makes its way to the highest point, which is about the size of two or three football fields at the summit. 

We got there on a clear, warm day at about 6pm. We hiked in T-shirts on the way up, but when the wind started to blow on the summit, it got pretty cold. We had to throw on jackets just to eat dinner up there. I highly recommend a down jacket for any prolonged stay on the summit. The entire hike is in the middle of mountain goat country, but we didn't see any on this day. Also while you are in the bowl before hiking over the saddle, you can see a few other smaller waterfalls from snow melt. You can also see the beautiful Alaskan mainland with its towering snow covered peaks, and the vast amount of islands dotting the Kodiak Island coastline. 

The view is breathtaking, and for being such a short and relatively easy hike, its simply amazing. After you capture some beautiful shots of Kodiak, head back down the same way you hiked up. Animal tracks are every where. On the way down we got lucky and saw four Sitka deer. Bald Eagles fly around so often we stopped pointing them out. 

We ended up camping for the night in the meadow below the summit. The grass was so soft you didn't even need a ground pad. Since its Alaska, you can camp and have a fire anywhere you feel comfortable. It was a great end to the day. Also be very bear aware, because the massive Kodiak Grizzly calls this island home. We saw plenty of bear signs along the trail. Have fun and good luck.