Atigun, again (a Solstice hike)

Particularly attentive readers may remember that a good bit ago I took a walk through part of the Atigun River valley and it was beeee-eautiful. On the summer solstice (June 20), I decided to get ambitious and (with two other friends from the staff here) went back for the full hike to Atigun waterfalls. I'd heard it was nice and was about a 5-mile roundtrip. Luckily, it was way better than just "nice," because if that was only a 5-mile roundtrip, let me just say that tundra walking IS NOT EASY. For those who have not had the pleasure: the tundra may look flat from a distance, but up close, it is littered with hard knobs of vegetation called tussocks that rise up to a foot out of the general spongy, bogginess of the ground around them. Like a grassy mogul field that's actively trying to twist your ankles and exhaust you. And then come  the mosquitoes. But all that said, this hike was totally worth it!

The day was cool and overcast, which ended up being perfect considering the effort of the walking.

The wildflowers were just stunning...

And the clouds gave great atmosphere to the mountain ridge.

I LOVE this lichen that looks like someone painted white roses on  this rock.

The macro scenery also got more and more and more beautiful as we walked...

And walked...

And walked....

Probably we would have gotten there faster if I hadn't kept dropping to the ground to photograph the way the tundra, at foot-level, is its own kind of forest. Just amazing.

Finally, eventually, we found the falls.

And they were lovely. The pictures don't do it justice. This crazy dramatic rock formation has water just pouring out of a hole it has carved in its downhill journey. I'm realizing I should have put in a picture with a person  for scale. This rock is TALL and IMPOSING (I promise).

When our gazes were sated, we turned back around to face the walk back to the truck. I'm not gonna lie: My heart sank a little as I was already pooped. But obviously we did make it back, since I'm here telling you about it. The tundra beauty pulled us through.