Hidden Gem.

Our adventure starts with a rather tight drive through the forest.

Battling through trees that licked all sides of the car, I couldn’t help but wonder what kind of hike I was getting myself into.

This wasn’t going to be an easy one, that much I was discovering, not one of those ordinary “walk through the woods” types.

After surviving the ambush of alders, we made a turn onto an unmarked road and made our way up up up into the mountains, rocks and potholes further adding suspense to what lie ahead.

Tucked in the heart of Cooper Landing, I first heard about about our hike, Cecil Rhodes, from my friend Shelby, whom I was driving with on this particular day. We had been in the middle of hiking Slaughter Gulch, another trail just across the way, and I remember hearing that it was harder than the one we were currently on. And the one we were on at the time was hard, very hard.

But this has been a summer of firsts for me in the hiking department: Skyline, Slaughter, China Poot Peak, Palmer Creek Trail. I felt I couldn’t let the word “hard” stop me from experiencing something potentially spectacular.

I knew it was going to be difficult, had nervously anticipated the journey for days, and after our bumbling drive up through the mountains, we finally arrived at the trailhead, an unmarked and unsuspecting clearing that led into the woods.

The trail began its ascent right at the start, and it didn’t let up until you got to the top. It was one of those toasty summer days, with temperatures rising into the seventies and as we plodded upward, one baby step at a time, a steady stream of sweat began making its way down my face.

It was a struggle, a steep steep struggle.

There were times when I stopped to catch my breath (as I felt it was literally running away from me), and thought, I don’t think I can make it. I mean, I honest to goodness believed I wasn’t going to be strong enough to get to the top, for every time I looked up, a looming peak stood proudly ahead, just out of reach.

But if this hike was easy, everyone would do it.

So I pushed on. I picked up my tired and heavy legs, whispered encouragements to my calves that were burning in exhaustion, and I hiked on, with Shelby leading the way.

And man, when I made it to the top, the view took my breath away.

(this hike as a whole took my breath away, figuratively and literally)

Standing atop crags that stood 4400 feet above Cooper Landing, I couldn’t help but allow a smile of satisfaction spread across my sweaty face.

I did it. I did it!

There was Slaughter Gulch, below. You couldn’t miss the Kenai River, the brilliant blue winding its way across the landscape and out to the Southern Peninsula. Surrounding me on all sides were magnificent mountains, and I felt that God’s creation was showcased before me, on full and brilliant display.

There’s a reason this hike isn’t in the guidebook of hikes to do in Alaska, why the route up the mountain isn’t an easy one to trek, or why there’s not a marker to the entrance to the Cecil Rhodes Trail.

It’s a hidden gem.

Despite the fact that it was the most difficult hike I’ve ever done, it was also the most rewarding. The struggle of finding the right driveway, of traveling through the bush and then having to plow straight up to the top made arriving at the peak that much more meaningful.

It’s amazing to experience places out there in the world that very few know about, that remain hidden and lie in wait for those who are adventurous and brave enough to tackle it, despite it being “hard.”

Course you gotta know the right people that can lead you to its waiting entrance (thank you Shelby!), but if you ever have the opportunity to hike something as extraordinary as Cecil, I encourage you to accept the challenge.

You won’t be disappointed.