Overview
One of the two most popular hiking trails in the Ketchikan area, the foremost being Deer Mountain south of town. This climb offers pretty ocean and mountain overviews on a fun, scrambly ridgeline. The probability to see mountain goats is high
Getting There
From the Tongass Highway, take Revilla Road north east towards Ward Lake past the turnoff to Ward Lake and continue until the asphalt turns to gravel. You will see a bullet riddled barely legible sign for Brown Mountain Road from the main road, at which point you should starting looking right - a steep uphill gravel road veers to the right (south?) before Harriet Turner Creek - this is Brown Mountain Road. This sheer mountain road switches back several times and climbs a decent amount until the trail ends at a turnaround at the trailhead. On the main approach road, if you hit a yellow gate, you have gone too far and will need to backtrack towards Ward Lake a few miles.
Route
Self explanatory - there is a series of wooden steps (*the mountain geek in me counted approximately 715 of these steps of varying length, including ups and downs, upon second climb) leading up from the TH and you follow the ridgeline the entire way to the summit. 1500' of elevation gain from the parking lot to the top, and the TH sign states it's a 2hr one way trip, so plan accordingly. There were several steep sections, which in summer months are slick due to rains / mud. Recommend sturdy boots and trekking poles if you've got them (Chacos, while physically cool on the feet, were not an ideal choice in late July). Class 3 tops - difficulty more to do with slippery footing than anything else
Red Tape
It's Alaska - does red tape exist in this state? No parking passes needed to my knowledge - watch for hunters starting Aug 1 as this is a popular hunting area, though a special draw is required and you won't have a ton of hunters to contend with as a result
When to Climb
Sounds like this can be done year round - there are several steep drop off points later in the climb that look prone to avalanche potential if snow loaded. Also, it would take a lot to get back to this area in winter based on the roads not being maintained, so maybe aim for summer.
Camping
Unsure about the rules on this one, though there were several small fire pits noted along the way up
External Links
Ketchikan Area Hikes
Page Type:
Lat/Lon:
County:
Activities:
Season:
