Today we went hiking at Hatcher Pass.  The drive was about 45 minutes but the whole time you see these mountains in the distance and they keep getting closer as you drive.  The view was amazing and probably the coolest thing I've ever seen and the whole landscape looked like something from a painting.  The entire hike is all uphill and there were boulders that you could climb up on to and jump from one to the other.  The trail led to a lake that you can't see from the bottom of the mountain, only when you have climbed up to the top.  There was still snow that hadn't melted even though it was July.  The snow was in between the boulders so you couldn't tell if it was safe to walk on and sometimes you would step on it and your foot would fall into the freezing water.  It was perfect packing snow so my sisters and I built snowmen.  Walking back down the mountain was better than walking up.  The whole trip was fun and the landscape is so beautiful and I'm still having trouble believing I'm actually here.   -SH