Hiking Mt Marathon in Seward, Alaska | Dangerous & Beautiful [S1-E28]

In the small port city of Seward, Alaska, a 4,000-foot giant towers over the town. Its name is Mount Marathon. Every year runners from around the globe flock to this charming community of 2,800 attempting to break the record of one of the most daring foot races on earth. We are here to hike the mountain following part of the racer's trail so that we can catch a Our aim today is not to break any records but rather to reach the top without breaking any bones. We have been warned by local friends to go carefully that this route is intense and dangerous for the unprepared. We also know that the views from the top are some of the most beautiful in the last frontier. Come along and find out with us just how challenging it is to take on the treacherous slopes of Mount Marathon. Today we are going to attempt something that we have been wanting to do for a while and that is the Mount Marathon trail. As you can see it is a little chilly. It's late October. We're going to go through town see beautiful Seward at this time of year and hit the trail. Seward is a coastal town located right at the end of the Seward Highway on Alaska's Kenai Peninsula. A maritime community with roots in tourism and education the city is nestled right at the head of Resurrection Bay looking out into the Kenai Fjords. No matter which way you look in Seward the Kenai Mountains dominate the horizon and one of those peaks is Mount Marathon. Rising over town the base of Mount Marathon starts right at the edge of town or rather town starts at the base of the mountain. From here we can see the racers trail where racers ascend and descend the mountain at mind-blowing speeds beginning and ending the race in the heart of downtown. There are two ways to take on Mount Marathon. The first is the jeep trail to the bench trail and then the skyline trail which brings you to the race point just under 3,000 feet in elevation. This route is challenging but it doesn't hold a candle to what the racers do. The race begins downtown then hits the mountain at the race trail at the end of Lone Canyon Road. It climbs through hazardous cliffs then a maze of muddy brush-covered ridgeline before opening up to steep rocky slopes covered in loose shale. Once at the race point racers fly down the mountain across steep scree fields a slippery chute back down the cliffs and finally to the finish line downtown. The question is which route are we going to take today? We are at the base of Mount Marathon. This is where the runners come to go up the mountain. This is actually the trail that the runners take up but there's a section right here that is supposed to be very dangerous and we want to avoid that by going to the jeep trail which bypasses this section and we're going to come up around here to start going up the mountain. That way will be a little safer and the hike will be a little more enjoyable and we still get to experience some of the most strenuous part of this hike because we also want to show you what the runners have to go through when they go up this mountain. It's no joke the lower section of the racers trail is not to be taken lightly the warnings here cannot be more clear. The jeep trail is two minutes away and a much safer way to begin the hike. There's a note here it's uh the phone numbers for the union dispatch. So this is the trail that we're gonna follow we're gonna go up here on the jeep trail and then we're gonna do the upper crossover and then we're gonna do a loop we're gonna come back down this way. It's 12 22 pm we'll see how long it takes us to do the run trip. We don't actually recommend starting the trail this late in the day granted we will get to see dusk from up there which will be incredible but it's still better to start earlier. The jeep trail leads through coastal rainforest and is an excellent place to witness this important ecoregion firsthand. Alaska's northern pacific coastal forest is a temperate rainforest a northern cousin to the temperate rainforests of the pacific northwest. This single ecoregion contains the largest area of old growth temperate rainforest in the world. One can catch just a taste of that here mountain hemlock and sitka spruce form a cathedral-like canopy above. These forests enjoy a temperate climate thanks to the influence of the ocean whose moist winds also bring heavy precipitation rates to the region. Two crossover trails connect the jeep trail to the race trail. We elect to take the upper crossover trail to ensure we don't find ourselves on a confusing or dangerous part of the lower race trail. This forest is really beautiful and the trees they are ancient and so beautiful. It's like walking in a forest of coastal giants. It's time to hit the upper crossover trail and get over to the race trail. It begins. Here is where we begin to leave the forest behind and enter the next band of vegetation creeping up the mountainside. Alder and other shrubs monopolize this area sharing space with a few thin stands of coniferous stragglers. Hikers have been charged by bears along these trails so it is vital to carry bear spray, use a bear bell, and know what to do in case of an encounter. If there is one rule to always remember it's to never ever run from a bear. Don't grab onto that. I almost grabbed it for stability. That would have been the end of today's hike. That was Devil's Club, a member of the ginseng family that is often used for medicinal purposes and within many ceremonial practices of Alaska It's getting hot so I got some layers just in time to get cold and put them back on again. My bag is heavy because I'm wearing not I'm carrying our ice cleats in case it gets icy up there. I'm also carrying our trekking poles which aren't so helpful going up but super necessary going down so got a little bit of weight but we'll make it. Okay check this out when the ground starts to freeze the upper layer just forms these cool like fibrous chunks. Oh there we go yes isn't that cool they're like uh yeah like fibers it's so cool so cool looking Hey hikers that were here in the summertime remember all that mud you were dealing with this is what it looks like now. I can't imagine doing this during the summer time when it's raining almost every single day. This section here must be super super muddy. Right now it's super solid ground it's still kind of hard to go uphill even though the ground is pretty solid right now we still have to be very careful because there's some areas where we have ice and once the sun starts hitting that ice it melts it creates a little bit of muddy slippery conditions so we still have to be careful. We were here in July to watch the mountain marathon race and we can attest that this mountain is in a much different state in the summer. The Mount Marathon race takes place in early July during Seward's Independence Day celebrations. The first organized race was held in 1915 marking it as one of the longest standing foot races in the nation's history. The story goes that the race started when two locals made a bet over drinks late one night in a downtown bar. The great question at hand was could one climb and descend the mountain in less than an hour? Well the standing record for shortest race time is 41 minutes and 26 seconds. The current downhill record meaning the fastest anyone has gone from the race point to the finish line downtown is 10 minutes. 375 runners compete in the men's race 375 in the women's race and 300 in the junior race. Starting in 2024 a non-binary division will be added for both adult and junior races. In all over 1,000 runners tackle Mount Marathon in this one single day. The scenes from the bottom of the cliffs say it all. The runners returned from the slopes of Mount Marathon covered in mud, scrapes and bruises. This race has seen serious injuries and even one casualty. This route may look manageable from below but as we are about to learn it is anything but. We are now officially on the racer's trail just before the trail leaves the tree line behind for good. It is steep and it's hard to envision managing this trail when it is slick with mud. So a big reason it's so smart to take the jeep trail instead of doing the cliffs is because the pathway along the cliffs is braided and unmarked. During the race you've got volunteers you've got markers you've got like you know which way to go but if you are all alone on the mountain like we are right now and you don't know the trail it could be really easy to get turned around and lost in a place that you really don't want to because there's a reason they call it the cliffs there's loose and falling rock and so just for an example we're above the cliffs now but we can already see there the path is braided up here as well there's a path going that way there's a path going that way so just seeing it like this makes me grateful that we did bypass that confusing part on our way up the mountain. Okay starting to get it now this is really steep starting to understand what everybody's talking about so the steepness of this mountain averages 34 degrees. Starting to get it here we go. I just learned what it's uh what it means to take the wrong route so I'm definitely not going to try and make it up this slope through the middle I'm going to try and go along the edge especially where I can grab on the roots if possible so take two here we go. It is difficult to express through footage the steepness of this trail at least here we have something to hold on to but what about above? I was starting to get worried down there that we took the wrong path but now we know we are on the right track because we made it two spirals in we are at around 700 feet right now so we have long ways to go so we gotta keep going. From here we can see the chute portion of the down trail where racers fly downhill in what is essentially a controlled free fall. This grace is steep but look at this view amazing. Already we have a bird's eye view of Seward and its strategic position at the head of Resurrection Bay. Seward's history is tied to its position as a deep water port that remains ice-free year-round. Historically this has made Seward an access point to the Alaskan interior a role it maintains today. We now leave the tall shrubs behind and approach a key part of the trail where two very important things take place. Wow okay so based upon the map we think we're about at the point where the junior races turn around and if we're right then somewhere up there not too far we should start to see where the up and down trails cross which means we're about maybe around 1500 feet up the mountain. The junior race is for runners ages 9 through 17. Junior racers follow the same route as senior racers the only difference is that the junior race turns around halfway up the mountain. This is insane I cannot imagine running down this it is so steep so slippery I just I'm trying to picture the runners coming down here it's just blowing my mind crazy. Want to do the race next year? Perhaps one of the benefits of hiking this trail rather than racing on it is the chance to stop and take this all in. Throughout season one we have learned much about the history of Alaska and the integral role played by the Alaska Railroad. Here is where it all began. In 1903 this location was chosen as the starting point for Alaska's first railway. A deep water ice-free port would be the key for connecting the maritime world to the interior. A settlement was founded that year and given the name Seward in honor of William H Seward, Lincoln's Secretary of State who negotiated Alaska's purchase from Russia in 1867. To this day it serves as an important port and transportation hub. In fact if you visit Alaska via cruise chances are you will disembark here to board the railroad to the interior. The race point awaits above at 2,974 feet. It may be the turnaround point for the race but it is not the summit of Mount Marathon. That lies dead ahead rising to 4,826 feet. It has long been said that the race point elevation is 3,022 feet but in 2017 four University of Alaska students caused a stir when their capstone project revealed that it is actually 2,974 feet. Their work included 18 months of extensive mapping and modeling that will be indispensable for both scientific and safety efforts on the mountain. We are indeed at the point where the up trail and down trail cross. Below the up trail edges along the hillside crest to the left while the down trail falls into a steep chute before meeting the cliffs below. Those cliffs have been the site of many of the race's worst injuries including broken bones, organ damage and even brain injuries. Above us the up trail inches along the ridge line where the sunlight meets shadow. Even there the route is not clearly defined braiding this way and that across unstable bedrock. The down trail is clear a bright streak to the right plummeting down the face of the mountain cross a steep scree field of unconsolidated broken rock. We know better than to attempt the down trail but we are ready to take on the up trail. The mountain averages 34 degrees which means some sections are far less steep and others far more. The steepest portions of the racer's trail reach 60 degrees. Now that we are here on these slopes we realize how dangerous a fall would be. It is difficult to find sure footing here. The path if we can even call it that alternates between unconsolidated scree and bedrock that feels anything but firm. It breaks easily and without warning and that is because of the type of rock it is. Mad scramble. We are now well above the tree line but still have quite a ways to go and it's definitely time for those poles. I guess I needed them going up the mountain after all. In the upper cretaceous so somewhere between 166 million years ago the sediments that make up mount marathon were deposited in a marine environment in thin beds one on top of the next. The sediments were fine imagine silt versus sand. Eventually they formed shale siltstone and sandstones that were then subjected to heat and pressure forcing minerals in the rock to recrystallize and lightly metamorphose. The mountains to the north and west of Seward are made of these weakly metamorphosed sedimentary rocks and they erode much easier than tough igneous rocks like granite or basalt. The slopes of mount marathon are testament to the ease with which these rocks succumb to the forces of erosion. Colossal piles of rock creep high up the mountain's flanks. It's as if we see more crumbling rock than solid bedrock. It is over this material that we slip and slide and scramble our way up the mountainside. You know you know all the specs about the mountain you see footage of the racers coming down you can see footage and photos of the racers up here but it's it's nothing like being here it's treacherous this is like serious deal you can't fall here it's beautiful but yeah. We now understand why the mount marathon race is considered one of the toughest 5ks on the planet. The race itself is only 3.1 miles long but distance means nothing here. We cannot imagine completing the entire race trail in less than 2.5 hours which is the cutoff time for an official finish. We can however imagine the runner's satisfaction when they reach the race point. All of Resurrection Bay stretches before us with a glimpse of the Gulf of Alaska beyond. In the 1700s Russian sailors took refuge in the bay during a brutal spring storm in the Gulf of Alaska. The storm subsided on Easter Sunday and the bay and nearby river were named in celebration. Resurrection River fans out to form a delta where it reaches Resurrection Bay. The reach of its mud flats ebb and flow with the tides. In June these flats are peppered with anglers as red sockeye salmon and a few kings run the river on their way to spawning grounds upstream. While the salmon are seasonal visitors to this place other creatures of the live in these mountains year round. An estimated 36 to 4,600 mountain goats call the Kenai Peninsula home. They can be distinguished from doll sheep by their horns and their muscular shoulder build. Sheep have light colored deeply curled horns while those of goats are dark short with only a slight curve. Mountain goats remarkable agility is partially attributed to their unique hooves which consist of two toes that move independently. Found in scattered populations throughout the range mountain goats exhibit versatile feeding habits consuming a variety of vegetation from lichens and ferns to grasses and shrubs. While they face threats from predators like bears and eagles especially in the case of the little ones their strategic behaviors such as scaling rocky slopes and staying close together during vulnerable times help them evade danger. It pains us knowing that one racer never made it home from this mountain. In 2012 Anchorage resident Michael LaMaitre was last up the mountain but determined to finish the race. He was last seen 200 feet from the race point and was expected at the finish line an hour and a half later but he never arrived. An extensive search was conducted but to this day what happened to him is still a mystery. It hit the community hard and changes were made to race rules to ensure such a mysterious occurrence could never happen again. It is a heavy and stark reminder that even so close to a town this place is vast wild and not to be underestimated. The mountains westward of the bay now cast long shadows across the delta and the mountains beyond. That is our cue it's time to be getting home. Absolutely amazing I am so happy we did this especially before the snow comes because in about a week this place is going to be covered in beautiful snow and now it's getting dark so we're gonna head back down but we're not gonna go the same way we came up. We're gonna go the skyline trail and then that turns into the bench trail and back to the jeep trail where we started. The upside of the racers trail was enough to give us a strong healthy respect for the racers route and now we return via the route recommended for recreational hikers. As if to prove a point the down trail stretches below us unbelievably steep. We cannot imagine making it from here to the center of downtown in 10 minutes. Some do take on these trails in the winter both the racers trail and the jeep bench and skyline trail. Of course ice cleats and snowshoes are required depending on the amount of snow cover. Little do we know we really did time our hike well. In two short days these mountain sides will be covered in a white blanket that will not melt until spring. The skyline trail is considerably more manageable than the racers trail but the views are equally spectacular. The skyline trail even gives us a glimpse of the marathon bowl. It's rocky alpine meadows surrounded by the jagged arms of the mountain. The fading light paints the sky with a familiar palette. We know these colors. This is the palette of the winter sky in south central Alaska and we cannot be more excited about the cold days ahead. The land sends us home with one final show lighting our way as we descend the mountain. And now it's your turn to take it in soak up this moment in the Kenai mountains and we will see you next time on Art We Dare Yet. Hey guys if you enjoy this video be sure to give us a like, subscribe to our channel, send us a comment below and for exclusive content and a behind-the-scenes view of the Art We Dare Yet journey, join us on Patreon. 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