< p>[#image: /photos/53db196adcd5888e145e2e7c]||||||< br>< em>< ahref="http://www.akhs.atfreeweb.com/Hikes/FlatTop.htm" target="perrin">Flattop Peak was enveloped in mist yesterday when I took this snapshot in the pouring rain. The local kids climbing down from the summit were a lot tougher than I.< p>By < ahref="/perrin-post/2007/04/new_blogger_joi">Tara Kyle < p>Day 4 of my trip to Anchorage.  Alaska's most climbed mountain, atop the 1.5-mile < ahref="http://www.localhikes.com/Hikes/Flattop_0380.asp" target="perrin">Flattop Mountain Trail in < ahref="http://www.dnr.state.ak.us/parks/units/chugach/" target="perrin">Chugach State Park, is just a 20- to 30-minute drive from downtown. You need to be moderately physically fit for this work-out; the trail is steep in sections, and dislodged rocks can be hazardous. < p>Need something lighter?  We stuck to the < ahref="http://www.romancingalaska.com/southcentral/SC_glen_alps.htm" target="perrin">Anchorage Overlook Trail, a much easier .5-mile path with plenty of nice picnic spots (and, in late summer, lots of nearby blueberries for picking).< p>The good thing about rainy days in Anchorage:  The city gets close to 20 hours of daylight in summer (tomorrow < ahref="http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/astronomy.html?n=18&month=6&year=2007&obj=sun&afl=-11&day=1" target="perrin">the sun will rise at 4:30 and set at 11:30). So, if it's raining in the afternoon, you can do your trail hiking in the evenings; it's not unusual for the sun to finally come out at 7 or 8 p.m.< p>[#image: /photos/53db196a6dec627b14a1846f]||||||< br>< em>For the fainter of heart: In bad weather, choose the Overlook Trail.< br>< br>