Backpacking Silvis to Deer Mountain Trail

I really wanted to go on a serious hike and had my eye on the Silvis to Deer Mountain trail (the longest marked trail in Ketchikan). Friday afternoon I put my pack on my back and hopped the bus out to George Inlet. Sinkey drove Paul and me to the end of the road (the trail head). We hiked the 3 miles of switchback trail past lower Silvis to upper Silvis lake. Its a large lake in the mountains. It was getting dark by that point so we set up camp. Given that we live in a rain forest and it had just rained for a few days straight, starting a fire was going to be a challenge. Luckily Paul is an avid backpacker and was able to start a roaring one with a lot of work and some patience. When we awoke in the morning, we cleaned up camp and filled our water bottles in the lake. We then began the rest of our 15 mile hike. Once we got around Silvis Lake we climbed Northbird Peak, Ron Jones Mountain, and the ridge to Deer Mountain. It was a clear, sunny day so the views were breathtaking. The hike was very challenging involving mostly up and down hills, but when I would get tired all I had to do was look around it would energize me. By the time we got to the bottom of Deer Mountain around 10pm, we were exhausted. After some food and rest we were both feeling extremely rejuvenated. I'm looking forward to doing that hike again next season (if not this season!)

Some views from our hike: