Well, it turns out that at the exact time I was scoping my route from the boat, Tim Kelley was up on the ridge doing the loop. His report afterwards was that it is ' the most scenic hiking loop that can be reached by road in Southcentral Alaska.' That sealed it. I knew I had to do this run. It took a year to find a day with the right weather conditions (warm, sunny, late summer so the snow on top has melted), but on August 23, I rounded up Scott and Brian (my Hammer adventure race teammate) and we headed to Whittier.