Bear Mt. is not for the faint of heart, literally. It's STEEP, with almost 2,000 feet elevation gain from the trailhead in a Peters Creek neighborhood. About 1/4 mile from the trailhead, the mountain trail leads off to the left and begins to climb through mixed forest. The rest of the hike is straight up a gully until it reaches a bench above treeline. We stopped for lunch there as it was somewhat protected from the wind. Once atop the mountain, though, you can wander any direction and see Cook Inlet, Mt. Susitna, Mt. McKinley, Hatcher Pass, and even Bodenburg Butte in Palmer. Options for descent are to either return the same route or continue along the ridge to another trail that leads back down to the old Peters Creek trail. Since there was still a bit of snow on that route, we opted to come down a ravine in between and bushwhacked our way back to the Bear Mt. trail. It was early enough in the spring that the grass and brush didn't impede our progress too much.
Distance: Approx. 2 miles one-way to the top. Add more for exploring.
Distance: Approx. 2 miles one-way to the top. Add more for exploring.