Walk About Guide to Alaska, No. 3: Palmer and Hatcher Pass

Shawn Lyons is a part-time instructor of guitar at the University of Alaska in Anchorage where he also teaches English Composition and Literature. Shawn is also avid hiker and hill scrambler. Growing up in the Boston area, he spent his early years wandering in the White Mountains. At the age of 17, he hiked the entire length of the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine and, at the age of 18, hiked the Long Trail from Massachusetts to Canada. Since moving to Alaska, he has become the hiking guru of Southcentral Alaska. He is a nine-time winner of the Iditashoe wilderness snowshoe race, and three-time winner of the 100 mile Coldfoot Classic held each year above the Arctic Circle. Shawn writes a weekly hiking and climbing column for the Anchorage Daily News.