Walk About Guide To Alaska: The Front Range and the Anchorage Bowl (Volume Two)

Shawn Lyons, an avid hiker and hill scrambler, grew up in the Boston area, and spent his early years wandering the White Mountains. At the age of 17, he hiked the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine and at 18 hiked the Long Trail from Massachusetts to Canada. Since moving to Alaska, he has continued to hike and climb extensively. So much that after countless long hikes through innumerable valleys and over many summits, Shawn is the Acknowledged Alaska Hiking Authority. As an ultra-athlete, 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 on Halloween above the Arctic Circle. Shawn’s narratives about his hikes and races often appear in hiking and climbing publications.

Shawn Lyons, by vocation and avocation, lives a life of many parts. As a professional classical guitarist, he plays dinner music every Thursday through Saturday at Villa Nova Restaurant in Anchorage. When not playing guitar at Villa Nova, Shawn gives private guitar at the University of Alaska in Anchorage. There he also teaches Music Appreciation, English Composition, and Literature. Most know him, however, as an avid hiker and hill scrambler. So much so that after many long hikes through many a valley and over many a summit, many consider him the hiking guru of South Central Alaska. In addition, as an ultra-athlete, he has won the Iditashoe wilderness snowshoe race times, and the 100-mile Coldfoot Classic, held each year on Halloween above the Arctic Circle, three times. For many years Shawn's narratives about his hikes and races often appeared in a weekly hiking/climbing column that he writes for the Anchorage Daily News.