How many Alaskans have ever heard of Lehighton?

Nobody knows for sure, but the answer is at least three.

Jessica Davis and her family were hiking North Sister Mountain, Alaska, and stumbled across a colorful painted rock labeled Lehighton on it.

“We got to the top and we knelt down to take a picture next to our dog,” said Davis, who was born and raised in Alaska. “I saw the rock in the grass at first … I had never heard of Lehighton, Pennsylvania. I think it’s really cool though, when people post pictures of rocks they find; but sometimes people will find them but not post it.”

The city of Kodiak, where Davis resides, has a population just north of 6,000 and is a very rural part of America. However, there are always outdoor activities to participate in.

“Our town put on a challenge where you have to hike seven mountains over the course of the summer,” Davis said. “Coronavirus isn’t really prevalent where we are, we’re pretty shielded from everything. But the hiking challenge was our little saving grace this summer. A lot of people on the island canceled their travel plans, we’re not doing a whole lot. We canceled our Disneyland vacation this summer. Doing this mountain challenge gave us all something to do.”

Davis, husband Joe and daughter Lilly don’t travel to the lower 48 states too often. However, they do frequently vacation to Hawaii, which Davis said is a popular travel destination of many Alaskans.

“I kept the rock,” Davis said. “I am debating on re-hiding it in another crazy, far-out place. I live on an island in the middle of nowhere. But we have all of these cool pockets of breathtaking spots all over. I also thought about saving it until we traveled somewhere - we go to Hawaii a lot. Re-hiding it on a mountain in Hawaii would be fun.”

Davis went online, looked up Lehighton, and posted on a few local Pennsylvania “rock” groups.

She said the response was positive and everyone seemed to enjoy it. She’s still on the search to find out who left the rock in Alaska.

“I thought it would be cool for the people to see how far the rock traveled and I would want to see a Kodiak rock that someone found somewhere crazy.”