Reid Delman, Gemini Adventures Race Director

Attempted 8-03-2019

Mountain Bike

38 mi – 4,767′ Gain – Cooper to Hope

Point to Point

The goal was to find a beautiful trail in the rugged state of Alaska. This is my fourth time visiting Alaska and one of the things I have found is that they don’t have many trails there. There’s so much backcountry and open land that the choices are usually take a road or go cross country. With a bit of google searching I found an amazing trail, Resurrection Pass. Just south of Anchorage, this trail is 38 miles of single track that runs from Cooper Landing to Hope.

The plan was to make it a really fun and challenging two day ride. Ride from Cooper Landing to Hope the first day, then spend the night in Hope and ride back the next day. Our trip didn’t go as planned due to a random injury but we did see 15 miles and it was incredible up to that point!

My tips are to be sure to reserve a place in Hope early in the season because there are only three places to stay and they do fill up during peak season. It’s best to get groceries before Cooper Landing for the start. In Hope, groceries are hard to come by but there are restaurants and usually live music at night and we had a great time there. The trails can be extremely overgrown and if you go in the heat of the summer you may have to push your bike through the thick brush. Be sure to bring a bear bell and make noise as you push your way through, you don’t want to surprise a bear. This one is a true adventure.