Hopeful in Alaska

Some Alaskans say that summer begins when the first blooms blossom on fireweed and ends when the ones at the top blossom.  Given our cooler than normal temperatures this summer, we can always hope summer will begin and where else but Hope, Alaska can one find more hope.  This past weekend, Bryant and I made our way to this off the beaten path old mining town to bike some of the trails and camp out at the Seaview RV and Tent Park.  

We waited until the 11th hour to go because the weather forecast was iffy and neither of us wanted to spend the weekend camping or biking in the rain.  We hoped for the best and finally made the decision to go.  Under grey skies, we biked to the Ressurection Pass trail to the intersection of Devil's Pass and then turned around. The trail continues to Cooper Landing, but we didn't want to worry about shuttling a vehicle so we came back.   

On Sunday, we biked the Gull Rock trail located a mile north of Hope. Along the way, I did my fair share of hoping.  I was hoping my trailside chain fix held, that the trail would improve as we rode on to the turnaround point, and that the scree slope was stable as I made my way across.  My 42 hours in Hope, AK must have refilled the hope bucket because all my hopes came true.

When we made our way back to Hope, the sun was even peaking through the clouds.  There is hope after all that it is summer here.  







 For more pictures:  I'm working on a Picasa Album