Compared to the Russian Lakes and Johnson Pass trails, this was a bit longer and much more varied in terrain and elevation. The elevation change was roughly ~1800 feet, and a large part of the Devils Pass trail was above treeline. Neither of Russian or Johnson have that feature, and with Russian Lakes trail in particular, you are down in the brush for most of the time, which gets a little creepy considering all the bear scat. Up in the Devils Pass things were a little less tense; nothing is going to sneak up on you.
The trail conditions were varied as well, some parts on the first third of the ride were somewhat rocky bordering on technical (probably a mile in total), with the trail becoming downright civilized in the valley leading in to Cooper Landing. The ~1800 foot gain is pretty gradual, for the most part NOT a granny-gear grind. The ending section of Devils (before meeting up with the Resurrection Pass trail) was a delight, above tree line, with good singletrack, even under some VERY wet conditions.
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| The Pass |
The Devils Pass trail meets up (ends basically) with the Resurrection Trail which runs from Cooper Landing into Hope. After meeting up, the trail gets a little more rutty, but more than makes up for any shortcomings after you pass the Swan Lake cutoff. From there to Cooper Landing the trail conditions improve consistently, until, after Juneau Lake, you are essentially riding a four-wheeler trail.
We double parked at the Bean Creek “trailhead” which is off the Slaughter Creek road, which is in turn off Bean Creek Road, right past the bridge in Cooper Landing. The trailhead itself is a wide spot in the road, where you can pull off and out of the roadway. The road itself actually continues for another mile or two and generally gets worse as you go. I’d imagine that most cars could get in and out, with one rough spot that could be a problem. There’s a nice loop at the end for parking the car if you make it. Either way, you’re shaving about five miles of the run by parking there and not at the Resurrection Pass trailhead on the Sterling Highway. (2014 edit: And if you risk the road to the end, it’s only ~1.6 miles to the Resurrection Pass trail cutoff.)
All in all, it was a great trip. I can’t say the same for the other two trails I mentioned, but I’d definitely ride this one again.