Shifting Gears: Snapshot of Bozeman, MT

Since racing Superior 50k in the middle of May, I had slowly dug myself into a rut mentally. I was still training hard and loving every second of it, but other parts of life had me down. Mainly, the daily office grind and lack of movement had me on a one way quest to seek an adventure and change of pace. Together, my wife and I decided to load the car, 8 month old retriever puppy in tow, and point it west to Bozeman, Montana for a week of camping in the mountains. The plan was to relax, hike, fly fish and of course, she was also gracious enough to grant me plenty of time to run in the mountains on a daily basis, which I capitalized on. As a family, we had a great time exploring the area and our puppy, Jameson, constantly impressed us (surviving paddle boarding, a concert, 4th of July, and 16+ hrs in the car each direction!). For the majority of the trip, we stayed in Hyalite Canyon, just outside of Bozeman. This canyon is recreational paradise and a few short minutes from town. Overall, it is amazing what fresh air, rushing rivers, and mountains can do to a soul in one weeks time! If you ever find yourself in Bozeman, this running recap may help you find some awesome trails!

Sunday June 30th - Drove to the far side of Hyalite Reservoir and ran for 1:05:00 to stretch the legs out. The best part of the day was leaving with my hydration pack and no shirt, expecting to run the same trail for the entire hour (up to Palisade Falls). Well, the joke was on me (silly tourist), because I climbed 0.6 miles on asphalt to the end of the trail (and a spectacular view of the falls) to gaze for 2 minutes, before descending and finding another option! I ended up running service roads to the East Fork of Hyalite Creek trail, which was super buffed single track and amazing to run. Overall, I climbed just over 2800ft and did a round trip of 9 miles, ending the day with 5600ft in the bank.



Wildflowers near Mt. Baldy

Monday July 1st- Woke up early to check out Fairy Lake, which happens to be the start of the Ridge Run. Wow, I felt like Travis Pastrana ripping through forest gravel with my mother in-laws Jeep! After an eventful drive, we got out with our wired puppy to explore the lake and take in the views. Upon looking at how remote the trail was (and only having a slight clue of the route to Bozeman via ridge), I elected to start at the "M" and climb the ridge from there for 2.5 hrs. This was a beastly decision at 11:45 am with temps already in the high 80's. My flat-land legs were ground to reality just past the "M" as I sucked water ravenously and wondered when the switchbacks would end and/or level out. At a little more than 4 miles I was only 45 mins committed and thought better of my plan to run 4.5 hrs in mid-day heat! After climbing two peaks, I stopped for a bit to take in the views.

The wildflowers were spectacular and plentiful on the route. I noted how spectacular and challenging the terrain was before turning back after 1.5 hrs. The thought that the descent would be easier was soon erased from my memory as I hobbled and struggled to stretch out on grades that varied from 25% to 50%. To think this would be the end of my 20 mile race come August made me smile and realize I was in for a real challenge! I ended the day with over 7900ft of vertical in 7 miles, with a time of 2:38:15. I was glad I didn't shoot for 4.5 hrs as it would have trashed the remainder of my week in Bozeman!

Tuesday July 2nd - Ahhh, the glorified long run day! I started my quest for 3.5hrs at 6:30 in the morning off the East Fork Trail on the far side of the reservoir. I couldn't resist completing this trail as it was so glorious on Sunday! I started slow and tentatively as my legs were plenty trashed from Monday's throw down, alternating between running and speed hiking up switch backs. I made it to and around the lake (5 miles in) within 50 mins which was a pleasant surprise and a touch ahead of my personal goal. I took in the views and enjoyed the solitude, watching trout rise early to the quiet sound of a creek. I didn't see a soul the entire morning! After a touch of food, I started a quick descent which was more hospitable than the day prior, with the steepest grade being around 20%.


Cheesy Early Morning Capture

At an even clip, I hit 10 miles and the conclusion of the trail at 1:26:00 with the goal of making a new plan. I still had 1.5 to 2 hrs of running left and plenty of energy. I descended the service road and approached Hyalite Reservoir for the next 30 mins, choking on dust as cars and horse trailers breezed by. Upon filling my pack, I checked out a trail bordering the creek we were camped on (Lick Creek Trail). After some exploring and additional uneventful single track, I turned it to the asphalt to churn out the remaining miles to the tent. Overall, this run was a little shorter than planned, with 19 miles total in roughly 3 hours. Vertical ascent was 2750ft and the descent was roughly 3500ft, with the majority of miles 15 - 19 straight down hill.

Wednesday July 3rd - I woke up tired and slow to the tune of a couple days of tough vertical and a few too many Moose Drool Ales. I called Wednesday a recovery day and hit the Blackmore Peak trail, tucked close to Hyalite Reservoir. I didn't know what to expect from this trail, but it happened to be pretty anticlimactic. At first, I struggled to build motivation as the trail was made up of short narrow switch backs that raised and fell with no apparent rhythm. Finally, I broke out on forest roads to stretch the legs out and shake out the lactic acid from days prior. After entering what looked like downhill single track, I fell into a nice rhythm of switch back climbs, looking over my shoulder at Hyalite Reservoir every so often. Within 2.5 miles I reached Blackmore Lake, which isn't as beautiful as the lakes tucked up on the East Fork trail...but still pretty spectacular. A bit more climbing, and I had enough for the day. I retraced my steps and ended back at the trail head in under an hour. To tack on a few extra minutes, I ran a ski trail to the reservoir where I met my wife and called it a day after 7 miles and 3000ft of total vertical.

Thursday July 4th - What gets the festivities going better than a little trail race. Mallory coaxed me into a 10 mile trail race near Big Sky at the spectacular cost of $10! The race field was pretty small and made up of mostly hard-bodied like minded folks just out for a good workout. When the gun went off, I strolled casually for about 0.25 miles before getting impatient and taking charge. I lead by 200 yard for the first 3 miles when the real race began. As we turned off a gravel road to the horse trails a volunteer chuckled and said "let the race begin!" Note to self, pay attention and heed to the locals! Soon, the vertical stacked up and I was trying to suck in every ounce of oxygen possible to no avail. I graciously hand gestured for the next eager racer to pass so I could regain composure. I was congratulating myself for great pacing while enjoying the sweeping mountain views and wildflowers along the way. After 5 miles, I was still pondering where this descent was at! Man, I was done climbing for the day and playing tag between 2nd and 3rd place. Finally, at 6.5 miles, it happened and I was ready to go. I soon found my partner for most of the race couldn't descend and I took that as my queue to make it count. For the next 2 miles I descend as recklessly as possible at a 5:20 min/mile, hopping stones and dodging trees to the best of my ability. With one mile left, I was surprised to see the first place leader and questioned whether he was just toying with me for the last mile. Soon, I learned he took a wrong turn and a gut-turning foot race ensued for the closing mile. I had nothing left and was oxygen depleted, so a 5:20 was the best I had to turn in. I took 2nd, 15 seconds off the lead. Overall, what a great day and gorgeous race this was! Mal and I enjoyed the company of others, relaxed in the sun, and cheered on the 5k runners before exploring Big Sky and fishing the Gallatin river for the rest of the day prior to heading to Bozeman for evening festivities.

Friday July 5th - It was our last day in Montana and we were slated to drive home later in the evening. I woke up early and hit the History Rock Trail (also in Hyalite Canyon). More gorgeous single track gave way to sweeping meadows and great views of the valley. My goal was to run the trail to a forest fire road that was about 2.5 miles up the valley according to my rough calculations.

  I visually made note of some visual checkpoints and set off in relaxed fashion with the mindset of enjoying my last run in the mountains. The trail started easy (great warm-up) and then topped out with steep switchbacks that gave way to a spectacular view (pictured). Soon enough, I found the forest road that I was supposed to take home. Really, I should have just stuck to the single track and continued climbing, because the road wasn't that interesting. It was a fairly gradual 5.5 miles of descent, passing small creeks and remote campgrounds. Mostly, I was just getting tired of the thick mud lining my shoe lugs and making my travels tiresome. Upon finding the creek, I turned off the forest road for a touch to hit some mellow single track and then cool in the river. Overall, I made it another 9 mile trip with 2300ft of ascent and 2900ft of descent.

 

Summary: I came home with the realization that Bozeman is recreational paradise. I hit 3 major rivers, at least 3 major mountain ranges, and 3 different ski resorts all within little more than an hours drive (summon the flat-land depression music now). Additionally, I walked away with confidence and motivation for the rest of the trail season and upcoming Voyageur 50 mile race. I may have also sobered up a touch in regards to the Bridger Ridge Run. That race will be a full on bear, but I am looking forward to facing a new and completely different type of trail running challenge over 20 miles!

 

Stats from Bozeman: I got in 61 miles of mountain trail running with a grand total of 27,650 ft of vertical within 6 days. Upon arriving home, I topped the week off at 76 miles to cap one of my remaining weeks of training prior to Voyageur.

 

 

Coming Soon... Reports from Voyageur Trail 50, Bridger Ridge Run, and the journey to the Superior 100 mile race!