The Furlough Diaries

Aside from completing a bunch of errands around the house and being dismayed with Republicans on a daily basis, I was able to get out for several enjoyable outings during the government shutdown.

Day 1: Doug and I ran the Post Creek/Eagle Pass loop in the Missions.  After a remarkably beautiful jaunt up Post Creek, fresh snow and encroaching brush had us soaked and cold.  We made a short push toward Calowacan, but were thwarted by fresh snow and slippery conditions.  The run out was great, except someone has thrown a bunch of slash on the Eagle Pass trail.  It would be easy to re-clear the trail.  Public service day, anyone?

Doug, running down from Eagle Pass.
Doug:  "I think this looks like prime Grizzly habitat"
Brian:  "Yeah, I've seen bear tracks every time I've been up here"
Doug:  "HEY BEAR!"

Day 2: Ran the Double Dip course in 1.49.  Feeling great, even with the longish run yesterday.  I strained my lower quads running hard downhill, which would plague me for almost two weeks.

Day 3: AM - biked the Snowbowl Overlook loop.  I have been trying to go under an hour on this loop for a while, but missed it by about 5 minutes.  Next time!

Bundled up for a frosty downhill on the Overlook trail.

PM - Easy 2- hour run around Blue Mountain with Leah on a gorgeous fall afternoon.  Running with Leah is really fun.

Day 4: Cider Press in Kalispell

Day 5: Jewel Basin Hike with Leah.  We did a fairly long loop, ending with Mount Aeneas, and didn't run a single step.  It was great.  We saw several parties whose Glacier National Park plans were derailed by the government shutdown.

Day 6: The Furlough Memorial tour.  Blue Mountain, Point Six, Sheep Mountain, and University Mountain in a day.  Fantastic day.  See blog post.  The only downside was that I re-strained my left quad, and set the stage for a cold.

Not even noon and looking haggard during the Furlough Memoroal tour.

Day 7-10:  Off due to sickness.  Did a bunch of errands, cooked squash minnestroni soup, and drank endless cups of tea.  Ran a short and gorgeous North Hills loop on Friday.

Day 11:  Bike Woody Mountain from the house.  I rode up from Bonner, which, in retrospect, is impossible without trespassing for about 100 feet.  I also rode up through the West Riverside fire, which was fascinating.  The ride down to Marshall Canyon was enjoyable, and it would be worth returning sometime to run Woody Mountain from Marshall Canyon.  I re-strained my left quad, which was demoralizing.

Leah and I drove to Leavenworth.  On the way, we stopped at Lookout Pass and ran a short loop in the St. Regis Basin.  Spectacular fall colors, and did I mention, running with Leah is really fun?

Days 12-14: Leavenworth climbing with Leah.  Neither of us have been climbing much, so we just climbed a bunch of moderates.  The best day of the trip was a jaunt up the standard route on Careno Crag (10 b), followed by a trio of quality easy 5.10 pitches in the vicinity of the upper buttress.  The weather was stellar, and it was nice to get out of town.

Day 15: Not wanting to re-aggravate my strained left quad, and still feeling the after effects of the cold, I went for a moderate, gorgeous fall run in the Rattlesnake.  I ended up running Wallman/Spring/Curry/Turn and burn/Ewok in a casual 2 hours.

Bonus round:  On Saturday, Doug and I attempted a Glacier peak to East Saint Mary's Mission traverse.  We were thwarted by ice and snow on the ridgeline, which was too bad, because with a light axe and crampons, it would have been a long, engaging, and rewarding outing.  We ended up trying to bypass north Glacier and Mountaineer peaks on the east side, but were thwarted by deep snow slogging and exposure.  We ended up retracing our steps, arriving back at the trailhead over 9 hours after leaving.  I kid you not, the run down from Lucifer lake was a blast, and I would recommend Lucifer lake as a 2-5 hour run for those who enjoy steep trails and adventure.  Fortunately, we were able to hitch a ride back to our car, which saved us over 10 miles of road running.

Doug bailing in the Missions.  Lake of the Clouds and McDonald peak in the background.

Also, I am doing time trials on Sentinal, in preparation for the hill climb, if I sign up.  I went out on Thursday and tied my record of 23.45, using poles, before continuing out to University and Hellgate.  While not competitive for the podium, it would be a great challenge to try to push it under 23 minutes on Sunday.

The Furlough Memorial tour

Looking back to the valley from Point Six at high noon, about half way into the day.

I'm sure most ambitious Missoulians have schemed about logical linkups on the expansive trail network close to town.  For example, check out Bill Martin's audacious RMVQ efforts which are all major extensions of my route.  I attempted a shorter link up two years ago, but was thwarted by fatigue and total brake failure coming down Sheep Mountain.  With a faster bike and a more comprehensive knowledge of the local trails, I picked a logical link up of peaks around Missoula that could be completed in a long day.  I did as much running as possible to minimize the strain of lugging a bike uphill, and added a few additions to the shortest possible route to keep things fun, mainly climbing Butler creek, descending the Beargrass highway trail, and going over Ravine instead of returning to the valley after Point Six.  Since I am on the furlough plan, there wasn't really any good excuse not to give it a try, so I headed out at 5:08 am, headed for Blue Mountain.

The climb up Blue Mountain was fun.  As per normal, I rode up the 3.04 trail, then up the Blue Mountain road to the gate.  I kept the pace slow and just enjoyed the dark.  From the gate, I donned running shoes and ran the last few hundred vertical feet, following the old horse trail.  The sun cast a fiery red pre-dawn light on the eastern horizon as I topped out (7:20 am).  It was going to be a good day!
I ran, then rode down the Blue Mountain road and took trails down through the recreation area.  A strong inversion kept temps reasonable for most of the descent, which was key since I didn't bring many warm clothes.  By crossing the McClay bridge, I was able to keep limit the Reserve street riding to about two miles during the long slog through town.  Also, I stopped at Albertsons for donuts, coke, yogurt and a banana.

Even with the impeccable morning weather, the climb up Butler to the top of the Griz chair was the psychological low point of the day.  It is just a super long and steep grind, and I was experiencing a weird shooting pain in my left knee and calf.  But I made it, and was happy to switch to running shoes for a jaunt out to the summit of Point Six (11:50).  I rode the awesome Beargrass highway trail, then cruised down the Snowbowl road before refilling water in Grant creek.  Maybe it was the GU, or maybe it was just the beautiful day, but something switched during the climb up the Ravine trail, and I had nothing but a good time cranking away on the moderate switchbacks, and I had a huge grin on my face riding effortlessly down into Sawmill gulch.

A shadow closing in on the top of Point Six.

Quick break on top of Ravine.

I refilled water again at the base of the Woods gulch trail and started up Sheep Mountain (2:28).  I had hoped to start up about an hour earlier, but the day was proceeding flawlessly otherwise, so I was in good spirits.  This was my eighth excursion up Sheep Mountain, and I resorted to maximum efficiency tactics, biking to within about 1,000 vertical of the top of Blue point, and running from there.  Once again, I felt great on the climb, and was able to go round trip in just over four hours.  It was fun to run into Blake on his bike high on Sheep Mountain, cruising around in the snow.  He gave me some food, which saved me from bonking.  Thanks Blake!.
It was clearly going to be a dark voyage up University mountain, so I stopped in at Rattlesnake Market for a few bars and some warm water before riding out to the Hellgate canyon trail.  The sun was setting as I started up the trail (6:50), and I just settled in for a steady, dark climb to the top.  Topping out, I was greeted by a stiff east wind and the beacon casting an eerie rotating beam of light on the trees.  It was time to head home.  Not wanting to risk cramping, I took it easy coming off University, and was soon back at the bike.  A two-mile jaunt through town had me back at home (9:05), excited for beer, warm soup, and bed.

Hazy fatigue celebration on University mountain.

Thoughts:
I like my route, and everything worked out well.  As of this morning, I have no desire to do it again, but maybe some day?  Another fine link up would be to add Mount Dean Stone and eliminate Blue Mountain and/or Point six, which would necessitate more biking, but would take about 20 miles off the slog through town.


Statistics
Total elevation gain (based on topo map): 17,900 vertical feet

Total distance (best estimate):  104 miles
Trip length: 15 hours, 57 minutes, door to door
Accomplices: None

Put in/Take out:  My house

Route: Out to Blue Mountain, up and down Blue, out to Butler creek, up Butler to Point Six road, up to Point Six, down Beargrass highway and Snowbowl road, up Ravine, down Sawmill gulch, up and down Sheep Mountain via Woods gulch, up and down University mountain on foot via the Hellgate Canyon trail.

Equipment of note:  Running and biking shoes, winter gloves, running shorts instead of biking shorts (my butt is sore), light wind gear top and bottom, no puffy jacket.
Sustinance:  About 5L of water (many refills) and about 4,000 calories.  Lots of gels, and Perpetum, three granola bars, salami, three donuts, two king size Snickers bars, yogurt, a banana, one bottle of coke, Hammer fizz.  Also, I treated all my water, so ended up consuming about five iodine tablets

Fatigue factor (1-10): 9.5

Stoke factor:  8 (Note:  virtually impossible to exceed 9 if skis aren't involved)

Memories to suppress:  forgetting my cell phone, weird shooting pain in my left knee and calf while biking, ending in the dark. 

Yellowstone Running

Happy runner in Yellowstone.

Leah and I escaped to Yellowstone for a weekend of running and camping with Missoula friends. On the first day, we ran Electric peak from the Glen Creek trailhead. This superb 20-mile outing had us running endless smooth trail on the approach, then scrambling the clean, engaging southeast ridge in full gusty winds. Electric peak is certainly the most commanding peak in the Gallatin range, and it was great to share my third voyage to the summit with Leah.  The run out was equally enjoyable, and Leah was gracious enough to let me run over Snow pass and directly back to Mammoth among bugling elk and down through the expansive Mammoth hotsprings. The evening was spent soaking in the Boiling river and relaxing.

Leah starting the long run in to Electric Peak.

Leah floating down the Southeast ridge of Electric peak.

The Missoula crew, heading to the Boiling river.  Photo: Amy Groen

On Sunday, we ran Mount Holmes. Feeling the effects of the previous day and the Rut the previous week, Leah opted out of the summit, so we parted ways about half way into the run, and I made a hard summit push. Having only been to the summit in the winter, it was good to return and see the area without full snow cover. Thanks everyone for making the trip happen.

Mount Holmes.  I ran up the trail, which circles around the backside of the peak,
then descended directly down the talus ridge on the left back to the trail.

Bear to Big Creek traverse

A winter view in the summer.  Bear Lake and the Sweathouse spires from Sky Pilot.

I received a text over Labor Day weekend from James who had just completed the Ranger group traverse in Big Creek.  Inspired, I ran out of the Bear Creek trailhead at 8:30 am a week later, hoping for a logical extension to James' traverse.  The end result was a run up Bear Creek, a ridge traverse from Sky Pilot around the head of Big Creek and the Ranger peak group, and a run down Big Creek.  I did not do my due dillegence with trip research, so I pretty much just winged it, which was not a bad way to explore another magical corner of the Bitterroot.

The day started off with an hour long bike shuttle from Big to Bear creek. From the trailhead, the run up Bear creek to Brian lake was relaxed and fast enough. I filled water bottles just above the lake before pushing up to the pass and scrambling to the summit Sky Pilot.  Having visited Sky Pilot many times in the winter, it was rewarding to see a familar view without snow.  For future reference, the scramble up Sky Pilot from Bear Creek was quite enjoyable, and would make a great ~5 hour out and back run/scramble.  A quick descent and climb put me on the summit of the peak above East Fork lake in good spirits.  However, a preliminary look out to Ranger peak revealed a characteristically complex and slow ridgeline, so I mentally prepared for a long, scrappy grind before setting off.  The ridge turned out to be every bit as slow as I had feared, but I worked it out, making many deviations on the east and west sides, and fighting a little bit more scrub brush than desired.  In retrospect, it would have been faster and perhaps more elegant to drop to the Pearl lake group and bypass most of the ridgeline on the east.

Looking out to Ranger peak from the point above East Fork lake.  This is going to be slow.

Soon enough, I was on Ranger point, and the traverse to Ranger peak was clean and ejoyable, as was the knife edge ridgline down to Old Stormy.  I managed to find a trickle of water before Old Stormy and took a generous break, downing well over a liter of water before heading down to Big Creek lakes.  I was able to follow rock slabs most of the way to Big Creek lakes, and a surprisingly short and tame bushwack was all that was required to regain the lakeside trail.  From the inlet of the lake, I refilled water for the last time and started down the trail.  James had told me that the Big Creek trail was fun running, and I certainly agree - lots of techy but runnable sections in the upper few miles, then miles of buffed trail through dark old growth Cedar forest.  I had a blast cruising out, and was even a little reluctant to see the car at the end of the day.

Looking back to Sky Pilot from Ranger peak.

Looking east to Big Creek lake and the Heavenly Twins from Ranger peak.

I never tablulated stats, but the run was at least 20 miles on trail with perhaps 5 miles and about 4 hours of scrappy ridgeline traversing, and 7,500 vertical feet of so of climbing.  I ran at a brisk but moderate pace, and was out for 9 hours, 36 minutes, not including the 1 hour bike shuttle.

The route is in yellow (red and white are ski routes).

Happy feet at the car.

Viva la Bitterroot!

Sawtooth photo report

I have been busy, so here's a quick photo overview of a great Labor day trip to the Sawtooth Mountains in Idaho.  Leah and I ran Mount Regan from Iron Creek the first day, and the remainder of the trip was spend climbing at the Elephant's Perch.  We got pretty worked on the Direct Becky (V 5.11), and I did a lot of whipping, whimpering, and aiding.  We didn't come close to making a free ascent, as I pulled on gear or fell on about 5 of the 12 pitches.  But we stayed safe, topped out before dark, and it was an amazing route.  The second day, we had a great jaunt up Astro Elephant (IV, 5.10-), and were lucky to share a rope with Jeannie Wall.  A few thoughts:

• Running in the mountains is incredibly fun.
• The run up to Sawtooth lake is impeccable, but the scramble up the Southeast ridge of Reagan was loose and convoluted.  
• The good ski terrain in the Sawtooth is by no means confined to the areas in the vicinity of the yurt system.
• The climbing at the Elephant's Perch is stout.
• The climbing at the Elephant's Perch is also brilliant.
• I can't wait to get back to the Sawtooth.

Sawtooth and Mount Regan.

Regan summit photo.

Starting down Regan.

Leah running around Sawtooth lake.

Leah working hard at the crux of Astro Elephant.

Starting up pitch two of Astro Elephant.

Also, Leah has been training consistently for the Rut 50k.  In addition to being in some of the best shape of her life, she is moving well through the mountains right now, and I'm really proud of her.  Nice work!