Big Snowy Traverse

Adventure in a new range!

Earlier this year I was poking around on Fastest Known Time looking for adventures to do in various places. I stumbled across a nearby range, the Big Snowy Mountains with a 23 mile point-to-point traverse. The route looked epic.

So I asked my friend and training partner Brendan if he wanted to do it with me. Since the route had only one FKT on it, if we did it as a “mixed gender team” we would snag the FKT (as I write this it is still pending official verification.) Plus, it was only a 3 hour drive and would give us the chance to do a long day in mountains we hadn’t explored before. Luckily, he agreed to join the fun and even more luckily, his fiancee McKaelee agreed to be our shuttle and pick us up on the other side. (I had spent a lot of time sorting out rides from the current FKT holder if that didn’t happen. Car logistics are not my strong suit, so one car made it a lot easier!)

Me and McKaelee examining snails by Crystal Lake

The three of us drove up Friday afternoon to camp at Crystal Lake before Brendan and I started running Saturday morning. We had a great time, exploring the shores of the lake, cooking dinner, and toasting our friendship. There was plenty of laughter, even as we recounted the saddest movies we’d ever seen, begging the others not to watch them ‘cause they are so sad. Somehow, it was hysterical.

We settled in for the night as a thunderstorm rolled over. Brendan had helped find rocks to hold my tent in place, as the stakes are currently not with the tent. Oops! Thankfully, the rocks held up and I snuggled down in my quilt and slept through to the morning.

After breakfast was eaten and the gear packed up, we walked over to find the trailhead in the chilly morning air. Starting our watches in sync we took off, hoping the movement and sun would soon warm us up (it did).

Shadows as the sun rose—or we rose to meet the sun

The route started with a long climb up to the ridge and we ran and hiked depending on the steepness of the terrain, gazing in awe at the views around us. Other mountain ranges, manicured farm fields, the lake now a small dot at the bottom of the valley. Brendan shared lots of geologic knowledge on how the range was formed, I had little to contribute but enjoyed learning.

We hit the ridge and started running the rolling terrain, now having moved on to deeper topics. The trail veered left and I glanced at the sign, saw “Ulhorn” and continued to bomb the descent. Brendan finally asked if this was the right trail. We stepped to check and…it wasn’t. We climbed back up to the sign and saw the trail we needed to take, which wasn’t a well used trail, which explains how we missed it in the first place.

There’s a trail here somewhere

Starting into the trees we continued to move steadily. The views kept coming, the small hills kept adding up, and the cairns were getting trickier to spot. We saw a cave entrance, or at least a big hole in the ground, lots of grouse, and zero other hikers.

The weather was perfect; sunny and breezy. We took photos and videos of each other, swapped endless stories (“Don’t read this book, it’s so depressing! Let me tell you the whole plot.” “Yeah, limestone is supposedly the cause of some hauntings cause it’s really porous and I guess traps ghosts?”) and bounced back and forth who was leading. I set the pace for much of the first half of the day, aiming to keep us moving well, but not an all out hard effort.

Brendan taking in the views

We finally got to “Knife Blade Ridge” and had a fantastic time playing and scrambling across. With single digit miles to go we were feeling strong. But like most efforts, the hardest miles were the final ones. Once we left the ridge the trail became even more difficult to find and follow. We hit the last turn, where a group of horse riders were taking a break. They were impressed we’d come all the way from Crystal Lake! Wanting to finish up, we said hello/goodbye and headed down quickly.

Knife Blade Ridge
Brendan stopped to filter water at the first stream we came across and I continued hiking forward, eating a snack. I sipped my water and realized I was now totally out, only half a bottle of tailwind left. But I checked the map, we had less than five miles to go it seemed, I’d just wait.

Those five miles took a loooong time. We crossed the same creek at least half a dozen times. Every time we thought we were getting close to finishing, another turn appeared, another small climb, another water crossing. We kept out spirits up discussing the Olympics and then let them sink discussing how far away the end felt. I often think in long efforts the first half zips by and the back half feels like it takes two or three times as long.

The views though!

Brendan took the lead in the back half, setting a solid pace that kept us moving. A few times he waited for me to catch up, keeping me honest in making a good effort. We finally came upon a group of older men out hiking, they assured us it was under a mile to the trail head. Even if that mile was uphill. We trudged up the switchbacks and jogged the flat, finally seeing the parking lot!

Our respective thoughts at the end of the effort “cruel to end on an uphill”

McKaelee was waiting for us, and after changing clothes, drinking tons of water, the group of men came back to the parking lot. They shared their knowledge of local plant life and told us where we could get a smoothie in Lewistown, my big dream.

We thanked them and set off, grabbing treats for the drive back to Bozeman. Finding friends you can adventure with is a gift. I’m grateful to have made many of them here in Bozeman. “The Fit Trout” especially. I can’t wait to see what we get up to next!

Fit Trout getting snacks at the Rising Trout