2012 Montana Conditions, Stoke and Whatev Thread

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[Bunion 2020]

Looking at Trailforks it doesn't look like theres much of a modern mountain biking trail system around Bozeman other than whats up here at Big Sky. That seems odd to me.

If you mean a bunch of "flow" trails with giant berms, no. Too many BWAGs and walkers with a lot of money and animus towards scary 2 wheeled bikers. Lot of good riding up Hyalite, old school horse trails that are a lot of fun to ride but you have to share. No outfitters using the area is key.

[Bunion 2020]

We are at Lionhead Trail west of West Yellowstone with SWMMBA. The Southwest Montana Mountain Bike Association is a Bozeman-based nonprofit that builds, maintains, and protects mountain bike trails across southwest Montana, with a mission to improve access and foster a passionate biking community. The project for this past weekend was a 3,000-foot climb trail — clearing deadfall, carving lines, and fine-tuning switchbacks for riders who’ll never know how close this trail came to staying wild and unused. The team was fortunate to have four horses with their owners carrying the chainsaws to the summit; they usually strap them on their bikes and pedal up with the grace of a trail mule. SWMMBA isn’t just clearing paths — it’s building them.

This year marks its 10th anniversary. That’s a decade of activism, fundraising, and dirt-covered vision. From Bozeman’s urban edges to Big Sky’s alpine trails (shoutout to the Trail Dogs chapter), the Southwest Montana Mountain Bike Association has become more than a group of cyclists. It’s a living, grinding movement. Board president Josh Horstmann explained it best — weekly rides mostly attract riders from the 3,600 members. That’s riders of every level, rolling out together like spokes from a hub. Trail-building days bring new faces into the fold, each volunteer shaping terrain that future riders will bomb down without blinking. SWMMBA is advocating for access, sustainability and inclusivity. The group embraces e-bikes and calls for thoughtful legislation and open discussion rather than division. Montana’s terrain is diverse and the organization has carved out rides for every comfort zone — from mellow in-town paths to brutal alpine ascents. Funding is where the community shines.

Monthly donors (the “Dirt Heroes&rdquo, one-time gifts, and events like Give Big keep SWMMBA’s gears turning. Big grants have fueled flagship projects like Copper City and the Bridger Bowl crosscut flow trails — those alone account for more than a half-million dollars in investments toward Montana’s outdoor culture. By midmorning at Lionhead, the volunteers are miles into bear country. The climb is merciless, but there’s no complaint — just jokes, encouragement and a shared understanding that what we’re building isn’t just a trail, it’s outdoor legacy.

[yeahman]

I wouldn't say Helena has a bunch of flow trails either. There are a few. Mostly just repurposed hiking trails.

I do really like that new trail in the Scratchgravels. Perfect one hour loop from my house. And the new Barking Dog trail in the south hills is a good one too.

[Whiteroom_Guardian]

I've been helping fundraise on this Bridger/CC project. The first phase is underway now and will have a fun bike only directional flow. We have more in the pipeline for the future. All directional and bike only. Some raw and backcountry style too. We are hopefully laying the groundwork for much much more.

https://www.southwestmontanamba.org/...rosscut-trails

We are trying our best. We have some hurdles here that other similar sized (or much smaller) mountain towns just don't have. Mountain biking (and actual safe commuter cycling routes) are just not a priority. You would think this would be like so many other "B" towns (why is it always B places?).....Bend, Boise, Bentonville, Boulder, etc etc....but NO.

[evasive_MT]

I wouldn't say Helena has a bunch of flow trails either. There are a few. Mostly just repurposed hiking trails.

I do really like that new trail in the Scratchgravels. Perfect one hour loop from my house. And the new Barking Dog trail in the south hills is a good one too.

I’m walking the next phase of work with the BLM next week.

[Whiteroom_Guardian]

Nice 3 hours in the canyon tonight headed home. Pickup into a Semi wreck. Hopefully everyone is OK. Will they ever enforce that through trucks to Idaho be forced to take the Ennis route?

[I Skied Bandini Mountain]

I hope all the oligarchs and broligarchs going to the Google weekend in YC had to sit in traffic

[Whiteroom_Guardian]

^^^ I 100% saw a weird armored looking escalade sandwiched in a very long motorcade of other "normal" black escalades heading south as I sat stopped while trying to head north.

[lifelinksplit]

Oh how I don't miss the canyon. Are you even allowed to bitch if you had to only wait for 1 wreck?(heavy sarcasm). Or the ex president closes the canyon for his motorcade while rafting. It gets real fun after a 12 hr shift and the canyon closes so you and the boys in the work truck say no problem we'll just loop around west and grab another 30 rack and go for a quick dip in the mad. Then you find out you're running low on road sodas. Suddenly the turn for the Madison pops up and apparently a semi rolled on 35mph turn. Now you're taking the long alcohol free route home all the way to 3 forks just to get home to 4 corners just in time to get hopefully 3hrs of sleep before doing it all again.

Signed any construction worker in big sky(overheard.bozeman)

Sent from my SM-S236DL using Tapatalk

[Bunion 2020]

Floated the upper Gallatin and took out at Karst. As we were loading the boats at around 16:00 I heard the sirens and thought, "well shit"..... Made it to just North of the Mad Mile before traffic clotted up. Got home at 18:35. It was a nice float but damn that road is busy these days.

[SUPERIOR]

Oligarchs and Broligarchs is a good one!

Will be interesting to see what the traffic solution to Big Sky becomes in the future.

You’d think with the usage and money spent in the area they’d put something together that looks like the interstate between Helena and Great Falls, essentially a nice built up roadway with bridges and exits and a center divider.

I guess since the canyon is so small they’d have to blast the shit out of the rock and do a bunch of eminent domain.

Whelp, thoughts and prayers in the meantime.

[Bunion 2020]

I have seen several pie in the Big Sky proposals for a 2 level highway. Never gonna happen in my lifetime. Getting rid of the Interstate heavy truck traffic would be a good start.

[raisingarizona13]

@WG, that trail Petes been working on looks sick. Good work on all of ya for making that happen.

[Bunion 2020]

RE: Trails in and around SW MT

Reading the Chronicle article, “Chainsaws, Horses and a 3,000-foot climb: Building an outdoor legacy at Lionhead” (July 17), made my heart sink.

In the year 2025, how could a journalist from Bozeman, Montana, laud the conversion of one of our precious wild places — the Lionhead Range — into a race track for mountain bikers? According to the author, bikers want to be able to bomb down without blinking though this wild landscape deep into bear country. What could go wrong with that scenario?

Indeed, the author laments, how close this trail came to staying wild, that is until the Southwest Montana Mountain Biking Association (SWMMBA) brought in chainsaws and started carving away. And they are not just clearing paths, they are building them.

The Lionhead forms a wildlife linkage connecting Yellowstone to wildlands to the west. Is the author unaware of research showing the impacts that such trail building and mechanized recreation can have on wild places and wildlife? It’s habitat fragmentation.

And combined with climate change and sprawling development adjacent to public lands, it does not bode well for the health of our beloved wildlife. Let’s be clear, increased access of this sort does not mean increased conservation. Indeed, it often leads to just the opposite. Lately I’ve seen a bumper sticker that reads, “Glaciate Bozeman.” I don’t know who created it, but my interpretation is that its originator believes we have so despoiled our landscape, it’s time for Mother Nature to wipe the slate clean. I am not that pessimistic. I feel like we still have plenty to fight for. But not for long. I’m sorry SWMMBA, I do not share the reporter’s enthusiasm for your Lionhead mountain bike trails. It’s leaving a legacy alright.

A legacy of degraded habitat.

Dennis Glick Livingston

[Gnar_Shralp406]

RE: Trails in and around SW MT

They must be fun at parties.

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[anotherVTskibum]

Post-event review of the Bone crusher/ Swiftie slide:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BZTAMsba6Uk&t=339s

[singlesline]

Apparently Kalispell/Glacier Park International Airport is gonna be closed M-F for the whole month of July next year for runway replacement.

That's gonna be fun during the peak tourist month...

[swimmy]

Just got back from backpacking trip in Glacier. Absolutely amazing experience. 6 days, just under 50 miles, 7k in elevation gain, with all kinds of fun along the way. Here are a few pics.

Day 1 - Even the trailhead was spectacular





North shore was closed due to carcass/Grizz activity. So we took the south shore trail








The hiking here is just on another level.





Our first camp was on the upper lake. We arrived to one of the locals taking a dip





After dinner, we got out for a fish. Lots of eager brookies willing to take a dry fly. My biggest was about 12"





Then we just relaxed by the lake and caught the sunset. This lake was stellar.





Up next Day 2.

[swimmy]

Day 2
We were anticipating rain Monday evening and a little Tuesday. But we woke up Monday at 2 am to heavy, steady rain. It would not stop for the next 2 1/2 days. We weren’t really prepared and breaking down camp in a downpour is rough. We got through it, packed up, and the tarps went on the packs.



Our hike was relatively short but because of the rain, I kept the camera covered most of day and only grabbed a few pics.



We got to camp and broke out the tarp. It was a game changer.



After dinner, the rain let up for a bit and I got to explore. Found a nice meadow with Arnica.



The lake was super cool with 500’ cliffs coming right off the shore.

We were cold and wet but for a moment, it was total serenity.

Up next - Day 3

[swimmy]

Day 3 Rained all night. I can’t remember the last time we’ve had soaker rain like this in the end of July. We were closing in on close to 30 hours of rain at this point with no signs of letting up.



We had breakfast, broke down a very wet camp, but as we were headed out the clouds lifted. Maybe we were through it which would’ve been perfect timing as today was a big one: two mtn passes, expansive views, and at least four of the 10 miles hiking above tree line and completely exposed. I grabbed this shot of the lake with one of the passes in the background.



Look close…



Unfortunately, the window was a short one and the clouds/rain moved back in.



We got up over the pass and what was supposed to be a amazing walk above tree line, turned into a struggle sesh. Beyond the fog is a vast valley with massive towering peaks. Obviously disappointing but we were just hussling to get off the mtn. It was brutal up there.



Near the end of alpine section, we did at least see something. But we were too cold and wet to enjoy.



Now back down the other side.



We rolled into camp cold and tired. After setting up tents and making dinner, we called it quits early. It rained off and on all night. Fuck.

Day 4 up next.

[swimmy]

Day 4

After another night of off and on rain (which IMO rain on a tent is dreamy to help you sleep) we woke up to our first sliver of blue sky in 48 hours. Finally, it looks like the storm was breaking. This is where we really started to find out groove.Camp was nestled at the foot of this lake. While we were having coffee, a massive rock was dislodged and fell all the way down the cliff. At first it sounded like thunder but then we knew immediately what was happening. The sound was massive and echoed down the valley. It was an impressive show of nature’s power.



This day was pretty light so we hung out around camp drinking lots of coffee and starting the process of drying out gear. Mid to late morning the sun was starting to pop and it was go time. The hiking today would be stellar.



Cruising through meadows full of flowers…yeah, this was pure joy.





Looking back up the valley towards camp from night before.



I’m a sucker for moving water and waterfalls.



We got to camp early afternoon and pitched tents. Since the weather was fantastic and we had lots of day light left, we decided to take a side trip up to another lake and do some fishing. This might have been my favorite lake of the trip.



We discovered the lake had wild rainbow trout. We knew this as the park quit stocking lakes some time back and there were different classes of fish. This lake must have decent spawning habitat. The bite was decent on caddis and size 16 mayflies. We caught close to 10 or so with the biggest being around 14”.





What an amazing place to catch a trout.

Satisfied with our afternoon, we headed back to camp for dinner. Without the rain, this was now a completely different trip.

Day 5 up next.

[swimmy]

Day 5 - Another big day. 12 miles and maybe our biggest climb of the trip. Seeing as how the views from our climb a few days ago were a little disappoing due to rain/clouds, I was really looking forward to this. Plus, I love the grind/stoke of a good climb.

Giddy up



The lake we visited the day before





Like so many trails in the park, the gradient is perfect. I guess this is in part due to the fact that most were created back in the day for horse travel.









From the peak on the left, water can flow to the Arctic, Gulf, or Pacific. Hence the name, Triple Divide Peak.



The views were exactly what I had in mind. What a great payoff. From all of the rain, the air was crystal clear.



I had that stupid song “Walkin' on a dream” stuck in my head.



The Bear Grass was in full bloom.



Along with many other wildflowers





With all of the rain, every cascade was fat and things were super green. It reminded me of Hawaii.



As we got 6 or 7 miles off the pass, the trail moves into a old burn. I believe this fire was back in 2006 and was massive.



These are also fun and yet another attraction in the park.





Fireweed



We got to the lake around 3 pm. I’ll share pics of the lake on my next post as it was stunning with the best views of the entire trip.My body had been feeling great the whole trip but this day was long and my feet were starting to take a beating. No blisters but my feet were getting tender from just the impact of now close to 40 miles. But after setting up camp, I took a dip in the lake which was super refreshing. Funny how something so simple like a cold dip in a lake after a long day of hiking can bring so much joy. Yet another reason I love backpacking. It allows you to reset. I caught my second wind and we set up rods for an afternoon fish.

We didn’t have any luck in the lake but we hiked down to the outlet. This was one of the coolest spots I’ve ever fished. Awesome plunge pools with great runs. I also saw stonefly shucks which was crazy. Two things you generally need for big fish, pools and bugs. This skinny water had both.



This spot was special.



After seeing some dinks rising and having a little luck on a dry fly, I switched to a streamer to hunt for something bigger. Boom. This buck found himself on the business end of my fly. I’ve caught a lot of nice fish over the years. And while he’s not the biggest, this one was special and will be remembered for a long time. I taped him at just under 20”.



What an absolute epic day. I had already forgotten about crap weather from just a few days ago. Days like this are the payoff for all of the effort. The stoke was high.

Day 6 up next.

[swimmy]

Day 6 - Closing ceremonies. I didn’t want to leave but all good things must come to an end. My body/mind felt great. My feet were tender and crying mercy.

We set up at the foot of the lake in an old fire burn. The views were amazing and I had plans to shoot the milky way. Starting at 11 pm I woke up every hour to view the sky. Unfortunately there was one stubborn (what looked to be) Lenticular cloud that would not move. It sat on us all night and ruined our star gazing. So I’ll have to go back for Milky Way shots.

But I did get some decent color at sunrise. You can see our bear bags in the lower left.





It is a awesome spot to pitch a tent.



As well as read the paper. Every backcountry campsite in Glacier has an outhouse. This is to protect the fragile habitat.



Hiking out was a little bittersweet but still incredible scenery.



After 8 miles, we made it to St Mary’s and our trailhead. It was kind of weird stepping back into civilization. I was hesitant to turn my phone back on but wanted to notify my wife that we were out safe. As soon as I did I got alerts for work. Voicemails, over 250 emails that I would need to respond, blah, blah, blah. It only reinforced why I love multi day trips into the backcountry. Checking out from all of the distractions is good for the mind and I’m already looking forward to getting back.



Thanks for coming along.

[yeahman]

Totally epic swimmy! Thanks for the TR.