running under the BigSky
The Devil's Backbone is a 50 mile race along the top of the Gallatin Crest, as 50 milers go it has to rank as one of the tougher ones- lots of steep climbing (and descending), lots of technical stuff, high elevation (the vast majority of the course is above 9000'), the course is remote and unmarked and there is a single aid station at the half way (turn around) point; fortunately for me it can also be run as a relay of two- each covering 25 miles. This is a very low key, laid back race- the RD encourages everyone to slow down a little and soak in the views- some of the best in the country. He also warns that if you need to bail that there is no where to go but back to the start or on to the turn around- these are the shortest routes to safety, bailing any other direction leaves you further from help- that's pretty remote. He also warns of grizzlies, lightning and a few other potential perils- my kind of race
This is my third year of running this race, last year with Harrier when he was out West. This year I ran with Kevin from here in Helena; Kevin did the Bob Marshall Open with me last year, but was laid up this spring after knee surgery. He really missed not doing the Bob, so he was definitely chomping at the bit to do this one. The one advantage of the 50 miler is the logistics are easy- you drive up to Hyalite Canyon, park and race. The 25 miler is a pain, you need to drop a vehicle off at one point or the other and then drive an hour and a half back to the other point. Fortunately a buddy of mine in Bozeman volunteered to shuttle us from Hyalite to Portal Creek where the Windy Pass trailhead is- a major coupe. We met Sam at 4:30 AM and followed him to Hyalite where the 50 milers (and 25 ers headed towards Windy Pass) were gathered for a 5:30 start. We took advantage of the long drive to the trailhead drinking coffee and fueling up. The other disadvantage of our route is there is about a 2.5 mile hike (and 1200' of gain) to the Windy Pass cabin, our starting point and the 50 milers turnaround. The RD also wants anyone starting at the pass to haul supplies up, so there is a little work before you even get officially started . We dropped the supplies we carried, took a short breather and started out at about 8:00. The weather to start was nearly perfect- temps in the low to mid 40's, no wind and the sun shining.
Windy Pass
Kevin setting the pace
a lot of the trail was through high meadows and at first glance seems to be easy going, but upon closer inspection and portion of the trail that isn't down to bare mineral dirt is very treacherous; the grass grows in irregular clumps and if you're not careful you're going to go down (or worse)- at least with rocky terrain you can see your obstacles, not so with these high alpine meadows
as you're running mostly on top of the crest, plenty of steep stuff to both sides
lots of pretty scenery too!
team Helena
headed down (unfortunately that means you're going to pay dearly)
there isn't any water on top so you have to carry a pretty good amount with you (you can supplement with snow too), I carried 2.5 liters (as did Kevin)- there is one good water source about half way in and we took advantage of topping off our bladders there
Crater Lake is pretty close to the half way point
at this point I thought we would finish in the 6-ish hour mark, shaving a pretty good chunk of time from years prior
it wasn't too long and we could see Hyalite Peak in the distance, a major obstacle to overcome
this is where things started slowing pretty significantly for me, some of it was the climbing, some of it the technical rock, but most of it was simply I was tiring
Hyalite Peak and Kevin Summiting (small spec at top)
the next obstacle is the headwall leading into the Hyalite drainage, fortunately this year it wasn't as bad as some (in years past they have had to chop steps with ice axes and secure ropes to get up and down!) this is the spot last year where two gals froze up big time and had a really tough time getting down, we tried to help them down, but they were very scared
Hyalite Lake and upper basin
it's all downhill from this point, but my 6-ish hour finish was looking more and more like a 7-ish hour finish;
even though we were in the timber now, we still had some pretty scenery to soak in- a half a dozen named falls and numerous unnamed ones
although we were going downhill, it didn't feel like it- the last mile and a half felt like 5 miles! we finally made it to the finish in 7:20, an improvement from the past two years, but short of my 6-ish goal- next year
anyone looking for a challenging race with lots (and lots) of good scenery should consider giving the Devil's Backbone a go
2023 goal 2023 miles √
2022 goal- 2022 miles √
2021 goal- 2021 miles √
Looks like a nice run. I always like hiking at higher elevations with less trees. Maybe some year I can get out that way. What is the highest elevation and what was the temperature up there?
As always nice pictures. BTW, Crater lake got a lot smaller since I last saw it, global warming/climate change?
That is something else. Looks like a very cool event.
LB2
Congrats on your finish-- and a great day in the mountains. Thanks for sharing the pics, too!
Congrats on your finish and beautiful pictures as always. Looks like a tough 25 miler.
The trail going down the headwall looks a bit intimidating. Is that second photo the same place but at a different angle?
In dog beers, I've only had one.
Average elevation is probably close to 9000'; Hyalite Peak is ~ 10,500'
temps were near perfect, probably mid 40's to start, I don't think it got above the high 60's
Congrats on your finish and beautiful pictures as always. Looks like a tough 25 miler. The trail going down the headwall looks a bit intimidating. Is that second photo the same place but at a different angle?
Thanks, yup it's Kevin negotiating the snow coming down; definitely steep- some brave soul glissaded down the entire length of snow- must have been a good ride
Sue
Being a relay I didn't get the "we" parts but it appears you guys ran together but they still counted it as a 50 mile relay? Thanks for sharing the pictures. Funny how the start is a 2.5 mile hike away. Why not just start at the bottom of the hill??
05/13/23 Traverse City Trail Festival 25K
08/19/23 Marquette 50 dns 🙄
Im always so envious of the races and areas you run
I guess "relay"- you can run opposite directions, but you would start at the same time, be a long wait otherwise
I think they like using the cabin as the turnaround and lone aid station; I think the "relay" was more of an afterthought to be honest. Logistics suck for the "relay", but it allows us mere mortals to run the course
Looks like a great race, gotta love running along those ridges. Congratulations !!!
I really liked the photos and the RR. Thanks.
2/17/24 - Forgotten Florida 100 Mile, Christmas, FL
Tim
Nice job. Agree with Queen, not sure I understand why bother calling it a relay if you run the same 25 miles together as opposed to just calling it a 25 miler, but looks like a good time.
Looks like you did much better without NH slowing you down.
Could you trek in a day earlier and camp at the cabin? Did you do that last year?
Pictures look empty, did you see many others out there along the way. What did the 50 mile times look like?
“Paralysis-to-50k” training plan is underway!
Nice job. Agree with Queen, not sure I understand why bother calling it a relay if you run the same 25 miles together as opposed to just calling it a 25 miler, but looks like a good time. Looks like you did much better without NH slowing you down. Could you trek in a day earlier and camp at the cabin? Did you do that last year? Pictures look empty, did you see many others out there along the way. What did the 50 mile times look like?
some of the relay teams didn't run together, they just add the times together- Kevin is a lot faster than me and were we competing for something he could have certainly shaved an hour (probably more) off- but it's more fun running with someone
NH was taking it easy on me is all
this year the RD missed renting the cabin out (I think when the reservations open they go fast) and there was a couple (and kids) in the cabin- they had no idea the race was going on and I don't think they were overly pleased to be honest; but yes if you (or Tom) rents it out you can stay in it Friday (and Saturday for that matter). I stayed in the cabin last year, but it was a month later with my DW and GS.
most of the folks ran from Hyalite, so we passed all of them eventually; but you're correct it was like we had the whole place to ourselves- save heading down Hyalite Canyon- it's a popular day hike area and quite a few folks on that stretch of trail
pay attention to this name- David Ayala- he tied the course record last year (what's the odds of that!), but broke it this year- 7:48 the second place finisher was over an hour behind, this guy is really impressive and I think we may see his name pop up more often
mid pack finishes were in the 10-11 hour range, still very impressive in my book
KillJoyFuckStick
Looks awesome
You people have issues
Awesome work!