Running because you have too, and surprise snow!

We had been in a terribly bad wildfire smoke inversion for an entire week.  All of the smoke funneling in from massive out of state wildfires.  It did not take long to start to become depressed, and running treadmills is never fun in the late summer.  I cant complain to much considering 1 week of horrible smoke is not much to deal with considering the beautiful summer we were treated too this year.  The winds had shifted for the weekend and I took full advantage to head out and run one of my favorite local trails.   

It is with a bit of turmoil that I went out to run the trail for the first time ever.  Traditionally I have biked this trail for years.  Biking is the only reason I knew about this area.  I have been involved in the regulation process of this area for at least 10 years voicing my public comments every chance I get.  The area has flip flopped numerous times over the years, and resting between two separate states has made management even more complicated.  Needleless to say I was very discouraged to see "Non-Mechanized" signs on the ridgeline portion of the trail.  I don't want to get into the regulation discussion too deeply,  but It was sad after years of pedaling this trail, arguably one of the top 5 rides in Montana, to really see that it was technically closed.  I think the main trouble I have is that it is still legal to ride mountain bikes along countless miles of this ridgeline in either direction of the closure, and also still technically legal to ride the rest of the trail.  So why fragment a small 5 mile portion to complicate things?  but I digress.  

Regardless the run was exceptional.  Unfortunately much of the views were blocked by the smoke clearing clouds and precipitation, but I would take that over the smoke any day. 

A few weeks later I had big plans to complete a loop I had been thinking about all summer.  The loop a well traveled 15ish miler worked its way by three high points that I have had on the scramble list for a few years now.  A quick trip down and a camp overnight had me unexpectedly waking to a few inches of fresh snow and socked in mountains.  I decided to give it a go but unfortunately bailed on the peak scrambles due to no visibility and increased snow on scree.  While no snow was forecasted, it was quite a surprise and if 2020 has taught me anything it is to stay flexible.  The loop was great and I can only imagine how great it would be on a beautiful day.  As of note I had an incredible experience hearing elk ripping bugles  and expecting to only see a bull elk coming my direction, only to see a very healthy black bear come out of the clouds, stare me down and after some yelling retreat back into the mist.  A cool experience and consolation prize for not reaching the high summits that day.  I will be back for a rebate on this one.