Southeast Montana Trail Run/Scramble

There was a run I had wanted to complete for the past two years.  It appeared to be a perfect sized 15 mile loop through beautiful high alpine country with perfect grades for running.  It also happened to traverse to the base of two peaks in the range that I was looking to summit in one day.  It looked as though a guy could potentially climb both off of this loop adding a little off trail spice to the route.  So I set out early September of 2020 and spent the night solo at the trailhead.   I woke in the back of my truck to find that a decent amount of unexpected snow had fallen overnight.  Being at the trailhead already having lost to weather I contemplated just leaving.  I had not prepared for alpine climbing in snow as this storm had not been forecasted.  My stubborn self decided to at least give it a shot, chalk it up as a scouting mission. So I set out and ran in the snow the first 5 mile stretch of trail, the snow getting deeper as I reached the last lake before the peaks.  The first peak looked snow covered and socked in.  I realized that it was not happening today.  Just as I accepted the fate of the day I started to hear elk rip loud bugles very near me on the hill next to the lake.  I started to click my poles together to let them know I was there.  The bugles got closer and closer as I started to look for places to shelter.  Maybe clicking my poles together for bear was a good idea but elk in the rut not so much?  I peered over the nob where the noise was coming from about 400 feet away expecting to see a massive bull elk only to see a large black figure crest the hill and stand on its hind legs and stare at me.  I was so shocked expecting to see an elk that it took a few seconds to realize this was the biggest black bear I had ever seen quietly staring back at me.  It took only moments for me to retreat down the trail and decide the day was not going to happen.  As I retreated a heard of elk shuffled up and over the ridge out of the basin.  

September 2020 attempt

It seems to me that the older I get the more I enjoy failing on the first attempt.  It makes completing the objective or outing so much more memorable.  Fast forward almost a year and this trip was on the back of my mind all summer.  As luck would have it, I was fortunate to link up with my long time good friend Garret and convince him a mountain run would be fun.  The link up went off without a hitch in great weather for the high peaks.  The loop on its own would be a great half day outing with great grades and amazing views, but adding on the peaks and two fun scrambles made it feel less like a run and more like a fast hike, which is exactly what I am always looking for.  An outing I wont soon forget and one that might fall into the yearly to do list.