Bozeman: Hidden Gem

Bozeman RV camping with shuttle vehicle. Thanks Corey!

We had never heard of Bozeman before I ran into Corey Biggers in Oakridge, Oregon. We exchanged a few photos we took on the Alpine Trail and he raved about some alpine riding in a place called Lionhead.
It didn’t seem that relevant as I didn’t know where Bozeman was. A change of plan saw us going south rather than west from Glacier NP towards Yellowstone as many

Fatbike with chainsaw. How to clear
backcountry trail in MT, USA.

campgrounds begin to close in September. Bozeman is on the way so we decided to drop in and have a look. On a Tuesday afternoon we stopped in at Rocky Mountain Truck Centre that Corey owns and got inundated with trail information. It turns out Corey grew up in a logging family and has an absolute passion for being in the backcountry. Montana has been at the centre of fighting for trail access in America, which is ongoing. Precedents set here affect bike access to wilderness across the country (read more in the bike magazine article at http://www.montanamountainbikealliance.com/about/recent-press and like on Facebook to add support). He also helps maintain trail by clearing trail in the spring. We left the truck centre with the addition of maps and a vehicle that we had been very kindly lent. We quickly impressed by Bozeman and it’s very scenic surroundings.

Alpine Meadow Bangtail Range. Looking across to the Bridger Range.
Sacagawea pointy peak on the left.

That afternoon we promptly set off on a bike ride south of town up Bozeman Creek, an easy out and back for Fiona and Symi. At the turnaround point I climbed up to the top of Leverich Trail which is a new school bike descent with berms, great flow and a few rolling jumps. It was good the get the legs working on the bike again and do a blistering descent. Returning to town we passed a farmers market and we stopped to find a wide selection of local produce much of which we purchased.

Meadow, top of 1/2 hour climb

Very early the next morning Corey picked me up and we rode the Bangtail Divide Trail, an epic alpine ride just 20 minutes from town. Starting with just enough light we ascended a 30+ switchback climb to the top of the Bangtail range. From the meadows at the top were panoramic views of several mountain ranges including the Bridger, Absaroka, Gallatin and Madison. The trail undulated several times across the top before the epic final descent to the northern trailhead. From there it was “just” a 10km ride back to the car, completing a morning ride of nearly 50km and 4500ft of ascent.

That afternoon and the next morning we visited the excellent Museum of the Rockies, renowned for its dinosaur exhibits. Unexpectedly what we enjoyed the most was an exhibition on

Gecko feet, fascinating

geckos! One of the fascinating facts was the friction that a gecko can create with its feet, enough to hold the weight of two humans. The living history farm (also at the Museum) consists of Tinley cottage which was relocated to the museum 25 years ago, it recreates the homesteading era of the 1890’s. We enjoyed wandering the house and gardens, thinking about the hard work that the era must have involved. There was a section back in the main museum building with artefacts from the 1920s and 30s including some cars, home furnishings and even a kit aeroplane using a Model A Ford motor. We also watching a film on neutrinos, the ‘ghost particle’ that helps us explore stars and galaxies.

We are loving our new camera.

After the second visit we made use of the perfect weather and long days to set off on an afternoon ride to the top of the Bangtail range. We started from near the top, up a climb nicknamed ½ hour hill (we took 35 minutes, not bad as Symi was breathing heavily with the 8 000ft+ elevation) that goes to a meadow on top of the range. The reward of course was the views and flowing descent back to the car. I managed to continue to the bottom and get picked up at the northern trailhead, redoing the last epic descent of the previous day, this time without the climbJ.

Descending 1/2 hour climb :)

Friday was another perfect weather day. After a morning of school work we headed up to Fairy Lake in the Bridger mountain range, which is the opposite side of the valley to the Bangtail range. The dirt road in was very rough, there

was no way an RV would make it, so we were thankful to be driving a 4WD. The aim was to ascend Sacagawea Peak. The walk is short, 3km each way, but steep climbing 2000ft to 9666ft. It was slow and steady, in the end we all summited for a 360ᵒ view to die for. There was also a curious mountain goat hanging around the summit which added to the entertainment.

Climbing Mile Creek

Saturday was another super early start, Corey and I drove to Lionhead for a backcountry epic. On the 80 mile trip down highway 191 Corey continuously pointed out trailheads where epic rides start from. At Targee Pass we dropped off a Polaris, our shuttle vehicle that was to transport us the

Hedgen Lake and Yellowstone NP in background

18miles back to the car at the end of the ride. The ride we did was amazing, the weather perfect, there was even no wind. First climb was up the Mile Creek trail from 6400ft to 10 000ft up 51 switchbacks. I pedalled the whole way putting away any doubts that a 1x10 (30x40 easy) can't cut it on epic rides. It was then descend before re-climbing to 10 000ft, then followed an epic descent to the Polaris. For a while there were sweeping views of Hebgen Lake. Check out the photo of his shuttle set up purely designed and built  for what we did (Corey is an aluminium welder by trade and built the trailer while rehabing from two fractured vertebrae). Mountain Biking doesn’t get any better than this! 

 

Descending from 10,000ft. In the Candystore (rocks look like candy)

Meanwhile back at the ranch (sorry RV) Symi and Fiona spent Saturday morning doing schoolwork. In the afternoon we went to a dog show which Symi will be posting about.

Sunday was time for a road trip to Virginia Falls and Nevada City, two towns that were saved from ruin by Charlie Bovey. The highlight was the living history museum at Nevada City, which recreates life as it would have been in the 1850s. There were many volunteers playing the part of the early town people. It was also hands on, in an old shop we were allowed to handle the merchandise. 

By Monday it was clear that some very cold weather and rain/snow was on the way. Time to tick off some more rides before moving on. The first ride was with Fiona and Symi up South Cottonwood Creek. After about 3 miles the riding became very rocky and steep. I continued on to the six mile mark. About a mile before the turnaround you ride into a beautiful meadow, not long after entering the meadow I spotted two wolves about 70m away! They were BIG, I stopped and warned a rider and two dogs I just passed. The dogs would be good wolf bait, they picked up the scent and howled! We had a good chat and he commented that where the girls had stopped was the furthest he had seen a kid up the trail and was very impressed! The ride down the creek was much faster, very techy and great fun. Not having had enough, later that day I did a lap of Leverich enjoying every second of the descent. 

Mile Creek Trail Head and shuttle rig. V8 diesel tows at
speeds uphill that are not repeatable.

Tuesday it was time to head to Yellowstone but not before a quick ride up to Emerald Lake. It was another early wake up and it was already cold as the wind had turned to the north. The ride involves a steep climb up to a stunning alpine basin with a lake surrounded by sheer 1000ft rock walls. It must have rained the night before as the trail was wet, there were some good technical climbing challenges over many slippery roots and rocks. It was a brief rest at the top as it was freezing. The descent is described as pure nirvana, I would definitely agree particularly on a normally very busy trail where I only passed one person on the descent. A few front end slides on the slippery surface kept speeds half sensible, however the descent time was 23 minutes as opposed to the 80 of climbing. 

Emerald Lake

On the way to Yellowstone we dropped the car back at the truck centre. Corey and I planned another epic ride down in West Yellowstone for the following weekend. Hopefully the forecast snow would be light and not end the alpine riding season.