The weather on Saturday was looking a little dodgey but considering the forecast said 'scattered thunderstorms', I figured it was worth the gamble to try to get out and get a ride in. I was curious to see how the trails were holding up given our recent biblical type rains the past few days. It was an interesting ride that included a little bit of everything!
After parking at 9 mile, it was time to head up to the Thompson Park trail system and use that as a barometer of just how well the trails were holding up (or whether they had turned into streams). The lower loop at Thompson had a couple of wet spots, but nothing that raised alarm bells in turns of turning around and heading back to the car.
The ride ended up being a link-up of a couple loops around Thompson Park, then up to the Toll Canyon trailhead/Pipestone Pass where I caught the CDT going over towards Beaver Ponds, then up and over on the CDT to Homestake Pass where I caught Blacktail Road back down to Cont Drive and to the car...my mashup link is aptly called 'Tholleaverstake'.
The ride was just under 24 miles in 3 hrs with around 3,400 ft of elevation gain:
The big unknown was the condition of the CDT going from Pipestone Pass to Homestake Pass in the upper elevations. I was curious about the little meadow at the bottom of the first set of switchbacks below the ride peak on the northeast side. There were a couple of small patches of snow right below the peak that you could ride through (would expect those to be gone within a day or two). The meadow was a soggy mess. That area is typically always the last to dry out and at times will stay a little soggy throughout the summer....it is currently a long stretch (almost the entire meadow) that is in bad shape. The rest of the trail is in good shape as the decomposed granite tends to drain quickly.
The 4 wheeler trails heading back down into Butte to Blacktail road were also in pretty bad shape. This is the start of the Butte 100 and it is even sketchier this year compared to last year. There has been a lot of 4-wheeler traffic and the ruts are deeper - It will be even worse once it dries up and the sand loosens up.
Mother nature did her part to make the ride interesting - it was all good until about 1/2 way through when the clouds started to accumulate overhead and then the skies unloaded with hail. While riding, I figured the hail was better than rain though - at least the hail was just bouncing off you as you rode....then I spoke too soon as the hail turned into rain. Once wet, it was time to deal with the cold...the descent back to Homestake Pass was not as enjoyable as usual because my hands and feet had lost their feeling....my hands were functioning and able to follow the brain's commands to brake but it was like watching a foreign entity as the hands were good and numbed up! It was like have a couple of wooden clubs and about as clumsy too. When I got back to the car, it took a while to be able to get the bike loaded and get cleaned up - it was bizarre to watch my hands holding something but have absolutely no feeling in them whatsoever.
It was still a good ride though so all is well that ends well. The Bozeman crew was out in full force on Saturday. I ran into 3 different parties for a total of about 20 riders who came out to Butte to ride (their trails are not ready yet). I talked to a couple of Bozeman riders as we waited out the hail/rain storm (more like it waited us out as we eventually got moving again while the storm persisted). Once we got to chatting we all enjoyed a couple of those 'wow, small world' moments. I am constantly amazed at the common ground you find with people when you take the time to talk.
Rumor has it, the wifer is going to be making a guest appearance on the blogaroo with her race report of her Oliver 1/2 IronMan last week...or should it be called the Oliver 1/2 IronWoman?
After parking at 9 mile, it was time to head up to the Thompson Park trail system and use that as a barometer of just how well the trails were holding up (or whether they had turned into streams). The lower loop at Thompson had a couple of wet spots, but nothing that raised alarm bells in turns of turning around and heading back to the car.
The ride ended up being a link-up of a couple loops around Thompson Park, then up to the Toll Canyon trailhead/Pipestone Pass where I caught the CDT going over towards Beaver Ponds, then up and over on the CDT to Homestake Pass where I caught Blacktail Road back down to Cont Drive and to the car...my mashup link is aptly called 'Tholleaverstake'.
The ride was just under 24 miles in 3 hrs with around 3,400 ft of elevation gain:
The big unknown was the condition of the CDT going from Pipestone Pass to Homestake Pass in the upper elevations. I was curious about the little meadow at the bottom of the first set of switchbacks below the ride peak on the northeast side. There were a couple of small patches of snow right below the peak that you could ride through (would expect those to be gone within a day or two). The meadow was a soggy mess. That area is typically always the last to dry out and at times will stay a little soggy throughout the summer....it is currently a long stretch (almost the entire meadow) that is in bad shape. The rest of the trail is in good shape as the decomposed granite tends to drain quickly.
The 4 wheeler trails heading back down into Butte to Blacktail road were also in pretty bad shape. This is the start of the Butte 100 and it is even sketchier this year compared to last year. There has been a lot of 4-wheeler traffic and the ruts are deeper - It will be even worse once it dries up and the sand loosens up.
Mother nature did her part to make the ride interesting - it was all good until about 1/2 way through when the clouds started to accumulate overhead and then the skies unloaded with hail. While riding, I figured the hail was better than rain though - at least the hail was just bouncing off you as you rode....then I spoke too soon as the hail turned into rain. Once wet, it was time to deal with the cold...the descent back to Homestake Pass was not as enjoyable as usual because my hands and feet had lost their feeling....my hands were functioning and able to follow the brain's commands to brake but it was like watching a foreign entity as the hands were good and numbed up! It was like have a couple of wooden clubs and about as clumsy too. When I got back to the car, it took a while to be able to get the bike loaded and get cleaned up - it was bizarre to watch my hands holding something but have absolutely no feeling in them whatsoever.
It was still a good ride though so all is well that ends well. The Bozeman crew was out in full force on Saturday. I ran into 3 different parties for a total of about 20 riders who came out to Butte to ride (their trails are not ready yet). I talked to a couple of Bozeman riders as we waited out the hail/rain storm (more like it waited us out as we eventually got moving again while the storm persisted). Once we got to chatting we all enjoyed a couple of those 'wow, small world' moments. I am constantly amazed at the common ground you find with people when you take the time to talk.
Rumor has it, the wifer is going to be making a guest appearance on the blogaroo with her race report of her Oliver 1/2 IronMan last week...or should it be called the Oliver 1/2 IronWoman?
No comments:
Post a Comment