So the timing of our visit to Missoula came about when Christi informed me of RATBOB - a run across the Bob Marshall Wilderness in Montana that is not a race, but an organized group run approximating 50 miles, and not for the faint of heart! Even though I haven't been putting in a lot of miles, it is good timing for my upcoming 100 mile run, and without the racing aspect, I would more easily chill out and take as long as I needed to for the estimated 43 miles with 7,000 ft. of climbing.Friday before the RATBOB, Christi and Ethan took us on an 'easy run in the North Hills in Missoula. Only a little climbing early on was worth some wide open views.
Following the run, we had a couple hours for final packing, then we all headed to downtown Missoula to meet the rest of the group - a lot of new names to remember! Everyone divided themselves and gear into seperate vehicles, Rudy and I had to be solo in the van since we only have 2 seats, but we at least helped by taking some of Christi and Ethan's gear! Stops at a gas station at Buckhorn Bar for early dinner in Augusta allowed getting a few names, and sharing of our little year-long adventure! Another hour of driving a dusty dirt road through the 'front' on the east side of the Bob Marshall Wilderness through foothills and high plains until we started getting into some mountains.
The drive ended at the South Fork Sun Campground, near the Benchmark Trailhead, where we would start at in the morning. A solid hour of daylight left a comfortable amount of time for everyone to unpack, set up tents, and do a little visiting before a relatively early bedtime to rest up for the 5:30-ish start. I felt luxuriously lazy just having to lay out my pack and climb into bed in the van. By 4:30 a.m. most people were already packing away tents, excitedly, but still laid back. All I had to do was eat my overnight soaked oats (with chia, peanut butter, and honey), a banana, a little chocolate hazelnut spread, and overnight 'steeped' coffee, get dressed and double check I had everything I needed. By the time we moved down to the start, a little before 6, there was enough light to get going without headlamps.
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| Took a few hours for the sun to reach our trail... |
We broke into 4 smaller groups which started every 10 minutes or so. I started in the last group (in theory 'faster' group, with Christi and Ethan). I would have jumped into one of the earlier groups for balancing, but that wasn't needed. A temperature in the 50s felt chilly, but I opted to start in t-shirt and shorts I intended to wear all day. Turns out, I should have worn light gloves - I thought I was a wimp, but later saw it was in the 40s for the first couple hours, before the sun actually moved into the valley we were traveling.
The first segment was on the CDT, following South Fork of the Sun River for a few miles. We needed to cross it ~3.5 miles in, and again ~11.5 miles. People were removing socks and shoes for the knee-high crossing, and I followed suit. I wasn't really prepared for that portion, and was thinking I should have brought a spare pair of socks, luckily they held up fine with the extra donning and doffing. The early miles were relatively flat, with gentle climbing, first along the forested river, and then a little more up through miles of relatively recent burn that was rehabilitating with abundant fireweed!
In less than half an hour, everyone was refueled and refilled with water before starting on the next segment that would include more climbing, crossing a pass, and cresting the Continental Divide, with an optional scramble up Scapegoat Mountain. My left lower leg and foot had been questionable the past week and were threatening to act up, so I decided to leave the extra miles out - 43 miles for the day was already a little reckless for me! We climbed up to, then through Half Moon Park, gaining elevation, and getting bigger views along the way.
Most of this portion was alongside Scapegoat Mountain, which has lots of little waterfalls and caves that we stopped to look at occasionally, along with some wild flowers.
With the slower climbing, there was more getting to know people, some familiar with these trails as well as other newbies. As we gained elevation, I could feel my lack of acclimation, but still kept a steady hike, and finally we crested the Continental Divide again, just under 8,000', a little after 25 miles - it would more or less be all down hill from here!
The initial few miles down was fairly steep, so we took our time. Once we hit the North Fork of the Blackfoot River, it was pretty smooth sailing and more running was happening!
Through the afternoon, we were more exposed to the sun and temperatures were in the 80s, but mercifully, there were some clouds and breezes, and creeks! to keep us from overheating.
Another member of the local running community (Rhea?) ran out from the end, bearing treats when she met us around 34 miles in, the most appreciated being a little can of Coke four of us shared. It was fun following the river, watching it grow, and taking a little side trip to see a gorge and waterfalls.
The final big rest stop was approximately 37 miles in at the North Fork cabin. After this I was feeling good and antsy to do more running, so Rhea joined me the final 7 miles, which flew by with good trail and conversation. The shuttle drivers and additional 'support' were already set up with food and chairs at the North Fork campground. I felt great to have gotten in 44 miles for the day under 13 hours, with only one minor blister, and some little bruises too! I filled up on some watermelon and cantaloupe, went down to the river to clean up a bit, got into some dry clothes, and ate delicious spaghetti and other goodies, drank a couple beers, relaxed, and applauded the rest of the participants as they came through. Missoula appears to have a wonderful running community, and it was cool to hear their stories, and even get some good descriptions and advice from some guys that have been through Wasatch 100.
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| Enjoying some well earned rest |
I only made it to 11 pm before heading to bed, and I think I may have been the first to go! Also one of the last awake at 8 on Sunday morning. A lot of the group had already headed home, but there were still some people around (and big yummy bagels and cream cheese!) that I was able to say farewell to and thank for the fantastic day before we made our way back to Missoula.
One of my goals for this outing was to eat more real food, I usually struggle with that in races, so want to practice eating and drinking more to try to get my stomach more used to running fuller. I had no stomach problems and only resorted to a couple gels when I started feeling hungry but didn't want to stop to pull out another snack. My first snack was just before 2 hours in, and I had something approximately every hour after that: whole grain fig bar, Larabar, ~3/4 cup dried fruit and nuts, Kind bar, 5 allsorts, 1 egel, 1 gu, and 1 Probar chew a fellow runner let me try, also a swig of Coke and ~110 oz. water (less than 10 oz per hour? I probably need to do better than that...) With my breakfast, I guesstimate 1,800 calories consumed pretty steadily through the day.
