Beyond the training, goals, and learning how to race, running is a personal activity that helps so many other aspects of my life. That is a large reason why I often run alone or occasionally with a small group. I don’t enjoy the spontaneously competitive group run, so I shy away from them. But, after being out of town for the last two years, I was finally free to sign up for the Scummy Summer Slammer. It is an event put on in conjunction with the Bozeman Run Club and organized by Malory Peterson and Kyla Maher. The route runs from Bozeman to Yellowstone nearly entirely on trails for 80 miles. This year I signed up to do it.
The Before Part
The information session happened a couple of days before the start of the three days of running, and I showed up so exhausted I was a shell of a person. It was after a long day in the mountains, and I contemplated lying in the grass multiple times. But in my first showing of how strong I am, I remained upright and did my best to keep one eye open and my ears on the speakers. I know everything was essential information, but I cannot remember any of it to relay here. You will just have to do the Scummy Summer Slammer to get all the insider info.
The Driving Part
We met up to carpool to the trailhead at South Cottonwood much too early for me to get my usual 4 cups of coffee down, but I waddled across the street carrying my camping stuff after saying goodbye to Ted and my two succulents, which seem to have as much energy as I do these days. We piled in a car, and to set the tone for the weekend, Allison and I shared a single front seat and hoped for a safe ride. Promptly at 7 am… or a few minutes after… the Scummy Summer Slammer began.
Ok, Now The Running Part
Fueled by too little caffeine, I stayed in the back with the cool kids and hiked. It was a rolling trail across some creeks before climbing into a beautiful meadow. We made our assault on Mt. Blackmore on continual switchbacks perfectly set at a grade that makes you consider running them but not want to. So we didn’t. The Scummy Summer Slammer had very little running up to the top of the 10,154’ Mt. Blackmore. And on that summit, it hit me—this was about community. Not running, not winning, not covering miles—just wonderful people. Nearly every other runner was on top of the peak, taking a break at the same time. We laughed, split a beer, and then began the descent. This whole group thing was FUN!
Log Crossings to limber up
I ran down with a few others and connected back to a spur trail that led us up a route formerly known as a trail but had since been overgrown, burned, and otherwise reclaimed by nature. But that didn’t stop the 30-some-odd tough runners that side-hilled their way across deadfall, ridges, snow, and rain. Then we hit the road. What a great feeling thinking that it would be smooth all the way down to camp for the night. It wasn’t.
Evan and Sam trying to find the views at Scummy Summer Slammer
This was where the hurdling portion of the event began. Deadfall littered the road. Somehow trees always choose to fall perpendicular, right across the roadway every time… or at least those are the ones I noticed. But many other runners were around, and we easily showed our athleticism every few feet with a new jump, limbo move, or army crawl before the road finally opened up, and we ran into camp for the night.
It wasn’t just a camp, it was a party. Everyone had tents out, and twenty-some people were crewing the runners, cooking dinner, and cheering on each runner as we came in. The whole community was rallying around this event, encouraging each other and helping everyone be successful. It was the most purely supportive event I have ever been a part of. Any worries that the experience would be tainted with a competitive vibe were gone.
Malory had a team of people making dinner, Kyla was yelling for people on the megaphone; high-fives and hugs were everywhere. Everyone finished the first day within two hours of each other. It was so fun to witness and be a part of. Exhausted from the first day, I perfectly stayed up way too late… knowing I would be tired when we started again at 7 am the next day… but I am never one to miss out on a good time… so I didn’t.
The Scummy Summer Slammer Group on Blackmore
Day 2
This event isn’t only a running event, it is really a full weekend of living in the backcountry with support. So, even though we didn’t request one, we got a full wake-up call from the megaphone in the morning. When I say I am not a morning person, I truly mean I am not a morning person. I naturally woke up at 5:30 but didn’t even start packing my backpack or having breakfast until 6:30. Where did that hour go? If you find it let me know. But somehow, I managed to get to the hoard of runners waiting to start only slightly late, and with a raucous cheer, we charged up an old dirt road to begin day 2. They charged. I walked. For five miles, I walked. Then the climbing began, and I felt even better about walking. The energy for the day hadn’t arrived yet.
The first Scummy Snowfield
We climbed up to the top of Hyalite Ridge after our first intimate interaction with snow. About 100 yards of leftover winter was a good introduction to what was to come. At the top of the pass Devin and I opted for an off-trail ridge traverse to connect to the high point of the adventure at Hyalite Peak. It was a fun side-hilling adventure where apparently, my only goal was to collect as many rocks in my shoes as possible. But we did it without a problem and were rewarded with the most picturesque scenes of sprawling mountains, ridges, and spots of snow stretching far into the distance. The Gallatin Mountain Range is truly one of my favorites.
Once we joined back with the others, we saw this massive snowfield. It was about 200 yards of steep snow down into a basin. Everyone else had to climb it, but our ridge route dropped us right on top of it. So, we slid down for the fun of it. It was the perfect glissading angle, and the speed probably rivaled a children’s roller coaster. At the bottom, we turned around and climbed right back up it, and I tagged the peak with most of the other runners out for day 2. Camaraderie and enjoyment all around once again. This is where we joined one of my favorite trails—the Gallatin Crest Trail. It follows the spine of the mountain range all the way to Big Sky, and that was our route.
The Hyalite Snowfield
Finally, my energy had arrived, and I began to run. The trail was occasionally dotted with cairns but relatively easy to follow, especially with the silhouettes of runners scampering along the crest. It was beautiful, with 360-degree views and the miles passed much too fast. A couple of rough snowfields and I was soon descending to Windy Pass. Another trail junction and a quick downhill to Portal Creek Trailhead, then the day of running was over.
But the social events of the day were just beginning. The camp was already roaring with activity as Malory had people cooking, helping runners, a first aid area, and the other bustling sounds of a vibrant community. A few runners came in just around dark, and despite the intensity, vertical gain, and length of the day, everyone was accounted for and unscathed. I enjoyed a small fire with Alva, Sam, Calvin, Emily, and a number of other runners and crew, sacrificing sleep for socialization. Then it was time for bed.
Day 3
This was a short day, but Kyla and Malory still forced us up for a 7 am start. Fine, but I certainly wasn’t going to start out fast again. We climbed back up the road we had come down and rejoined the Gallatin Crest Trail at Windy Saddle. This led us over a few more jagged peaks but maintained a smooth trail even through the switchbacks. It was a glorious day and the final one of this great adventure.
The miles were quick, and everyone ran most of them. Then we got to the descent to Ramshorn Lake, and I knew I wanted to try out this ridge that led to the boundary of Yellowstone. Allison was brave enough to come along on the off-trail route despite my lack of any form of beta. My method of “figure it out” is prone to not working out, but she was still game. We had a very steep and rocky climb up on top of the THE FORTRESS. Pretty cool name for a mountain covered in scree and loose rocks that made it almost impossible to climb. But we did it.
The beautiful rock of THE FORTRESS on the off-trail route
From THE FORTRESS, it was a straight shot on the ridgeline to the top of Ramshorn Peak. It was a straight shot but by no means a flat one. It was a slow and demoralizing ascent to the top of the cool-looking peak by just putting one foot in front of the other. With the lack of footprints and the large community of bighorn sheep, it was pretty obvious that few (if any) people ever came this way. We hit the peak, took a photo (maybe… can’t remember), and then started running down to 320 Guest Ranch, where Scummy ends.
Ramshorn Peak
But, that is not the end of my stories. Half a mile after the peak, we came across a day hiker carrying a jug of water. We had been hearing a sound like a clown car honking its horn since the summit, and we couldn’t figure out what it was. At one point, Allison even asked if that was the sound of me farting (it wasn’t). Then when we closed in on this hiker, we heard him loudly screaming “HEY BEAR” every few minutes. When we passed, we saw an air horn in his pocket. He was surely keeping every grizzly for 100 miles informed of his every movement. We ran by him, giggling.
A couple of miles from the trailhead, we passed a few other Scummy Runners and then a group of hikers. As Allison passed, they said, “Entirely too spunky,” and since, that phrase has been discussed more than any conspiracy theory to figure out what they were even referring to. After all that discussion, we still have no answers.
We hit the trailhead, ran another mile down the road, and ended at the guest ranch. We had completed Scummy. 23 people finished all three days of the amazing community event. It was just so impressive how such an event could be put on to be accessible, difficult, supportive, and beautiful all at the same time while having respect for the lands it takes place on. I am so lucky to be a part of this awesome community, and I cannot get over how rewarding it was to spend quality time with such amazing individuals.
The Scummy Summer Slammer Finish sign