Thread: Big Sky area MTB trails for JONGs...

My wife and I are coming out for a week - BS/MLB area. She can't ride for shit, so I don't want to take her to the wrong places, and make her hate me even more than she does.

Any suggestions for "beginner" MTB trails? Any tips on where NOT to take her?

We'll be around Bozone too, so will probably go out toward Bridger too.

BTW - are bears a big issue at this time of the year in those areas?

Thx...

Bears are "an issue" around Big Sky in the summer, but I wouldn't call them "a big issue." There are bears, they mostly want nothing to do with people. Unless you smell like chocolate cake they aren't likely to bother you.

Can't help with the trails, though.

How beginner are we talking here? What kind of bike does she have? What kind of riding is she not comfortable with? Long rides? Steep technical downhills? Exposure? A lot rides down by Big Sky, and really Bozeman in general, have substantial climbs so fitness will be a deciding factor.

The vast of majority of buck ridge -> first yellow mule will be rideable by a beginner (and fun for more advanced riders) if you can get shuttled to buck ridge trailhead. Or hell, ride up First Yellow Mule if you want, but the views along Buck Ridge are rad.

The very easiest ride in the Bozeman area is up to mystic lake (or turn around at the bridge). It's like dirt road (rocky in spots) to the bridge and double track after that. 20 miles total. Don't come down the single track.

She will probably not hate you if you take her up the brackett creek end of the bangtail divide trail (less so for the stone creek end due to the 1 million switchbacks).

Agree on bears not being a big issue. Oddly, my only bear sighting was in S. Cottonwood Canyon. Never seen any on the more remote rides I've done.

She doesn't ride singletrack, so very beginner. Something like gravel roads or fire roads might be alright. She's good for about 20-25 miles on the road - a couple hours of good output. Exposure and switchbacks would be bad for her.

I'm hoping if we find the RIGHT trails, she'll enjoy it and want to do it more when we get back home, but she doesn't do it here. She'd rather go running...wtf??

I know bears don't want to meet us any more than we want to meet them, and we'll make noise, not carry chocolate cake , and so on, but do people take bear spray with them? We have bears in MN, but they are all black bears, and generally not really big, so they usually run away unless we're talking a mom & cubs. Obviously, I've seen too many bad movies...

One other thing - I know BS has lift accessed bike trails - anything a beginner might find kinda cool?

Thanks again!

Hit up Tom at Gallatin Alpine Sports in the Meadow. He (or someone else at GAS), will head you in the right direction and will probably have some options for you that none of us will think of.

Thanks, Hick! I know right where GAS is at, and we're staying in the Meadow.

Targhee Creek which is accessible from a trailhead you access < a mile W of Targhee Pass (in between W. Yellowstone & Island Park) is a barely climbing singletrack for 4-5 miles.

I've been thinking it'd be a great place to introduce singeltrack to my 6 yo so it's a good fit for a newbie.

It is very scenic and there's a small waterfall at a good turnaround / lunch spot before the climb gets crazy.

For stronger riders (i.e. yourself) Sheep Creek and Mile creek (just around the bend on the NW side of the Lionhead) are two amazing out-and-backs which can be combined into a super long epic day along the CDT.

IMO the CDT in the Lionhead is better than any rides in Big Sky, though Buck Ridge as an out and back (as already mentioned) is probably the easiest (mostly double-track old jeep road style) scenic ride in that general area. Decending Buck ridge to Yellow Mule might be a little TOO MUCH for a newbie.

Another gravel road / double-track option would be found in the Taylor's Fork area. You could ride some of the gravel roads leading up the double-track climb to the oil well (Wapiti Creek trailhead) turn and do that as an out and back.

http://www.grizzlyoutfitters.com/sum...e-big-sky-area

There are 3 "roads" on the ski area that she can ride easily, without having to purchase a lift ticket. South Road, Middle Road, and North Road. Closed to vehicle traffic, but Big Sky maintenence crews do drive on them.

Middle Road goes from the Big Sky base area up to the Shedhorn yurt area, mellow climb. Note: I did see a grizzly (male I think, at least no cubs around) last week while I was walking my dog up there. No big deal, but have pepper spray with you and don't be stupid.

North Road is also cool, it starts over behind the Beaverhead condos/Powder Ridge cabins area. Goes up past Big Sky's junkyard of old tram cable, old lift chairs, assorted ski area debris, which is kind of cool to poke around in. It goes by the base of Challenger, then winds around to the base of the Tripple chair. Note: I saw a Cinimonn colored female black bear with two little black cubs last month near the Challenger base.

Another mega-easy ride is start in the Mountain Village and go down to the Meadow Village via the old road (Low Dog aka "Poop Chute"). Downhill all the way, with one steep 100-yard section that she would have to dismount and walk down. Other than that a very mellow 8 mile coast downhill. If you are staying in the Meadow you can ride the bus up the hill to the Mountain Village, then ride down.

The lift served this year will be using the Swiftcurrent lift. Tons of cool options there. BRT road over to Moonlight being one.

Speaking of Moonlight, Ulreys Lake is a mellow trail. That would be a short ride, but fun.

Don't let the bear talk scare you. Just be aware and be smart. I see bears up here all the time but I don't worry about them.

Enjoy !

Oddly, my only bear sighting was in S. Cottonwood Canyon.

but do people take bear spray with them?

Just rode top of langhor to s. cottonwood yesterday and had my spray, didn't notice any other bikers with any but maybe wearing all spandex is enough of a deterrent. btw this was my like 5th ride ever(mostly leverich) and hope to check out big sky soon. oh and trail crew was halfway to the cabin clearing trail and there's really only the 6ft tall drift right before the downhill if anyone cares.

So...have fun, shower after eating, bathe in bug spray, don't eat the bear's berries or fish, carry a .40 w/hollow points and extra rounds, saving one for myself, ride fast, and it sounds like marriage will (once again) be put to the test. Cool!!

Yeah, the altitude is going to kill you.

Originally Posted by stuckathuntermtn

Yeah, the altitude is going to kill you.

Ha! Yeah...you may be on to something. Riding from the Meadows to the resort base could make me bear food when I expire at the edge of the road, half way up...

Just make lots of noise.

The sound of my wife being angry at me should scare away most things up to a T-Rex...

Hm. Don't know any marriage counsellors in that area.

Sent from my cell phone. no, a cell phone.

Originally Posted by Harry

Another mega-easy ride is start in the Mountain Village and go down to the Meadow Village via the old road (Low Dog aka "Poop Chute"). Downhill all the way, with one steep 100-yard section that she would have to dismount and walk down. Other than that a very mellow 8 mile coast downhill. If you are staying in the Meadow you can ride the bus up the hill to the Mountain Village, then ride down.

Update: On my Sunday morning hike I saw a Cinimon-colored female black bear with a cinimon-colored cub near the bottom of the Lone Moose lift, which this dirt road goes right by. The same bear and cub have been reported multiple times in 911 calls as being grizzlies on the road, those sightings were on the paved Spur Road right by the county line sign. (people are assuming grizzly based on her color, but alot of black bears are not black around here.) The little cub was cute, I kept my distance and watched them for quite a while.

Picked up some bear spray today - looks like a damn fire extinguisher... Not that it'll do me any good, but throwing the .40 S&W in my pack too.

There was a pic on the Lone Mountain Ranch's FB page today of something that looked like a brown hippo - good gawd it was big & fat!! Heard someone from MI got killed by a grizzly in Yellowstone in the last couple days on a hiking trail near a lake. Sow w/cub evidently.

Did you file the front sight off the .40?

Here you go... And to think - I have gotten nailed by wasps and huge house spider bite in the past week...not good...

Yellowstone grizzly death puts bear attacks in focus

 
UPDATE, 6:30 a.m. ET Friday: Yellowstone National Park officials will not hunt the mother grizzly that killed a hiker Wednesday because the bear was acting naturally to protect its cubs. The victim was identified as Brian Matayoshi, 57, of Torrance, Calif., who was killed about 11 a.m. PT while hiking the Wapiti Lake trail with his wife, Marylyn.

Wednesday's fatal mauling of a hiker by a grizzly bear in Yellowstone National Park, the first such killing in a quarter century, has raised the hackles of many wilderness enthusiasts - and spotlighted techniques for avoiding encounters.

<image001.jpg>
In this file photo, a grizzly bear moves through the brush at Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. A grizzly mauled a man to death in Yellowstone National Park Wednesday, the first such death in the park in a quarter century but the third in the region in just over a year.
CAPTION
By James Peaco, AP
The victim and his wife, whom park officials were expected to identify today, had hiked about a mile and a half along Yellowstone's popular Wapiti Lake Trail when they surprised a grizzly sow with two cubs. According to the National Parks Traveler, the husband told his wife to run and she did not witness the attack. The bear later came after her, and she dropped to the ground. The bear then grabbed the wife by her daypack before releasing her and leaving the area; her cries alerted nearby hikers who called 911 for help. Rangers have closed all trails and backcountry campsites in the area, which is south of Canyon Village.

Yellowstone officials emphasized that bear attacks remain "extremely rare." No visitors were injured by bears in the park last year, and Wednesday's killing was the first bear-caused human fatality in Yellowstone since 1986. Rangers haven't taken any action against the bear involved in this week's attack, which the park service called "an apparent attempt to defend a perceived threat to her cubs." If the park investigation concludes that the sow behaved normally, she will not be killed, park spokeswoman Linda Miller told Reuters.

RELATED:  Montana bear attack leaves hikers, campers on alert

But Yellowstone and surrounding areas are home to at least 600 grizzlies, and two people were killed nearby last summer. In June, a grizzly killed a hiker outside the park's east gate. And in July, when a grizzly with her cubs invaded a campground at night, one Michigan camper died and two others were injured north of the park near Cooke City, Mont. As a result, Gallatin National Forest managers have banned tent camping at three campgrounds near Yellowstone, including the one where last summer's July maulings took place.

The requirement for hard-sided recreational vehicle camping at the Soda Butte, Colter and Chief Joseph campgrounds is in effect this summer while managers consider a long-range strategy, forest spokeswoman Marna Daley told the Associated Press. The experts also will review and make recommendations for other area campgrounds.

According to a listing of known attacks maintained by Bearplanet.org, about 28 people have been killed by bears over the past decade. As Grizzlybay.org notes: "For each person killed by a black bear attack (more common than those by grizzlies) there are 13 people killed by snakes, 17 by spiders, 45 by dogs, 120 by bees, 150 by tornadoes, 374 by lightning and 60,000 by humans."

Originally Posted by stuckathuntermtn

Did you file the front sight off the .40?

I'm sure it will be close enough that sighting would just be a formality!

I don't need sights for the kill shot...to myself!

Paranoid much? Uhhh...yeah.

you're gonna wanna file the front sight off, and maybe lube up the muzzle end.

Big sky has some of my favourite rides ever. Get the Bozeman big sky west Yellowstone outdoor recreation map by beartoothpublishing.com. it has comprehensive trail descriptions for many rides and hikes in the area. Any outdoor shop should have it.

Could be completely wrong, but that attack sounds like the one from last year unless i missed something I haven't heard anything fatal in the park this year except the girl at the falls. Oh and just make sure your brakes are squeaky.

Originally Posted by lifelinksplit

Could be completely wrong, but that attack sounds like the one from last year

Yep - yer right. Friend sent it to me, and didn't check the date either.

Originally Posted by lifelinksplit

Oh and just make sure your brakes are squeaky.

THAT should not be a problem...

Bumping this because I saw a bear while I was riding History Rock last night. Kind of a little guy but definitely wasn't afraid of us or interested in leaving.