TR: Mt. Blackmore, where bikes belong eternally.

**tone capone** · 07-31-2008, 09:19 PM

Went up and rode Blackmore today. Nothing too out of the ordinary here, but I figured I would document it with some pics while it's still legal. Pushed up to the saddle and decided I have neglected some good old ridge scramblin' fun for too long. I climbed up over Elephant Mountain to the next peak south on the ridge. What a beautiful day for pictures. No smoke, no thunderstorms. When I got back to my bike, I finished the push to Blackmore and then enjoyed a wickedly gratuitous decent of close to 4000 feet. Every one of them sick. My life sucks.

While going up, I had lots of this to look forward to on the way down:

and some of this....

Friendly hiker dude:

Beautiful alpine singletrack. So much fun was had on the way down.

A look down on the meadow section...

Mt. Blackmore. From Elephant Mountain. You can see the trail going up the side to the summit. From here I scrambled south in my skate shoes to the next peak along the Hyalite Ridge. It is an unnamed point just over 10,200'.

The peak:

Pristine hanging valley above Twin Falls. Not many folks hang out there.

Only a few visitors up here. You can do some awesome day trip ridge scrambles in these parts. One is to go from here to Squaw creek divide and down the Hyalite Creek trail. Epic.

View of Mt. Blackmore and Bozeman in the distance.

For those of you into such adventures, you can park a shuttle car at South Cottonwood trailhead and be one of a handful of people to ride down this beautiful valley for the season. I hear it's ridiculous.

Back to the original goal: The final push up to the summit of Blackmore

Some wildflower shots:

Scenic of the section of ridge I walked.

Summit shot with Gallatin Valley and Bridgers:

Sorry fellas, no action shots as I was alone. Weekdays off has its drawbacks in that regard. Hopefully I can use this to motivate some weekend warriors. I had so much fun riding down. That trail has a little bit of everything and it is 99% rideable! From buff alpine cruising to dark technical forest it is a trail that is just perfect for bikes. I love rocks and roots!

On an advocacy side note, every person I met on the trail was not only totally friendly and talkative, they couldn't even believe that people ride there! I bet banning bikes wouldn't even enter their mind. That is the case with over 90% of the people that are actually out on the trail. That is why I get so livid about the tyrannical minority and their desire to legislate us off of these beautiful and perfect trails. The numbers just don't seem to be in their favor.

And the trail was in the best shape I have ever seen, by the way. So get out there and show people what we do and tell them why it is some of the greatest fun a person can have. It is our job as trail riders these days.

**cowdog** · 07-31-2008, 09:45 PM

Very nice TR! Fun area.

One of these days I'm going to ride up to Blackmore, summit, and then cruise all the way down South Cottonwood.

Although I had a great Fruita/Moab start, this is a fairly modest riding year for me. Too much work and the long, wet spring kept me off the bikes too much. I am working to ramp it up but don't have that honed riding base I usually have at this point. Grunt, gasp, hack, ... Your post helps motivate me to stick with the plan. Thumbs up.

**tromano's short post** · 07-31-2008, 10:10 PM

Siiicck!!!

**BushwackerinPA** · 07-31-2008, 10:15 PM

dude OMG that is like the sickest looking riding ever. I hope your post get people out there.

for this i would gladly break the law!

and rooty section as well

thanks again for the TR dude these have been pretty kick ass

**wanghoeby** · 07-31-2008, 10:36 PM

God I fucking love that place. You ever do Hylite peak? Looks like an awesome ride, on my list of to do's.

**tone capone** · 07-31-2008, 10:40 PM

Hell yeah. I love taking pictures of sweet sections of trail, even if there is no rider. The root and rock staircase featured in these pics goes on for miles before reaching the alpine. It is the stuff I dreamed of as a kid. Now I find myself in a place where there are practically limitless options in every direction. And yes it will be worth riding when it becomes illegal. There is simply no logical reason why people shouldn't be sharing these trails. I'm sure that practically everyone I see on them agrees. I know there are some that don't. They are the snobs that won't even look at you or say hello. They are outnumbered about 10 to 1. I love meeting cool people on the trails. I have so many great interactions with both locals and visitors.

Cowdog, that descent into South Cottonwood is sick. I bet it needs a few trees cleared. You got a chainsaw? I'll carry it up there if you wanna go.

Hyalite peak not as sweet as going up to Squaw Divide from Hyalite Lake. A must do if you get up there. Absolutely stunning trail through a high meadow basin and up to the pass. Turn around and descend 8 miles of paradise.

**Trackhead** · 08-01-2008, 07:17 AM

Kinda miss all the roots and damp soil of Hyalite. Used to ride up there all the time a million years ago.

Why are they banning bikes? New wilderness designation?

**venom600** · 08-01-2008, 08:09 AM

Aaahhhh yes. Nice TR and great pics!! Last summer we shuttled Langhor -> S. Cottonwood. Left a car at S. Cottonwood TH and drove to the top of Langhor.....was a great ride. It'd be fun to extend that ride by riding up Mt. Blackmore first.

Thanks for the stoke.

--Ben

**Skipig25** · 08-01-2008, 08:18 AM

one of my all time favorite rides. did this 3x last year, and I was amazed at it every time. bozeman bike summit anyone? that's how you get action shots

**uncle crud** · 08-01-2008, 08:46 AM

Damn, that almost looks fun.

Where'd you say those pictures are from? Nebraska?

**MarsB** · 08-01-2008, 11:08 AM

Very timely TR! Thanks for sharing, that is a beautiful place.

**tone capone** · 08-01-2008, 11:56 AM

Lets do a bike summit. Either up and back Blackmore or down Cottonwood from Blackmore. We'll get some action shots alright. That ride down Cottonwood is huge! That would be so much fun.

Trackhead: The whole Hyalite area, including all the trails, is the subject of a Montana Wilderness Association lawsuit. Hyalite being a "Wilderness Study Area", they argue that allowing mountain bikes is not in keeping with the "Wilderness Character" of the place.

For those of you who don't know, Hyalite Canyon is a day use area 30 minutes from Bozeman. It has been biked for as long as people have ridden bikes on trails. It is the one place where everyone goes in summer for a quick ride after work or to beat the heat. There are hundreds of people up there everyday hiking, boating, fishing, shooting, biking, horse riding, etc. It is a world class ice climbing destination as well. It is all right in our backyard and a very important and sustainable multiple use area where people are actually pretty accepting of one another and getting along just fine. Except until the Forest Service decided to ban the use of Snowmobiles on the road to reach the Hyalite trailhead in winter. This pretty much locks up the traditional access for backcountry skiers and ice climbers. Some pretty serious outrage in these parts because of that decision.

Bikes have done absolutely nothing to change the wilderness characteristics of the place, as we just stay on the main trails, which seem to magically get better with every year. The trails are mostly ATV width including the rocky and rooty canyon bottom jib fests of the two main canyons. There are no new trails built by or ridden by bikers in the actual Wilderness Study Area that I know of. The classics are good enough for us here.

The people of the Gallatin Valley seem to be excellent stewards of their own backyard, because all you have to do is step off trail and the place is as pristine and ecologically intact as any Wilderness that I know of in the area. Any of you Wilderness Advocates ever try that? You should use your imagination and a map a little and go for a real adventure up there. Chances are you will be as much in Wilderness as you could ever ask for.

The extractive industries have already been chased out of the Gallatin range, and the Wilderness advocates don't seem to want to admit that for some reason. They argue that without making it Wilderness, it is going to be raped again. Every time those people win a big fight, they just go on and pick another one. Nothing is ever good enough for those people. Besides, wouldn't they want the doubling of numbers brought about by mountain bikers to fight the evil land rapists if the need were to arise again? It seems to me like a tire print is way less offensive than a new logging road, but hey, thats just me.

If the Montana Wilderness Association wins it's lawsuit, then we will banished.
When the Region one forest service policy is enacted, we will be banished because that policy bans bikes before a Study area or Recommended Wilderness becomes official.

Hey Forest Service Region One folks, how about I recommend that Hyalite be a permanent multiple use area for the people of Bozeman that seem to enjoy Hyalite in a sustainable and responsible manner. How about you go set up camp in some real Wilderness and spend the winter there, since you seem to love Wilderness so much.

Thanks for checking out the pictures, guys. I am glad that you can see for yourself the awesome recreational value of this place as I do.

**Trackhead** · 08-01-2008, 12:38 PM

Trackhead: The whole Hyalite area, including all the trails, is the subject of a Montana Wilderness Association lawsuit. Hyalite being a "Wilderness Study Area", they argue that allowing mountain bikes is not in keeping with the "Wilderness Character" of the place.

So we used to ice climb up there alot too. What's the deal now with winter access? The road isn't plowed beyond the damn? No sleds then if it's wilderness?

What a bummer, no Hyalite Canyon riding? Only from Blackmore up?

**tone capone** · 08-01-2008, 01:04 PM

Even Blackmore trail is in the Wilderness Study Area. So is the Emerald Lake Trail. No snowmobiles beyond the dam anymore. It used to be that people snowmobiled on the road into the trailhead for ice climbing or to skin up to the hyalite basin for skiing, but no more. I believe that even the history rock trail is included in the study area. All of this matters now because of the MWA lawsuit and also the Region 1 Forest Policy that proposes to ban bikes from Recommended Wilderness. Just as a note, the Montana Wilderness Association put out a brochure and they drew their own boundaries in. They made it look like every inch of the Gallatin Range to the valley was the Study area. Mount Ellis, South Cottonwood canyon, the Bozeman creek watershed, EVERYTHING. That way they can lie and say they compromised when they "concede" and just include the actual study area in the demands of their lawsuit.

Better wake up Bozemanites, our riding future hangs in a delicate balance.

Anyways, this is getting depressing. Riding is an important part of advocacy. Go out and ride. Go show people how much fun it is and that it is an integral component of the evolving character of the "New West" Show them were here to stay. Prove to them that we are in fact harmless. Talk to people. Take pictures. Go a little beyond just courtesy. Then post the stoke up here.

**Trackhead** · 08-01-2008, 01:17 PM

Wow, Montana has changed quite a bit since I lived there.

I'm all for some level of conservation, but including all of the Gallatin Range is ridiculous. IMO of course.

**wanghoeby** · 08-01-2008, 05:28 PM

Wow, I had no idea how out of hand it was getting. That really sucks. So are they expecting all the hyalite traffic to move towards the bridgers or what? Where's the new multi-use area going to be.

Originally Posted by tone capone

Better wake up Bozemanites, our riding future hangs in a delicate balance.

Worth repeating.

**tone capone** · 08-01-2008, 05:43 PM

So are they expecting all the hyalite traffic to move towards the bridgers or what?

Yes, concentrated use clusterfuckle is their solution. Besides, why would the MWA or the USFS care about the consequences of a Hyalite Wilderness for us. They hate us and treat us like subhumans. If they had their way we would all be sucking dust on dirt roads. The Montana Wilderness Association has declared a war on us in their lawsuit. They spell it out. Go look it up online.

If we are ever banned from Hyalite, which could happen any day through the courts, then the concentrated use around Bozeman will create REAL trail conflict. Then people will start bitching about us being in the bridgers and we will be like Boulder or Jefferson County. Just go read those threads from the Colorado guys if you want a glimpse into the possible future of Bozeman mountain biking. Can you say trail Gestapo? They can in the Front Range of CO.

**Aenigma** · 08-01-2008, 10:30 PM

Blackmore is definitely my favorite DH run in the Bozeman area, I can't wait to get back to town and ride it! I'd definitely be up for getting together with some people to do it toward the end of August--I have work two more weeks, then fishing in the beartooths.

**Huckwheat** · 08-01-2008, 10:45 PM

Wow, EPIC. So, how long was that day? Looks like you covered alot of ground.

**Dantheman** · 08-01-2008, 11:10 PM

Epic ride, tragic loss

**tone capone** · 08-02-2008, 12:31 AM

Huckweat, the day was about 10 hours, but I took my time and like a hundred pictures.

Dantheman, It's not lost yet.

Aenigma, I expect a fishing report.