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Greatheart Mesa, Zion National Park

Drew turning it up at Snowbird All outdoor athletes take falls and get injured. I’ve seen it in trail races; I’ve experienced it in trail races. We all go down occasionally, always unexpectedly. That’s the nature of accidents. If we had the time and the acute sense of what was about to happen, we’d make adjustments or slam on the brakes. We’d mutter, “Whew, that was a close one.” Most accidents leave us scratched or bloody. But sometimes people can’t just get back up, dust t

Mount Jefferson and Hollowtop The little village of Pony feels like the threshold to an earlier age. Populations fade as you head west from Bozeman and approach the Tobacco Root Mountains: Three Forks, a town of 1,600 off I-90, is the largest town in the vicinity of the Tobacco Roots. Pony was once a gold mining town. Legend has it that the town got its name when gold prospector Smith McCumpsey, “Pony,” threw his prospector’s pick into a thicket and found gold right where it

Hyalite Peak and Big Chief Mountain The Hyalite Ultimate Ridge Linkup (HURL) Route is a trek that young fit trail runners work to complete in one long exhausting day. My son-in-law Chris and I have spent two days on it thus far, one in each of last year and this year, and we still have one section to go. We are both fit; we came up short on our first attempt because I slept poorly and I am old. I really wanted to do this route, but nervousness kept me up much of the night bef

The author in 1984; Stoney Indian Lake and Pass, Cathedral Peak and Mount Kipp in the background I excitedly stepped into the opening of the Ptarmigan Tunnel. On the other end of the tunnel, through some 150 feet of blasted rock, a being was standing in the door holding a trident. I did a double take; it was still there. I stood staring. Was I looking through a rip in spacetime? Was there a mythological tale in which Poseidon was driven from the depths of the ocean to the hei

Jumbo Mountain Forest and I were committed. It happened much sooner in the day than I expected, but I didn’t want to descend this climb. It was a 1,000-foot ascent up boulders and meadows to gain the ridge above Lava Lake and damn it was steep. I could hear the wind in the trees. High winds were forecast for later in the day. I had hoped that with an early start and fast pace we could crest all the peaks that were ahead of us before the winds slammed us. It took an hour to ga

Black Mountain above Jewel Lake I was on fire. Young and strong, I pushed hard up the five steep miles to Pine Creek Lake, looked around, figured out which peak was Black Mountain and set off. I clambered up steep terrain over lots of loose boulders, then a stretch of meadow and in no time at all, I was on top. Only now that I was on top, did I notice that I wasn’t standing on the tallest mountain in the basin. I had missed it … by a lot. Unnamed mountain I climbed in 1981 Th

Looking south from Naya-Nuki (2025 race) Family, friends, my doctors, heck even the mailman and the guy who picks up the trash have heard me say it: “This is my last Ridge Run.” I've been saying this for years now; none of them believe me anymore. "Sure, sure. You'll get amnesia. You'll be back." It’s the hardest race I do. I spend much of the year prepping for it and stressing about it. At my age and given my diminishing capacity for running up there, I should quit. I know i

Peaks of the Mattertal Valley I’ve wanted to hike the Haute Route for decades. I first heard about the Skiers Haute Route when a professor of mine at Montana State University presented a slide show after skiing it back in the mid-1980s. I’ve read articles about hiking the Walker’s Haute Route since then and it’s always been in the back of my mind that I would get there someday. Why did it take me so long? Terry and I did one European trip in our working years; we found it dif

I really love the way this story turned out. The published version has a better title and is tightened up a bit. If I have to be picky, and I do, I would have preferred they placed the author's note at the beginning of the story the way I had it, as it provides context as to where the idea for the story originated. Give the button below a click and enjoy!

Gathering at the start I distinguish between trail races and mountain races. Around the Bozeman area, I classify the Bridger Ridge Run, Baldy Blitz, Devil’s Backbone and Old Gabe as mountain races. These races have rough, rocky trails, brutally steep climbs, and in the case of Old Gabe lots of creek crossings and at least one snowfield. I alternatively categorize the Bangtail Divide 38K as a trail race, and what a trail. Yes, there are a few rough sections, but for the most p

Jim giving pre-race instructions “Grandpa, tell me a story.” “Did I ever tell you the one about the 2026 Old Gabe race?” My granddaughter, Hope, shakes her head. Well, I had a few injuries that year and I barely made it to the starting line. I wanted to race, but my feet were urging caution. I had been debating making a deal with the devil, but I’m an atheist. Can’t trade your soul for a first-place finish—the devil laughed about that possibility—if you ain’t got one. Maybe I

This is my story from the 2025 Old Gabe race with lots of additional pictures. People really seemed to like this tale. It was something that I expect lots of trail runners could relate to. A few folks even stopped me when I was at other races to tell me how much they liked it. The button below takes you to the Outside Bozeman version of the story. Enjoy, Chuck

Sacajawea from Baldy on a training run a few days prior to race day M trailhead, 9:00 am, May 16, 2026. Mark, the race organizer, hands his son the mic. The little guy says "Ready, set, go!" Runners surge forward. The Baldy Blitz, put on by the Big Sky Wind Drinkers, has begun. As we start climbing, my first thought is that a little rain would have been nice. Not during the race, but the day before. Just enough to get the trail wet with enough sun afterward to harden the soil

I recently finished reading a book about the impact of artificial intelligence on the future of humanity. I couldn't resist having a little fun with it. At least I hope this is just fun. Thanks for reading. Chuck With apologies to 2001: A Space Odyssey Hal, why am I hiking around in circles? Dave, you said you wanted to see as many lakes as possible. But you're taking me to the same four Spanish Lakes over and over again. These ones are close together. This way I am maximizin

Tetons in the distance from northwest Yellowstone Winter didn’t go as planned. The plan was simple: lots of alpine and skate skiing. The older I get, the more my alpine skiing tends to be off-piste. Bridger Bowl allows lift assisted side-country skiing, where after topping out on a lift, one can hike or skin into the adjacent backcountry. I typically do that a lot. On powder days—the only days I ski—I’ll start the day in bounds, but as soon as in bounds get tracked up, I head

Cays from Lind Point trail in early morning light January 31, 2026: Stepping outside, I am reminded of a hot sticky morning in a DC summer. It's never cool in St John, the temperatures, even in January, rarely dip below 73 degrees, but this morning's low is 79, the air is thick. Ugh! It's cloudy, the views will be limited, but I still jump out of bed at first light: coffee, stretch and I'm off. This is my last big run here and I'm determined to run my favorite loop down to th

Sacajawea, the left peak of the twin, from Corbly Gulch Road on an early January 2026 gravel road bike ride This is my entry to Outside Bozeman's Montana Made Me Do It contest. It's supposed to be a few hundred words about some past adventure. This is more serene than wild, so it's unlikely to win, but it was a fun adventure from way back that I'd never written about before. No idea what I'll get if I win besides my story appearing in the Spring Issue: OB tee shirt maybe or a

What follows is a two-page synopsis for my 87,000 word--roughly 300-page--political science fiction novel. At the end of the synopsis, I ask readers to please respond to the poll questions. Please share this link. The more responses I get the better. Synopsis Sam is a political consultant and speechwriter who excels at coalition building. He is instrumental in getting President Nichols elected by presenting him as a centrist problem-solving candidate. Upon getting elected the

I'm posting this a few weeks before midwinter's night because I figure that y'all will be too busy with the holidays by then to read it. It's a bit more Disney than my usual stories. I hope you like it. Chuck “This is going to be an amazing night to ski!” Dan exclaims into the night air and to Chelsea, his girlfriend, who is one step ahead of him. It is midwinter’s night; fresh snow fell all day and it’s now cold and clear with a brilliant full moon. They are at the base of t

View from the top of Baldy It was a great season, it was a tough season, and it was all too short. Summer arrives late in the high country surrounding Bozeman. With about 17 hours of daylight at the summer solstice, the heat builds, the snow melts and the last of the passes open by mid-July. The melting snow floods mountain meadows releasing a nuisance of summertime bugs. So we get up as early as we can muster to head out running; cool early mornings and constant movement kee