26K: The 26K race course makes up the bulk of what was the 20 Mile race course from the past two years. We are reversing direction though, making a counter-clockwise loop. Most watches will measure 6200-6500' of climbing on this ultra classic loop.
Begin at the Fish Hatchery grass and climb the access road to the Trailhead above, joining Trail #113 via the LIVESTOCK entrance (less logjam). Climb just 50 meters and go LEFT at a junction, staying on Trail #113 and running along the river. At 0.6mi into the run, go RIGHT on Trail 65, climbing steeply. This trail has recently seen an amazing upgrade from the Nelson Family of McCall. Reach a grassy plateau at 3750' and descend briefly into the arid “Desert” area of Blue Gulch. Cross Blue Gulch Creek, go upstream about 50 meters and make a hairpin turn LEFT. Climb the steep forested trail to 4080' and go RIGHT at a big dead ponderosa pine and go through a meadow. Find the trail on the other side of the meadow and continue climbing, with a few rolling downhills thrown in here. At 4700' reach the tree line and go uphill on the obvious ridge staying in open country terrain near the tree line. Cross a low angled ridge and at 5000' go LEFT on an obvious trail cutting across the face above. Reach a saddle at around 5400' and continue traversing the tree line on a good trail. The trail climbs very steeply into a sparse ponderosa pine section, then the trail gets very vague around 5800'. Lots of elk trails in this area complicate matters. If you follow tree line, you can't go wrong. This section will be marked very well on race day. At 6160' reconnect with a good trail that runs just south and under the small hump that is Mount Sampson. Continue heading west on a beautiful singletrack and soon reach Game Warden Saddle at 6350'. The trail cuts behind a small nob and reaches another small saddle at 6475'. The route is obvious above, follow the tree line. Years 2024-25 had snow from this area to the top. I will route around it when I can and compress it into a good, firm trench as much as possible. Reach the summit plateau with sparse lodgepole pines. Cross the plateau and at 7175', reach our high point at 6.25mi and take in the mega-iconic view of the Seven Devils! At a big metal stake in the ground, go LEFT and descend. Because of snow conditions, this quick descent to Cannonball Spring may vary from the provided GPX file. The Spring is at 6750' tucked into the trees. It is great water that just about everyone drinks without filtering (your call). Fill from the pipe the dumps into the big, silver trough. Go south and carefully drop off a crazy steep precipice, taking a straight shot at Coconut Grove at 5500'. Climb over a few old, downed trees in the grove and find a trail that breaks right and continues descending. Cross the drainage and find a better trail angling into open country and down a steep chute to Log Trough Spring at 4825'. In my experience, this is not a good drinking spot, mucky and cow pie infested. Continue down the blunt ridge and the trail gets better and has switchbacks. Enter the trees and cross Bridge Creek. Pass the ancient, roofless Wurl Cabin at 4500'. A sharp right turn just past the cabin keeps you on a good trail and descending. Soon cross McRea Creek. Both Bridge and McRea Creeks are good water sources that most people will filter and drink. Drop steeply through the forest and enter a grassy meadow where you find McRea Cabin (4000') at 8.75mi. A stash of gels, cereal bars, gummies, and some first aid stuff will be sitting on the table as you enter, no water. Leaving McRea Cabin, take a LEFT onto Trail #113 and soon cross McRea Creek again and descend down the West Fork of Rapid River to an aid station at Potter Flat (3150') at 11.25mi. This will be a manned aid station that is backpacked in by volunteers. This is the split where 26K and 53K runners go in different directions, so pay attention to how you leave the aid station. Continue on Trail #113 out of Potter Flat, and descend sharply. Use caution on this slope, there are steep drops to your right. At a junction, keep LEFT (53K now joins 26K to finish). Continue descending on Trail #113 and soon cross an awesome bridge over the Main Fork of Rapid River. From the bridge, it is just under 4 miles to the finish, following rolling hills along the raging river. This section has probably a dozen uphills, but only 4 or 5 that are long enough to really hurt. At the Trailhead, take the Livestock exit and finish down the access road and into the Hatchery meadow.
53K HG ULTRA
This thing is an absolute BEAST! Packing nearly 13,000 feet of climbing over steep, wild and technical terrain, few 50K+ races on Earth can match it in intensity.
Start with the first 11.25 miles of the 26K climbing Cannonball Mtn, descending to McRea Cabin and running down the West Fork of Rapid River to the Potter Flat Aid Station. All of this is described above in the 26K description. There will be a cutoff here (TBA) and any runner missing it will drop down to the 26K race for an official finish.
From Potter Flat, cross the West Fork of Rapid River and in the back right side of the meadow, find the Potter Trail #60 (unmarked). Climb a series of switchbacks for 700' vertical to 3800' and the old Potter Place Homestead. Cross the homestead meadow, heading east towards the left side of the meadow. Find the sparse trail there and continue upward. The next two miles climb switchbacks for over 2000' of climbing, before the trail rolls through dark forest and climbs up to a high point of around 6400' and a short descent to Chain Spring at Mile 15.5...a few steps off the trail at a tank with a flexible black pipe. Fill bottles with the pipe, filter if squeamish.
Now we descend 3+ miles for over 3000' of vertical drop. It begins as forested trail, then at around 5000' it enters open country grass with nice switchbacks. It reenters the forest as you approach the bottom.
Here you will find the only complicated junction of the race. This junction is called "Wyant Camp" on older US Forest Maps. First, you will come to a junction with Trail #59 (East Fork RR Trail). This point begins a 3.7mi out and back. Keep going straight another 100 yards downhill to another junction and go LEFT and keep descending down to a large bridge over Rapid River. Cross the bridge and begin the 3.5mi/ 2000' climb to Rattlesnake Trailhead Aid Station. This trail is in excellent shape and has nice footing throughout. It is steep in sections, but has a few smoother bits and short downhills for relief. Reach the Aid Station at mile 22.5 at 5000' elevation. 10+ miles and all downhill from here to the finish... if you don't count the 30 or so punchy rollers in the canyon bottom.
Descend back to Wyant Camp, bear RIGHT at the first junction and climb 100 yards to the second junction (thus ending the out and back section) now go RIGHT onto Trail #59. You will follow this trail for 3 miles. From this turn, the biggest hill remaining in the race starts here, maybe 300 feet high. The trail then rolls continuously taking you down near the river bank. The trail in the last mile of this stretch has been rough and overgrown but we are working it intensely to reclaim its glory. It is continuously wild, weird, technical and unrelenting. Near the confluence of the East and West Forks of Rapid River, cross a nice but often slippery bridge. Climb a short set of switchbacks to the junction with the West Fork RR Trail #113. Go RIGHT and descend a quarter mile to another nice bridge. Cross the bridge and enjoy the beautiful final 3.75 miles along Rapid River. There are plenty of hills, but the climbs are never more than about feet. Follow the river trail back to the Trailhead and down the access road to the finish of what may the wildest day of running you ever had in the mountains.
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