What happens if I discharge or lose my bear spray?
Deploy your bear spray
If you or your pacer deploys bear spray, please notify a volunteer at the next aid station. They will give you a fresh can in exchange for your old can.
Do not discard your used can on the trail!
Lose your bear spray
Please avoid this scenario at all costs. Please do not tempt your race management team into thinking that you would simply claim that you lost your bear spray, if you were checked.
If you drop your bear spray on the trail, take the time to find it. 30 minutes off your finishing time is a worthwhile investment for not leaving a loaded can of bear spray on the trail – a very real hazard for wildlife and other trail users.
If you’re unable to find your bear spray – and you poured your full self into looking for it – please notify a volunteer at the next aid station and tell them where you think you lost it. The volunteer will give you a replacement can and notify our sweepers that a “live” can is on the trail. Our sweepers will do their best to find it. But if they are unable to do so, you will be an unofficial finisher.
How do I properly use bear spray?
Carrying bear spray is one thing. Knowing how to quickly and safely deploy it is another. Before race day, please watch this video on how to property deploy bear spray.
If I am a solo runner and drop, how will I get to the finish?
If you are a solo runner and drop, the aid station captain will coordinate a ride for you to the finish – not to the start. We simply ask for your patience, particularly at some of the more “distant” aid stations, like Menace Falls and Strawberry Creek.
Can I preview the course before race day?
You are welcome to preview any part of the course before race day except for the finish at the Box Y Ranch. The finish is on private property, but the rest of the course is on public land — the Bridger-Teton National Forest.
Watch out for snow, though. Many of the high sections of the course remain packed in snow until late June or early July. Although an imprecise tool, you can estimate snowpack from Snotel stations around the course:
Triple Peak
Blind Bull
Willow Creek
May I carry a firearm?
Assuming you meet all applicable laws and regulations, you may carry a firearm during the event. However, carrying a firearm does not remove the requirement to carry bear spray.
Who makes your finisher belt buckles?
We proudly partner with Montana Silversmiths for our finisher buckles — real, silver-plated buckles. We have a different buckle for each time you finish the race.
Where are restrooms on the course?
Our course map shows restroom locations. We’ll have portable restrooms at Middle Piney Lake, McDougal Gap, and the Box Y Ranch. There are also public Forest Service “pit” toilets at various points around the course.
Beyond these options, we ask that you follow the Forest Service’s recreate responsibly guidelines when answering nature’s call:
Find a spot at least 200 feet from any water source
Dig a hole 6-8 inches deep and bury human waste
Pack out used toilet paper and feminine products. Animals will dig up and scatter those products
Do I and/or my crew need a 4WD vehicle?
Yes. In fact, you and/or your crew should have a 4WD, high-clearance vehicle with at least 8-ply all terrain tires. What’s more, make sure the spare tire is fully inflated and you have the tools and knowledge to install it.
Bring a full tank of gas and a full gas can, too. From most locations on the course, gas is a three- to four-hour roundtrip.
What are the odds I’ll see a Grizzly?
We address this question on our bears page. Here’s a preview: The best information we can give you on grizzlies is the latest interagency grizzly report. It acknowledges the spread of grizzlies throughout the greater Yellowstone ecosystem (GYE) and notes several confirmed grizzly sightings in the Wyoming Range from 2006 to 2020. The report does not, however, offer an annualized total of confirmed sightings specifically in the Wyoming Range.
When talking to folks who live and work in the Range — wranglers, outfitters, guides, etc. — it seems like "two or three" sightings per year is the common count. This count, by the way, is global — that is, total sightings across the Wyoming Range. I have no idea if "two or three" is valid.
We had two credible sightings in our first year (2021). About a week before the race, a scientist, who was hiking in a leisurely (non-professional) capacity, believed he saw a grizzly near our course and sent us an email. The scientist saw the bear about six miles west of the Rimrock aid station. Then, during the race, a runner and her pacer, both of whom are local, claimed to see a grizzly a few miles north of the Deadman aid station. The pacer, importantly, is a guide in the Wyoming Range — someone, in other words, who has seen grizzlies before.
In our second year (2022), we received reports of an elk kill in the area near 2021's first grizzly sighting. According to the person who reported the kill, it had signs of a grizzly. They didn't explain what that meant, however. The person readily admitted they were not a grizzly expert but spent a fair amount of time in grizzly country.
If you crosswalked our 2021 and 2022 experiences, you wouldn’t be faulted for assuming that a grizzly has travelled around the northern half of the Willow Creek drainage. Against this backdrop, I'll say black bears are common throughout the Wyoming Range, and runners have seen plenty of them.