Route: Bridger Beatdown (MT)

Beginning and ending at the classic "M" trailhead in Bozeman, Montana, The Bridger Beatdown combines two popular trail systems create an epic (and brutal) loop. The Foothills Trail traverses the western slope of the Bridger range and ends at the saddle of Sacajawea Peak where it joins the famed Bridger Ridge Trail. Tom Hayes describes the foothills trail as designed "by a demon to obtain the maximum amount of elevation possible." At points the foothills trail in a mere half mile below the ridge line. The Bridger Ridge Trail is home to the Bridger Ridge Run, a technical trail race with raw exposure along a jagged ridge line. There is very little water on the route. There are two places to filter water on the Foothills Trail at Middle Cottonwood Creek and from a water pipe just before Ross Pass.