MT-78, a slow pace journey in Montana (shortened version of an article I wrote for a local newspaper).
In Desert Solitaire (1968), Edward Abbey wrote, amongst other good thoughts, that “You can’t see anything from a car; you’ve got to get out of the contraption and walk, better yet crawl, on hands and knees, over the sandstone and through the thornbush and cactus. When traces of blood begin to mark your trail you’ll see something, maybe.” Perhaps not to that extend, but I deeply believe in what Edward Abbey wrote, especially when thinking about the car’s pace. Abbey’s quote is an invitation to park your car and get outside, enjoy nature, the trails and the wilderness. Dive into the 99% that is not your car. It’s actually how I fell in love with this country (I’m french-american) and now live in Montana with my family. Every stop my wife and I would make in any state would give me this irresistible curiosity of discovering beyond the road. Add to this that I’m an avid trail runner and you have the perfect recipe to link Columbus to Red Lodge by feet on MT-78.
Note that it was not my first rodeo. Among other adventures and races, in September 2023 we ran with two friends from Cooke City to Red Lodge to create what we named the RATBEAR FKT (Run Across The Beartooth)(...)
But MT-78 is a different story. Of course you can link Columbus to Red Lodge in less than an hour, driving your car through this road, we all do for reaching recreational spots and for a lot of people it’s a daily routine to work. But the sensations from a pedestrian scale and pace is something else.
One side of this journey was to create the FKT on MT-78. (...)
The other side was to honor, spread supportive energy to all the communities and businesses that make Stillwater and Carbon counties alive. In every single streets of Columbus, Absarokee, Roscoe and Red Lodge we all know people who care for the community.
Beside the people, every veins of MT-78 is an invitation to different rooms in heaven. Countless quiet fishing accesses along the Stillwater River. Stillwater River Road in Absarokee is an invitation to Tippet Rise Art Center. Nye Road on your way to Fishtail will lead you to Mystic Lake and many other treasures. From Roscoe on the East Rosebud road I’m still looking for something more magical and majestic than the Beaten Path. Blink when you drive and you’ll miss them.
Anyway, on Sunday May 3rd at 6am I started from the I90 exit where the road officially starts. I’m lucky enough to see the Pryors, the Beartooth and the Crazies from our home, to witness many sunrises and sunsets, but I had never seen a moon setting behind the Beartooth that way (just a few days after the full moon). The first stretch from Columbus to Absarokee was pretty mild (17.5 miles), I took it as a cool warm-up (37F when I started) that gave me the opportunity to enjoy eagles, osprey, cranes, marmots, amongst the many sheep, horses, cows, the pure air breathed all day, punctuated only by the occasional deer carcasses along the road. I could not have dreamed of a more beautiful day (and it was postponed by a week because the originally chosen day turned out to be one of the greyest and coldest of the second half of April). Adding to that the need to be careful of the traffic was one of the reasons why I had chosen a Sunday.
On approach of Absarokee was a really good example of enjoying the side of the road and notice another thing you would miss from a car’s perspective: a few days prior to my run, students cleaned-up what others put down as part of the annual day of giving back. Actually, my first break was a bit after Absaraokee, just before the Nye Road because a friend lives here and was waiting for me with a few supplies. He actually joined me for the second part, from Absarokee to Roscoe (10.5 miles) and it’s on that part that we felt the heat slowly picking up. It was hard to not jump in the East Rosebud creek the first time we went over it. I would actually make a quick dip once we hit Roscoe. My main break in Roscoe with my wife, kids and friends next to the River Arts and Books bookshop was very welcome. A hard-boiled egg and an avocado to balance the gels, pouches and gummies full of electrolytes. The last stretch from Roscoe to Red Lodge (20 miles) started with this almost brutal uphill but the reward on top of it, to see the immensity of the Beartooth, is priceless. Then another friend joined me for a few miles and it was rolling hills, green prairies dotted with cows and a few clouds to keep us from overheating.
In the last downhill from the Red Lodge cemetery to the end of the road where it meets US-212, I noticed something on my watch, still in metrics for some datas, so I did two loops on the roundabout only to wrap it up to 78kms, for the MT-78, named that way in 1978. After 48.47 miles with 3645 feet elevation gain in 9h37, I was happy to be welcomed by my wife and kids but also deserved a Red Lodge pizza, a Huckleberry beer from a brewery in Hamilton and a scotcharoos from Bugle Bakery in Columbus. Only rely on the good things you can find around.
On a "running" note since I'm not a road runner the only pair I had (Hoka Carbon X3) wouldn't have worked for that kind of distance (I don't use them for more than a half-marathon distance) and I didn't want to buy a new pair so I picked anything I had that would not have long lugs and I chose my Altra Mont Blanc (non carbon).
Now that I've run it once I'll try to improve the time in 2027 if I have openings in my schedule but any good/elite/pro runner can easily remove a lot of time on this, especially from Columbus to Roscoe.
Note that a self-supported and unsupported version could be done, by refilling water in the East Rosebud Creek, where MT-78 and Nye Road meet after you exit Absarokee (17,8 miles) and once again in Roscoe (28 miles).
A big thanks to the people who helped me on this project. Matt Hutson and Mark Buckner for running a little stretch along the way, my wife, kids and friends for cheering and crewing in Absarokee and Roscoe. Don’t drive too fast, enjoy the views, pay attention to the life happening around your window and beyond. Montana Road 78 and what it can gives you access to is part of the many reasons we have called Montana home for the past three years and want to stick to it.
Nils Chapuis, Reed Point (May 2026)