I was very lucky to hike up Helena’s Sleeping Giant yesterday.
I went along with the Wolstein Family, as they were doing the hike as part of their 2016 family reunion.
I went along with the Wolstein Family, as they were doing the hike as part of their 2016 family reunion.
The old Hilger homestead just north of Gates of the Mountains
An old schoolhouse on the Hilger homestead
A home on the Hilger homestead
Inside the Hilger and Synness families historic museum on the homestead
You'll find lots of old newspaper clippings in the museum
There was also a big wedding up at the Synness homestead on the day of our hike
The Sleeping Giant is on private land so you can’t hike up there by yourself, or at least without permission.
It’s Synness family land and has been for 131 years. Ole Synness bought a 160-acre homestead there in 1885.
At that time the Sleeping Giant was known as the Beartooth and it was quite the remote place, being 20 miles north of Helena and all.
Pastureland north of Helena
Starting the hike, just north of the Synness homestead
The view of the Sleeping Giant from the Synness homestead
It's a 2-mile hike from the homestead
Ole Synness was from Norway and brought his wife over in 1897. In 1909 Ole died in Wolf Creek Canyon after being dragged by a wagon.
His wife Maggie was left to care for five children all by herself, as well as two nephews from the Wolstein family.
“Her only income was what she could earn milking cows and selling butter and eggs,” we’re told on Helena History.
She's getting closer
Hikers making their way up to the Sleeping Giant's nose
Great vies of Helena as you walk through the forested part of the trail
The cliffs rise up above you as you walk on the trail
The rocks really begin to resemble teeth the closer you get
Prior to 1878 the Sleeping Giant was called the Beartooth or the Bear Teeth.
In 1878 there was an earthquake and landslides altered the beartooth outcroppings and formed the current look of the mountain.
It wasn’t until the 1890s, when a German immigrant in Helena mentioned the formation looked just like a sleeping burgomeister (mayor), that the name Sleeping Giant was first used.
I was looking forward to what the top of that mountain looked like and had a beautiful day for it in late-June.
Now we're on the 'saddle' area between the nose and the giant's brow
It's from that 'saddle' area that you get your first views of the Missouri River at the 80-mile mark along it's 2,639 mile journey to the Gulf of Mexico
Looking up at the Sleeping Giant's nose
This is what the trail looks like this high, and I can't help but think much of this is from the 1878 earthquake when one of the bear's teeth was destroyed
Between the nose and the upper lip, this spot affords great views...and we even saw a forest fire in the distance
Another view of the Missouri River 25 miles south of Helena
Hiking up the nose and looking over at the lips
Looking south toward Helena from the Sleeping Giant's nose
Looking down from the nose to the 'saddle' area
This is halfway up the front of the nose. You have to go around to the backside to get to the top
Hikers realizing the front of the nose is too difficult for free climbing
Great view looking east from a cleft in the rocks, a drop of hundreds of feet right in front of you
Looking at the Missouri River from atop the Sleeping Giant's nose, the highest point
Looking east
Looking south, this is another large formation that you can't see from Helena as it's behind the nose
That's me above the Upper-Missouri
Well, it was quite the hike. All of us were pretty worn-out afterward. It was fun, though, and I’m very thankful that I got to hike to the top of a mountain I’ve been looking at my whole life.
I hope you enjoyed seeing what it looks like as well.
The Sleeping Giant after welcoming some hikers
