The Crazy Mountains
The Crazy Mountains are an isolated, roughly oval-shaped, very rugged mountain range just north of Big Timber, Montana.  They are generally conceived to lie outside the Greater Yellowstone Ecoystem. A number of peaks exceed 11,000 feet in elevation, the highest being 11,214 foot Crazy Peak. It rises 7000 feet above the valley below. 

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The photo of the Crazies below was taken in late
November from the west side of the range.

                        © Ralph Maughan 

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Many folks would lie to see this mostly roadless mountain range protected as a wilderness area, but the legacy of the infamous Northern Pacific Railroad land grant of 1862 lives on. Forest Service lands in the mountain range are interspersed with sections, i.e., square, square miles, of private lands.

The Crazy Mountains from
near Big Timber, Montana.
copyright © Ralph Maughan

 

 

 

 

A few years ago David Strong wrote an acclaimed book about the the Crazies.  The Crazy Mountains: Learning from Wilderness to Weigh Technology . 

 

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5-7-2001