Trolley driver Beaner Hern is in a jolly mood when he climbs onto the bus, wraps his fingers around the brass pole and looks back over the passengers dressed in colorful sneakers and wicking shirt.

"You ready?" he asks, climbing into his seat. His eyes glance in the mirror and his grin travels in light waves to the back of the bus where a black dog is wagging its tail.

The 22 hikers, bikers and runners on the 8:40 a.m. trolley must have retired early Friday night, which explains why they're here on a Saturday morning without any cheek wrinkles or sleepy eyes.

The mood is jovial. Conversations on mothers-in-law and dog breeds quickly reach a noisy din before Hern pulls the bus from the stop, as if easing a small frigate out to sea.

"Let's do it," he says.

The quarters are tight and the seats are hard; standing-room only. Music rings from the overhead speakers, sounding like songs from a Victor Victrola. It's something from the 1980s, maybe INXS or REO Speedwagon, fun but hardly contemporary.

We clamor past the Blackfoot Brewery, past Reeder's Alley and swing up Grizzly Gulch. Potholes rattle the bus, popping joints and backs while forcing the conversations to rise in volume.

The old black dog braces for the bumps, stiffening its legs. Within minutes the trolley fills with dust. It's a fine powdery dust that starts in the back and moves fog-like toward the front until everyone's enveloped in this Grizzly Gulch mist.

Within 15 minutes the passengers will mingle at the trailhead, setting off on sneakers and knobby tires to the ridge high above. The pace back to the city will be easy. It's mostly downhill with enough trail options to keep an explorer busy all summer.

"There's the Ridge Trail, of course, but there are a lot of other trails you have access to from up there," said Robin Shropshire, a morning rider who's heading to the ridge to run with friends. "There are just so many different options you would never get bored."

Shropshire spends the ride talking about a surprise party she's planning. She's been riding the trolley since it began puttering up the mountain four summers ago. It's interesting, she notes, to see the steady increase in riders. Not long ago, the trolley often left the downtown stop half full.

These days, it's packed. When it reaches the top and rattles to a stop, Shropshire and Jackie Boyle set off up the trail with friends. They run up the hill and around the bend before the bikers can finish gearing up and stretch their hamstrings.

Derek Swart pulls his Giant mountain bike off the trolley and gets ready to ride. Around him, passengers vanish up the trail. The black dog and its master move up the hill at an easy pace.

"The trolley is uniquely Helena," says Swart. "If I'm feeling pure, I'll ride up. If I want to enjoy all of what Helena offers, I'll ride the bus."

The weekend Trolley to Trails was launched in 2004 during the Prickly Pear Land Trust's annual Don't Fence Me In trail run. The idea was to alleviate vehicle traffic at the popular jumping-off point up Grizzly Gulch by giving hikers and bikers a ride to the top.

That way, the reasoning went, they would leave their car in town. What's more, after their hike or ride, they might stop for lunch or pause to shop at a downtown business on a Saturday afternoon.

"I don't own a car, so having the trolley is a huge advantage," said Boyle, who hit the trail "training for the race that never seems to happen."

"I've lived in other towns in Montana, and you never have that kind of access so quickly to that many trails," she added. "It's well connected. If the trail you're on is too busy, you can just find another trail."

Boyle is one of the lucky ones who, after a run back to Helena, can duck off a branching trail and end up on her porch.

In a city like Helena, wrapped on two sides by one of the most expansive trail networks in the state, nearly half the residents can access a trail in a matter of minutes. The trolley helps expedite the process, offering free Saturday morning rides to the top.

"I've lived in cities where there were great trail systems, but you had to drive for 45 minutes to get to them," Shropshire says after her run. "We're so fortunate in Helena. You can access all that out your back door."

Reporter Martin Kidston: mkidston@helenair.com or 447-4086