No, I don’t think I will!

 

Me on Forget-me-not Ridge

Forget-me-not Ridge, Elbow Falls area- Kananaskis, June 13, 2010

  So after our respective sisters had left for home, we were feeling like we’d been drinking and eating a bit too much, and maybe moving our bodies a bit too little.  So we headed out to do something that would make us feel a bit more normal again.  We’d been eyeing up Forget-me-not since last summer, and it looked in condition, so we decided to do it.  A few steep sections and river crossings made it interesting, but overall the trail wasn’t too steep or technical so we hoped not to be too sore the next day. 

To get to the ridge, you park at the trailhead near the Elbow Falls campground, at the south end of Powderface Trail.  We crossed the suspension bridge, then followed horse trails east and, after a river crossing, to a small, unmarked trail veering south, that headed straight up the hill.  That must be it!  The trail climbed very steeply for about 1/2 hour and then we came out onto the top of the ridge.  We were greeted by wide, rolling, grassy slopes and wide open views of the Rockies to the west and the praries to the east- even a view of downtown Calgary miles away.  There was no defined trail most of the way, but going was easy and we were able to meander along while enjoying the gorgeous views and blue sky.  I felt like breaking out into song, “The hiiiilllls are aliiiiive…”   

After one small scrambling section and lots of rock hopping, we made it to the high point of Forget-me-not Mtn.  It took us about 3 1/2 hours, and I was a little weary, but feeling good.  We had really only planned for a 5-6 hour hike, and as such only had limited food and water.  But since we were feeling good, we decided to complete the 24-k loop by dropping from the south end of the ridge into the Threepoint Creek valley, which would then take us to the Elbow River and back up to the trailhead.  Our map showed that there was a faint trail, so we were pretty confident.   

Mike and I on the summit of Forgetmenot Mountain, 2330m. The ridge you can see snaking away behind us.

As we started heading down onto the big, flat meadowy area below the summit, that we hoped would lead us to a quick, easy descent to the creek, I started getting a little worried.  There was not even a hint of a trail, and we had to climb down part of a cliff rock face.  We wandered out onto the meadow and walked to the far end, looking for a swift descent.  We didn’t get it.  Instead, we went scree-sliding between the thin trees and rock bands all the way down- no sign of a trail.  But when we reached the valley we found one following the creek!  Hallelujah! 

  

My celebration didn’t last long.  I realized that the map said that sections of the trail had been washed out during flooding in 2005, and it was obviously in some disuse.  No sooner did we find the trail than we promptly lost it.  We had a very obvious valley to follow, so we weren’t in danger of getting lost, but it is no fun bashing through trees and brush worrying about ticks and all of the huge spiderwebs with spiders IN THE MIDDLE of them, so when you run into the web you get a spider on your face!  EEEEEWWWWW!  Creepy-crawlies big time!  But at least we spotted some of the mountain’s namesake while we were wandering  

Forget-me-nots!

We finally found a trail after about an hour of wandering around and bushwhacking.  It was still faint, but the track was wide, and had been in use by deer, moose, and at least one (recent!) bear.  I started feeling better and better, and was relieved when we came to a post and a new trail (Threepoint Mountain Trail) that had been used by horses recently.  It was an easy return route, but by now we’d been going at least 6 hours, were out of food and almost water, and still had 9k to go back to the car.  And I started to find out about my horrible sumburn that was starting to form even under 3 coats of spf30.  (I’m VERY fair-skinned.)  So we soldiered on.  Although the last river crossing lifted my spirits a bit with the cool water, the last 4k along the flat, wide Big Elbow trail felt like a death march, but we made it back finally. 

  

I would DEFINITELY recommend this hike- it was so beautiful and easy walking along the top, and I feel like there will be some amazing flowers on the ridge in a few weeks- the only tricky part is the river crossings, for which I’d recommend sandals and some sturdy hiking poles- and no young ones going across by themselves.  However, I think we would have been better off simply retracing our steps along the ridge.   If you decide to do the whole loop, just make sure you bring enough water and food, and be prepared for route-finding and bushwhacking! 

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