Forum Peak III
June 30, 2021
Mountain height: 2415 m
Elevation gain: approximately
1000 m
Round-trip time: 7:40
Solo scramble.
Forum Peak was more of an afterthought than
anything else here – but what an amazing afterthought it was!
The primary goal was to re-hike the Wall Lake
and Forum Lake trails to check out how they may have changed since the Kenow
fire. This would also be my first time biking (actually e-biking) the trail to
Akamina Pass and then to Wall Lake.
It goes without saying that e-biking to Wall
Lake was a blast; and almost without saying that biking the same trail,
for me, would have been excruciating (except the downhill parts!). No, I am not
a mountain biker!
My recollection of Wall Lake didn’t quite
send good shivers up my spine, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that
another visit did just that. This was especially true for the northwest side of
the lake, where snow and ice still remained, providing some amazing mini-iceberg
scenery.
The bike ride back to the Akamina Pass Trail
was expectedly fun and then it was on to Forum Lake. After a nostalgic glimpse
of the lake, I couldn’t resist an even more nostalgic run up to Akamina Ridge.
16 years had passed since Mark, Keri, and I had ascended this
route and my recollection was that it was a good
one.
My recollection didn’t do the route justice.
It’s a great route - some steep hiking, easy but fun scrambling, and stunning
scenery and views conspired to make it so. Upon reaching a minor col between
Akamina Ridge and a small bump east of the ridge, a quick detour up to the
summit of that bump was taken – short, easy, and with delightful views for both
Wall and Forum lakes.
Then, onto Akamina Ridge. Once the ridge was
gained, I decided to take another run up Forum Peak instead of the true summit
of Akamina (perhaps because Forum is mostly downhill from this point!). This
would be my third trip to that summit, but again many years had passed, and my perception
(appreciation of scenery) has changed somewhat over those years.
Forum was spectacular – phenomenal views of
Cameron Lake, Upper Kintla Lake and the wonderful mountains around it, and much
more. Though often overlooked in favour of loftier objectives, Forum Peak
provides views that easily equal those from bigger, nearby mountains. The
summit is also home to several closely spaced high points, each with its own oversized
cairn. They were all worth a visit, providing slightly different vistas.
At this point, with waning energy levels, it
was time to go home – but which way? Given that I had never used Alan Kane’s
route via Forum Ridge, this seemed like a good time to try. Descending the unknown
route was a little more challenging and longer than expected but eventually I
arrived at the high point of Forum Ridge, where Dave and I had stopped in May of
this year. Of course, the easy descent down to Cameron Lake was out of the question
since my bike was hanging out at the Forum Lake trailhead. Instead, I took a
direct line down to Forum Lake, hiked around the west side of the lake, and
then down the Forum Lake Trail to my bike. The 2.2 km bike ride back to the
parking lot was criminally easy!
A fantastic return to two beautiful lakes and
an even better summit.
The Akamina Pass Trail is obviously more open after the Kenow fire
Wall Lake
A cut down tree and lake reflections
Akamina Ridge above Wall Lake
The icebergs at the back of the lake
Proof that most of the mass of an iceberg really is below the surface
Great views from the northwest side of the lake. Mount Rowe just right of centre.
\
The very steep east face of Akamina Ridge
It was difficult to leave this stunning spot
Still difficult
Going upslope for a better view
A group of ducklings make their way across the lake
Finally, starting to leave
But very slowly
A small inlet full of deadfall
Forum Falls
One of a few cascades encountered along the Forum Lake Trail
Forum Lake
The south side of Forum Lake
Heading up the Akamina Ridge Trail
At the col. Akamina Ridge is stretched out to the right and the route to get the the ridge goes up the left side.
Detour to the minor high point east of the col
The view from the high point features views of Akamina Ridge, as well as both Wall (right) and Forum (left) lakes
Heading up to Akamina and looking back to the high point
Typical rock of the fun section of scrambling between the col and the ridge
Same as above
And again, with some lichen
There are occasional views of Wall Lake
And occasional views of Forum Lake and its terrific surroundings
Above the scrambling, it's an easy hike to the ridge
Some good looking high points of Kishinena Ridge to the west of Akamina Ridge
Great views of Canada (right) and America (center and everything to the left) throughout the ridgewalk to Forum
Mount Custer (right) and Chapman Peak (behind and left)
Some of the treasures of Glacier National Park, Montana
Mount Peabody, in Glacier, looks so cool
So do Kintla (right) and Kinnerly
Canada ain't too shabby either!
First major red argillite sighting of the day
Better take it all in while it lasts
Looking north along the east face of Akamina
Looking south along the east face of Akamina. The descent route off Forum Peak follows the ledge below the upper rock band.
Approaching the first of several summit cairns
It's a big one!
The first of many spectacular views of Cameron Lake
Summit view into Glacier
One of the cooler rock structures I've seen on a mountain
Same as above from the other direction
Kintla, Kinnerly, and beautiful Upper Kintla Lake
The long ridge to Mount Custer
The best of both our countries
At one of the other high points near the summit
It too has a cairn, but a far more modest one
You can never underestimate the scenic power of remaining winter snow in late June
Heading back
The route down goes around and then below the snow
Below the ridge and traversing over to Forum Ridge
There is a good trail for the first and last section, but some exposed hiking/scrambling between
The last section
On Forum Ridge
Stunning view of Cameron Lake from here
Yet another two lake view
Looking back up to Forum Peak. There is a challenging route right up the nose.
Descending to the southwest side of Forum Lake
The crystal clear waters of the lake
Hiking around the west and northwest sides of the lake
Another cascade along the Forum Lake Trail
Forum Falls looks better later in the day
Looking back to Forum Ridge and the burned out remains of the Kenow fire
The End
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