Forgetmenot Ridge North Summit

Forgetmenot Ridge North Summit
Kananaskis, Alberta
August 29, 2022
Distance: 15.2 km (9.4 mi)
Cumulative Elevation Gain: 734 m (2408 ft)

In 2008, Dinah and I hiked Forgetmenot Ridge and Forgetmenot Mountain, and now we returned to climb the easier North and Northeast Summits. The long, open ridges are the picture of tranquillity, except for a bear charging toward us.

Our hike began at Little Elbow Recreation Area. We crossed the Elbow River bridge and followed a trail to the edge of the gravel flats. On the other side, a red diamond marks a continuation, actually an old road. The trail to Forgetmenot Ridge begins after the road crosses a creek.

After a steep climb, the grade mercifully eased, and we caught sight of Forgetmenot Ridge North Summit. A short time later, we could see where hikers could leave the trail and take a direct route to the summit (see Sonny's trip report). But it was a fine day and we were in no hurry. We skipped the shortcut and stuck to the easy trail, opting to walk the length of the ridge. When the trail ended at a cairn, we turned and ambled along the ridge to the summit.

We spent several minutes by the huge cairn before turning around. We followed the ridge to where it connects with the ridge to the Northeast Summit. Here's where things got interesting.

After starting up the ridge, I spied a black bear about 150 m away. It was more than the 100 m that experts recommend staying from a bear. I expected we would go unnoticed or at least be ignored. I alerted Dinah and pulled out my camera. But incredibly, the bear caught sight of us and reacted by racing towards us! Distracted with my camera, I was caught off guard, but Dinah acted swiftly. She took out her bear spray and told me to do the same. Then she yelled. The bear turned tail and ran. It all transpired in seconds. I still had my camera in hand, so I videoed it fleeing over the ridge.

The bear was out of sight, but we weren't sure if the threat had ended. We cautiously wandered up the ridge looking for the bear, but it had disappeared into the woods.

We finished our trip without any more surprises. We continued to the Northeast Summit which was barely higher than the North Summit and turned around. We returned to the trail marked with the cairn and hiked back to the parking lot.

Since this bear encounter, we learned a few things. When we hiked through the forest, we yelled to warn bears but stopped when we reached the open ridges with far-ranging views. But we should have kept hollering (bears can hear human voices as far as 300 m away). Even a dip in a meadow can conceal a bear, which was in our case. And despite what experts say, 100 m might not be a safe distance. A final sobering thought. Black bears can run 40-48 km/h. At that speed, a bear can cover 100 m in eight seconds.

KML and GPX Tracks

Crossing Elbow River. Forgetmenot North Summit appears left.