Summit Elevations (m): 2442, 2416
Trip Date: October 5 2024
Elevation Gain (m): 1200
Round Trip Time (hr): 7
Total Trip Distance (km): 25 (10 on bike)
Quick ‘n Dirty Rating: Class 2 – you fall, you tripped on your shoelaces
Difficulty Notes: No difficulties other than finding a relatively windless day and the energy for the numbers involved.
Technical Rating: TL2, SC5
GPS Track: Gaia
Map: Google Maps
After a rather “meh” outing on Guinn’s Peak only a few days earlier and a disappointing last weekend of September for a variety of reasons, I wasn’t exactly eager to get out again on October the 5th. The weather was good enough and the promise of larches holding onto their needles a little later than usual this year combined with Wietse’s offer to drive, tempted me out of my house at 05:30 despite my battidude. After spotting a couple of trips on Strava from Ephraim and Devon up a pair of diminutive peaks just west of Waterton National Park, I decided Bennett and Ashman might be the right choice for a fall ascent and Wietse agreed.
As we made the long 3+ hour drive from YYC towards Cameron Lake in Waterton, we wondered if conditions would justify the trip. We could see fresh snow coating mountains to the west but thankfully it seemed to thin as we went further and further south. Despite starting from Waterton, most of our day would be spent in a British Columbia Provincial Park called “Akamina-Kishinena“. Since bikes are allowed all the way to Wall Lake, we gladly took the opportunity to effectively trim 10 kilometers off the 25 km total distance that would normally have to be done entirely on foot.
The riding started out very steep but soon eased off a little to the Akamina-Kishinena border. From the marked border the trail descended to a rather sparse looking Akamina Creek campground – from what I can tell this is the only maintained campground in the park. Fire ripped through here in 2017 and if you’re planning to stay I’d recommend picking a clear weather day (and night)! From the campground the trail narrowed considerably but was fun and fast with dips and hills to Wall Lake.
After locking the bikes near Wall Lake we continued on foot along its north shore under the imposing walls of Akamina Ridge rising high above. The last time either of us was here was way back in 2009 on a snowy, cloudy June ascent of Forum Peak and Akamina Ridge. I didn’t remember any of the landscape as we slowly made our way up a valley west of the lake. Up to this point we had no idea if we’d be anywhere near larches on this trip. Neither Ephraim or Devan had mentioned larch forests and on the drive up we were dejected that it likely burned to the ground in 2017. Not so my friend, not so!
As we ascended to the back of the valley just above and west of Wall Lake we found ourselves in a small larch forest that grew larger and larger the further we went. Soon we were buried in larch needles with stunning views down the oddly named “Biscuitboard Creek” over upper Akamina Creek towards Mount Rowe and Festubert. Everything except for the area we were hiking through was torched.
My mood improved the higher we went. There are precious few larch forests still around in Waterton (or accessible from there) and this one was exceptional. Despite being October, the needles were mostly at their prime.
The colors were incredible as we continued up a steep, snowy trail to Bennett Pass. Reds, greens, yellows, browns, blues and whites with puffy clouds floating overhead. The matchstick forests coating slopes along Akamina Creek only added to the scene.
The main trail ended rather abruptly at a large cairn above Bennett Pass with the peak rising gently to the NW. We followed smatterings of trails down to the pass before starting up easy SE slopes.
A small, unnamed tarn under Bennett Pass was unexpected but the easy slopes to the summit were just as easy as they appeared. While hiking to the pass from Wall Lake we wondered how brutal the winds were going to be and in a huge surprise they weren’t nearly as bad as forecast.
Soon we were at the first summit of the day, taking in wild views over North Kintla Creek towards Glacier National Park and dramatic peaks buried in swirling clouds.
Traverses can be tricky in the mountains. They are almost always much longer than you first think, but in the case of Bennett Peak to Mount Ashman the opposite was true.
Sure! There were some dips and bumps along the route, but we could clearly see our destination almost the whole way and none of the terrain was more than hiking to easy scrambling, even with a fresh layer of snow.
My camera remained warm as I couldn’t stop taking photos both along the larch-covered ridge itself and to dramatic scenes over North Kintla Creek to the south.
The wind remained reasonable and as we strolled through another larch forest just below Ashman Peak the sun was warm on our necks. So far none of the cliffs along the route had been an issue and now we were strolling up easy snow covered slopes to our second peak.
We traversed to the broad summit of Mount Ashman above an incredible line of cliffs plunging down to Grizzly Gulch far below to the NW under Mount See (hidden in clouds). Traversing to the SW end of the summit block awarded us with views over a dramatic wall of rock separating upper North Kintla Creek from Grizzly Gulch. The only fly in the ointment was the cloud cover over Long Knife Peak and Mount See.
After enjoying the summit it was time to traverse all the bumps back to Bennett Pass. My camera couldn’t stay silent for long as the dramatic scenes kept changing with the clouds coming and going as we went. We briefly considered dropping into the North Kintla Creek valley a few times but after getting home and reading Sonny’s trip report on that idea, I’m glad we didn’t bother!
Among other dramatic landscapes, one in particular caught our interest. A massive outcropping of larch-covered rock sat in upper North Kintla Creek under a hidden Long Knife Peak. Next to it was a massive crater. Doing some research at home we realized this is a Nunatak and has been ascended.
Ascending the final slope back up towards Bennett Peak we took a gamble and side-hilled to the pass across SE treed slopes. This was not the best idea of the day as the trees got a little tight and the snow-covered slopes a little steep. All’s well that ends well and we linked up with our approach line back down to the pass.
We quickly descended back through the thick larch forest under Akamina Ridge to Wall Lake in warm sunshine with a cool breeze making things just about as perfect as they get in this area in fall.
Wall Lake was still silent as we rounded its north end back to the bikes. As we rode away from the lake, Wietse pulled up sharply and yelled at something ahead on the trail. I thought we’d run into a grizzly but it was a black colored moose with huge antlers that interrupted our ride! Thankfully he wanted no part of us and just stood there looking at us as we rode on.
As expected, we started running into hikers and backpackers as we continued our ride back to the parkway. I was surprised to see so many folks out and about at 15:00 hours considering how early it cools off this time of year. It was a gorgeous day however, and the perfect day for one of this years last t-shirt hikes so I don’t blame anyone for pushing the daylight envelope a little. We arrived back at the parking lot in under 7 hours round trip. As we made the long drive back home we agreed that this little outing was much nicer than either of us was expecting. The larch forests near Bennett Pass and along Ashman Ridge were unexpected and in prime condition and the dramatic scenery over North Kintla Creek was a perfect way to spend such a perfect fall day in the hills.
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