The Fortress via Headwall Lakes Scramble on 22-Aug-2024

What a beautiful day in the mountains. We could not ask for better weather. There was no smoke, not even a slight haze, very little or no wind and sunshine for the whole day with blue skies. We parked on the side of Smith Dorrien Road about 5.5 km from the turn off to the Sawmill parking lot. We started our hike about 8:40 am with a bit of a chilly temperature of about 3°C. After about 3 km we turned left into the Headwall Lake trail. We got some morning dew on our clothes as it was still early in the morning. The walk to the Headwall Lakes was pleasant with the temperature rising gradually. We were amazed at the fact that there are still many kinds of flowers blooming. We arrived at the second lake shortly after 11. After a short break we started moving towards our objective, The Fortress. It was easy to follow the trail in the valley. The highlight of the day was watching two marmots playing with each other. It was quite entertaining. Then we started a long steep approach to the col. Wet dirt on the trail made it easy to walk. We had a snack break at the col, then the real fun started going up to the top of The Fortress. After what seemed like forever zigzagging up, we arrived at the top at about 1:40 pm. Our efforts were rewarded with spectacular 360 degree views. After putting on an extra layer of clothing we enjoyed a well-deserved rest, eating our lunch. Then we had a photo session taking lots of pictures. We returned the same way. It was a very rewarding day. The wildlife we saw did not disappoint. Starting with deer along highway 40, then a rabbit and a spruce grouse on the trail, hoary marmots playing with each other, big black spider on the way to the summit, two ravens at the summit, a couple of chipmunks and pika in the valley, black bear crossing highway 40 in front of our car, a coyote, and 18 sheep blocking highway 40. I guess it is good to start a day early and finish late. We were back at the cars at about 6:15pm, and back in Calgary around 8:00 pm.

Trip stats according to AllTrails: distance 20.45 km, elevation gain 1223 m, moving time 7 hours 20 min, total time 9:52 min. Cristina’s GPS showed the highest point 3012m.