Hiked to Forgotten Meadows yesterday. Left the th very late, so it was too late for the peak. Hiked to the meadows, which was beautiful. Sad not to do the peak. Great views of Glacier. Trail is in great shape. Mosquitoes were a problem only in the meadows. We had a lot of water, but used it all. Saw lots of people carrying a tiny bottle of water in their hands. Not enough. Bring lots or a filter. Parking was plentiful

Backpacked from 7/5-7/6 at the meadows. Snowfields were still covering a good portion of the meadows but still a manageable place for camp. Couple of spots for water on the way up to the meadows including Perry Creek Falls. The trail from the meadows to the summit had some snowy patches but expected to melt out quite a bit as we have sustained summer temps. Watched sunset from Peak 5396 which is a short hike up from the meadows. We can put away the ice axe and spikes for the rest of the summer on this section as the trail up is mostly uncovered at this point. Exercise the most caution when leaving the meadows for the summit as there is a significant drop on the trail. Beautiful summit views at the top. Saw some groups on my way heading up to the falls and back but only one other tent at the meadows on a long weekend day! Trail is in great condition, 10/10 trip (aside from a fair number of bugs at camp)!

“This place is so beautiful.” -Molly, age 8

”lots of big, giant waterfalls. And my favorite flowers, tiger lilies!” -Milo, age 5

We’ve been wanting to check out this hike since last year when we used the bathrooms here instead of Big Fours bathrooms. This hike was beautiful; The lush green forests in places, lots of beautiful views and flowers we’ve never seen before. It’s also very quiet. If you want solitude, this is the hike for you. We saw 10 people in the 5 hours we were hiking. The first mile and half is fairly easy and I’d say almost anyone could hike to the first boulder field. Once you get past there, the trail definitely gets harder. Between the first creek crossing and Perry creek falls, the trail is overgrown in many places. Be on the lookout for cows parsnip, devils club and stinging nettle in these areas. The 3rd creek crossing was definitely the highlight for my kids, they wanted to stay and play in the water. The boulder fields were very warm. I thought the forecast called for a mix of sun and clouds and 65, it was warmer and mostly sunny. 

Trailhead bathroom was clean and stocked. Picked up one poop bag that was close to the trailhead and threw it away. 

Adding one more detail: we officially hit our hiking miles goal for the year at Perry Creek. Our goal was 250 miles and we are now at 256 miles for the year! 🎉 We added another 200 miles to make our new goal 450 miles for the year. 

Arrived at the big trailhead for Dickerman and Perry Creek at 11:30 on this hot Sunday and got about the last regular spot in the lot. We hiked to the falls and back, 7.5 miles roundtrip and about 1500 feet of gain. 

The forested connector trail was nice and shady, after the official sign at the old trailhead ("Perry Creek Falls 2, Mr Forgotten Meadows 4") the trail begins to ascend more sharply and spends a fair amount of that in open slopes with nice views across (waterfalls) and down (mountains) valley. The last time I did this trail I was 28 years younger, on a date with my new boyfriend (now husband) and I totally don't remember it climbing that much even though that day we went all the way to Mt. Forgotten Meadows! Today the heat, in the 80s with no breeze, was a bit draining, and the footing is rocky, so it felt slow. Lots of columbine, some tiger lily, and other flowers. Three good creeks for the dog but they aren't until a couple miles in so we were glad to have extra water and a bowl to give her on the way since it was so warm. The final creek crossing had a little rock hopping but the rocks aren't slippery and it was easy to keep feet dry. At the falls there's a nice shady spot on trail with a good sitting log and rock. Had lunch there and turned around. Round trip took us about 3.5 hours including stops. We probably saw 20 other hikers including several backpackers heading from or to Mt. Forgotten and meadows, and other day hikers. 

Hi, we're the Mountain Goats (Terrence and Nathan) and today we climbed Forgotten Peak. I've done most of the other mountains off the Mountain Loop Highway, so Mount Forgotten was next on my agenda. There really hasn't been any intel on Mount Forgotten this year so I wasn't sure what to expect snow-wise. I did however see the recent trip reports on Mount Dickerman say that the snow didn't start until 5,000 feet. I figured it would be the same on Forgotten. Gear wise we brought Ice Axes, Crampons, and Helmets, all proved necessary. 

We left Bellevue around 6:00 AM and were able to get to the trailhead (1900 feet) around 7:30 AM. There were some other cars, but everyone went to Dickerman. The trail eases you into the climb as you head through the shaded forests. After the 2 miles, the trail begins to ascend through the valley up towards Perry Creek Falls. 3.1 miles in and you've reached Perry Falls (3,300 feet). The water is really flying down this time of year, making the falls even more striking. This is a great place to rest and pump water before the steep ascent to the meadows. Following the falls the trail gains about 2000 vertical feet in under 2 miles. This is easily the most physically challenging part of the climb. This part of the trail is all through the forest making it dull.

1.5 miles after the falls you will break out of the forest and onto the ridgeline. There's a short unmaintained trail that heads up to a lookout (4,900 feet). This is an excellent spot to chug some water and replenish some calories while gazing at Mount Forgotten. Continuing from the lookout, heading NE towards the Forgotten Meadows (5,200 feet). Around 5000 feet was when we finally hit the snow. Luckily there was a faint boot path from a few days ago to follow, as we made our way up towards the meadows. 
Forgotten Meadows is the last place to pump water. The trail heads to the ridge's edge before steeply dropping down the other side 150 feet. The trail flattens out as the traverse begins. This part of the trail sucked. You get a lot of up and down here, as you try to navigate the trees, brush, and snow. There was still snow in avalanche chutes. Unfortunately, the snow was unbelievably slippery and steep, so we had to climb above them to bypass them before descending back to the trail on the other side of the chute. 
After about a mile of this, the trail breaks out under the ridgeline. Mount Forgotten looms above you and the ridgeline is out of sight. The trail heads up an obvious gully making this part the steepest and most technically challenging part of the climb. The gully was completely filled with snow, so ice axes and crampons are recommended. I ascend the gully fine with boots and poles, but my brother used crampons. Unfortunately, the boots my brother brought didn't quite fit in his crampons causing him to slightly slip and dislocate his shoulder near the top of the gully. The trail gets off the snow and onto the rocks on the right side of the gully. It then snakes up the ridge towards the 3 summits. This is where my brother stopped. I ran up to the summit making it to the true summit (the middle peak). There were a few exposed class 3 moves getting from the first summit to the true summit but nothing crazy. 

Heading down the chute was rough. I gave my brother my boots meaning I had to wear boots that didn't quite fit into the crampons. I attempted to jerry-rig it together and failed. I ended up sliding down 3/4ths of the chute, but luckily, I was away from the rocks so it ended up just being an impromptu glissade. This was some of the most difficult snow I've ever had to descend. Too hard to plunge step, but soft and slippery enough where crampons weren't very useful. The rest of the descent passed without a hitch, but with my brother's shoulder, we had to take our time, getting back to the trailhead right before dark. 

Overall, this is not the time to do Forgotten Peak. I could see the appeal if it was all snow-covered. However, the weird slippery, and icy almost melted snow that's up there now isn't fun to navigate. So, wait a few more weeks. If you attempt it, bring Crampons, an Ice Axe, and a helmet. Happy hiking!

Overall Stats: 12.5 Miles - 4,200' Elev Gain