Mount Forgotten, Perry Creek — Wednesday, Jun. 25, 2025

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