Fortress Southern Outlier

BOU AVENUE
Fortress Southern Outlier

Zosia Zgolak and I scrambled up Fortress Southern Outlier located in Alberta's Peter Lougheed Provincial Park on 30 July 2022. Our inspiration for this trip came from a trip report by Vern Dewit who, in turn, got the idea from a GPS track he spotted in his phone's mapping application. The GPS track itself was likely captured from a geocaching site. Ever since I climbed The Fortress in 1997, I have always wanted to make a return visit to the gorgeous Headwall Lakes valley, and Fortress Southern Outlier provided the perfect excuse to do so.

At the Chester Lake trailhead, Zosia and I started from the southeast corner of the parking lot and followed a snowshoe/ski trail known as "Frost Heave" which eventually merges with another trail called "Snowdrift". Signs at junctions helped to keep us pointed in the right direction. Contrary to what Dewit suggests, there really is not a more direct way to access Headwall Lakes from the Smith-Dorrien Highway without resorting to problematic route-finding and probably some miserable bushwhacking. A short distance past where "Snowdrift" crosses to the east side of Headwall Creek on a wide bridge, we turned north onto a narrower but still well-defined trail marked with flagging and a couple of obvious cairns. This trail goes up the valley along the east side of Headwall Creek. After passing some talus slopes and climbing a headwall, we arrived at the lower of two beautiful lakes in the valley. We paused briefly here to admire the stunning scenery before following the trail around the east side of the lower lake. We then climbed up alongside a picturesque waterfall to reach the upper lake. The trail basically peters out beyond the upper lake, but we had no problems making our way further up the valley until we reached the bottom of a huge scree slope rising up to the ridge south of The Fortress. There is nothing technically difficult about ascending this scree slope, but the ankle-breaking rocks here are exasperatingly unstable. I have not done much treadmill scree bashing in quite awhile, and this was a good reminder why I now tend to favour objectives with good trails or that can be skied in winter. While Zosia seemingly danced up the slope, I floundered badly on the brutally loose rocks which had me cursing and questioning my life choices. After what seemed like an eternity, we finally reached firmer ground close to the ridge top, and we had no further issues hiking over a false summit to the actual high point of Fortress Southern Outlier.

Zosia and I took an extended break on the high point before turning around and returning the way we came. Although the scree slope worked better for our descent, the loose rocks were not quite uniform enough to allow for consistent plunge-stepping, and we still had to be careful with our footing. Once we stumbled to the valley bottom, we could relax and walk easily again on more stable terrain. While we certainly enjoyed a second visit to the Headwall Lakes, the rest of the hike out the valley felt long especially in the hot afternoon sun. Of course, once we reached the shaded snowshoe/ski trail network, we were constantly harassed by mosquitoes all the way back to the trailhead. Perhaps a return trip to Headwall Lakes is in order for the fall when the mosquitoes will be gone and cooler temperatures will prevail.

	Maps at trail junctions help to point Zosia in the right direction.
	The turnoff to Headwall Lakes is marked with some flagging and a couple of cairns.
	Some sections of the trail to Headwall Lakes are steep and rocky.
	Zosia gets her first glimpse of Fortress Southern Outlier (leftmost bump at centre).
	The Fortress comes into view at left.
	This is the lower of the two Headwall Lakes.
	Zosia prepares to cross a lingering snow patch and climb up the right side of the waterfall.
	Instead of spilling over the edge of a cliff, this waterfall emanates from a hole higher up the headwall.

Not too shabby!

Here is a more complete view of the lower lake from the headwall guarding the upper lake.

You want lakes? You got lakes!

Here is a first look at the upper lake with The Fortress and Fortress Southern Outlier in the background.

	Zosia is reflected in the upper lake.
	The simplest access to Fortress Southern Outlier is via this enormous scree slope.
	A couple of bighorn sheep are surprised that hikers would be foolish enough to come up here.
	This spider appears to be carrying an egg sac as it scrambles among the rocks. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	A scrambler who had a heart attack on top of Mount Galatea is slung out of the area by a helicopter. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	A lone goat is surprised that hikers would be foolish enough to come up here. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	Zosia snaps some photos of the goat (bottom right) as it makes a quick exit from the area. The summit of The Fortress is visible at left while the high point of Fortress Southern Outlier is just ahead (right of centre).
	Sonny and Zosia reach the high point of Fortress Southern Outlier (2837 metres).
	Both of the Headwall Lakes are visible to the southwest. At centre is Mount Chester.
	Not surprisingly, The Fortress dominates the view to the north.

That pointy peak in the foreground at right has caught my attention...

The highest point of the Fisher Range is visible to the east while the many peaks of the Opal Range stretch far away to the southeast.

	Zosia descends the scree slope back to the valley.
	Zosia returns to the upper lake.
	Here is a final look at the lower lake on the hike out.
	Leaving the Headwall Lakes behind, Zosia begins a long walk out the valley.
	Total Distance: 21.2 kilometres Round-Trip Time: 11 hours 34 minutes Cumulative Elevation Gain: 1235 metres GPX Data