Waterton Lakes National Park "Carthew Alderson" August 16, 2022

When this trip to Waterton quickly came together, I knew for sure two things I wanted to do, one was hike the Carthew Alderson trail and the second was to paddle on a local lake.  I did the premier Carthew Alderson one way hike on my birthday last summer and I enjoyed it. I wanted to do it again so immediately booked a seat on the Tamarack Shuttle for 7:30am.  This is one of my most favourite views of the day!

 

There were five of us on the shuttle, a lady from Sparwood B.C., a lady from Michigan USA and a couple from Belgium.  The driver dropped us off and sent us on our way. While the others hit the trail right away, I enjoyed the peace and quiet of Cameron Lake for a few minutes and also wanted to take note of the conditions as this is where I wanted to come at this time tomorrow morning to paddle.  The reflection does not get more perfect than this!  

I started hiking five minutes before 8:00am and was in my short sleeve shirt already!  While it was going to be a scorcher of a day, it was to be the coolest day of all the days I would be in Waterton.  After forty-five minutes of switchbacking up, this was the view I had down to Cameron Lake.  It was now time to hike a bit of flat terrain to Summit Lake.

When I arrived at Summit Lake, the couple from Belgium was still here. They said the two ladies joined up and just left.  Once the couple left, I settled down for a snack and then captured a few photos. 

When I arrived at this section, I knew it was going to be wide open to the elements (sun & heat) for the next few hours.  Holy it was hot!  I came prepared with salty treats and electrolytes.  What I also came prepared for was an attack of vertigo!  In late July I was diagnosed with vertigo resulting from high pollen levels.  After my Doctor explained the whole thing to me, it made sense.  I was not his only patient over the previous few weeks who was diagnosed with this.  So before leaving on this Waterton trip, a few times a day for a couple of days, I went through the exercise routine to make sure my equilibrium was on track.  The morning of the hike, I popped a pill just in case.  

It was a portion of this long stretch where I did not want a vertigo attack.  From here I am looking back after completing the traverse.  The drop from the trail is steeper than it looks and there is more erosion along the way then there was last summer.  I was happy to have this part of the hike behind me and I knew  I would be OK for the balance of the day.  

This is the view from the ridge and just before beginning the hike to the Carthew summit.

The Carthew Summit is that dark high spot at the left of the photo.  If you look closely or click on the photo to enlarge it, you can see two people just to the left of the high point.  At this point I am not sure if it is the two ladies, or the couple from Belgium.

I arrived at the summit location just as the couple from Belgium were leaving.  

There is a tiny bit of rock to scramble to get to the very top. 

 I am almost there.

I made it to the top to have this view of Glacier National Park in Montana, USA.  

I was so close I could almost reach out and touch it.

my summit shot

I did the tiny scramble back down and found a spot to have a light lunch.  This was my early light lunch time view.  I replenished my need for salt and electrolytes,  filled my growling belly and slathered on another layer of sun screen.  I hiked that light pink line to the end and then headed down. 

The majority of the elevation was done by now.  A slight breeze developed which I was thankful for.  Another thing I was thankful for was the lack of bugs.  It was now time to descend to the Carthew Lakes.

I savoured every second of this scene as I descended!

arriving at the Upper Carthew Lake

looking back at the trail on the left that I descended along

view down to the Lower Carthew Lake

you can see the trail middle/bottom on the centre/right

From where I am, I can see two people fishing.

on the shore of the Lower Carthew Lake

the couple from Belgium look like dots on the trail ahead of me to the left

There was a short section to ascend up from Lower Carthew Lake and then a rough rugged trail down the other side.  When I reached this location I could see Alderson Lake down below and that was where I was aiming.  

I spotted a heart shaped rock on the trail so picked it up and carried it to where I would stop for a bit to rest and refuel.  I still have a way to go to Alderson Lake, you can see the trail in the middle. This is a great location to take a rest, there are lots of big flat rocks to sit upon.  The heart shaped rock is about two inches in size but as you know I enjoy playing with perspective. 

another view showing the colours of Alderson Lake

Once I arrived at the Alderson Lake junction, I was prepared for the approximate seven kilometres of  forest to get through.  I was already beat, but just focused to get this section behind me.  When I came around the corner with this view ahead of me, I knew I only had about twenty minutes left to Cameron Falls and then a five minute walk to my home away from home.  

When I arrived back at my suite, I was a hot, beat up, sweaty mess.  I had nothing left to give other than get my boots and socks off,  open a can of cold beer and pour it into the mug I put in the freezer, grab a bag of barbecue chips,  then sit outside in the shade in my rocking chair and savour the beer, the chips and the scenery!