Cavell Meadows

Elevation: 2288 m
Elevation Gain: 580 m
The Cavell Meadows take their name from and are located immediately east of Mount Edith Cavell. Mount Edith Cavell is an 11,000er in the Canadian Rockies and the most prominent peak located entirely in Alberta. The mountain, meadows, lake and creek below all take their name from Edith Louisa Cavell. Cavell was a First World War British nurse who famously saved Allied and German soldiers without discrimination and helped many others to escape from German-occupied Belgium. The latter led to her arrest and execution at the hands of German forces in 1915 when she was 49-years-old.
My Ascents:
August 15 2021
Trailhead: Cavell Meadows Trailhead
GPS Track: Cavell Meadows

Ten years ago, Brianne and I enjoyed a wonderful trip to the Whistlers Campground in Jasper, AB. Back then, we travelled light: just us, our scrambling gear and an itty bitty 2-person tent. This year, Parks Canada reopened the Whistlers Campground following extensive renovations. Feeling nostalgic, we decided that a return trip to Jasper was overdue. A decade later, however, we no longer travel light! The itty-bitty tent was replaced by our cute camping trailer and the size of our party buoyed from 2 to 6 thanks to a couple of “additions” to our family and an invitation to my parents (now “Grandma” and “Grandpa”).

Having had the better part of a decade to dream about outings around Jasper, an extensive “to-do” list was compiled. Of these, the hike to Cavell Meadows was deemed to be a priority based on their reputed beauty and the hike’s family-friendly stats (8.4-km return and 580 vertical meters). Somewhat disappointingly, our long-awaited Jasper return was marred by thick wildfire smoke. Que sera, sera, however, so we decided not to let air quality advisories get in the way of a good family hike!

LEFT: A beautiful display at the trailhead lets hikers know who Edith Cavell was and why she rightly deserved to have such a beautiful peak named in her honor.
RIGHT: Mere moments from the trailhead, 5-year-old Mera and her 3-year-old sister Penny enjoy spectacular views of the Angel Glacier from the, initially, paved path.

The remnant Ghost Glacier (left) and the Angel Glacier (right) cling to Mount Edith Cavell (for now, anyways). In 2012, the Ghost Glacier fell dramatically from Edith Cavell’s north face. In all, 125,000 cubic meters of ice (weighing over 100,000,000 kg) fell nearly 1,000 vertical meters to the Cavell Glacier and Pond below causing a glacial outburst flood. The ensuing tsunami destroyed much of the trailhead infrastructure. Fortunately, the event occurred late in the evening/early in the morning when the popular area was deserted.

LEFT: A closer look at the rapidly melting Angel Glacier.
RIGHT: Hordes of tourists gather for selfies on the shores of Cavell Pond, despite the area closure that’s been in place since the 2012 icefall/flood.

LEFT and RIGHT: The Hobbs family poses for photos at the viewpoint where the official trail to the pond now stops. Given the frequent rumble of rock and icefall that we noted during our short time here, continuing to the pond would have been ill-advised.

Beyond the viewpoint, the paved path disappeared and a more rugged trail passed up through the Cavell Glacier’s bouldery lateral moraine.

LEFT and RIGHT: The hanging Angel Glacier was a constant, scenic companion during our hike to the Cavell Meadows.

After overcoming the massive moraine rockpile, the trail continued up alongside it for a while.

As we hiked alongside the moraine, we heard frequent “EEEPs” from the pikas that made their home here and were visited by a few (who have probably been fed by tourists tourons).

As you can see, the local pikas weren’t shy!

LEFT: Spectacular views of the Angel Glacier above iceberg-filled Cavell Pond. From this point, the trail left the moraine and switch-backed up through subalpine forest for a short distance.
RIGHT: Mountain views are, of course, better when shared with good company! 🥰

After a short time in the forest, we found ourselves in the lower reaches of the Cavell Meadows with Edith Cavell’s imposing east ridge (the typical ascent route) and the remnant Ghost Glacier towering impressively above. Fortunately, the peak’s proximity meant that good views were plentiful despite the apocalyptic wildfire smoke.

🎵 When she was just a little girl, Grandma sang to her while hiking: Que sera, sera; Whatever will be will be… (Thanks to smoke, we cannot see!) Que sera, sera. 🎵

As Mera and Grandma hiked up through the flower-filled meadows, we were treated to a duet while Grandma taught her songs that her Mom had sung to her (when she was just a little girl). As the music flowed from generations past to present, our group grew misty-eyed (must have been that darned smoke!). Que sera, sera.

LEFT and RIGHT: Flowery alpine scenes and nostalgia make for wonderful family hiking… 😊 🌼

… Panoramic views of the most prominent peak entirely in Alberta don’t hurt either! Click to see a smoky Mount Edith Cavell in more detail.

Stopping for a family selfie as the alpine meadows gave way to rockier terrain just below the hike’s official terminus.

Telephoto views of the spectacularly broken Angel Glacier.

Beyond the meadows, the hike continues a very short distance up a small ridge feature. Having seen plenty already, Grandma elected to stay behind with her granddaughters while Brianne led Grandpa Gord and I up the final, rocky bit.

From the trail’s official endpoint on the tiny ridge, Mount Edith Cavell continued to dominate the view (which now included the Cavell Glacier and Pond). Click to see larger.

LEFT and RIGHT: Brianne takes in the smoky views towards the Angel Glacier and Cavell Pond.

LEFT: The “Old Man” and I at the official highpoint of the Cavell Meadows trail.
RIGHT: After a short stay at the trail’s highpoint, Brianne quickly made her way back down to the meadows to relieve Grandma of her alpine babysitting duties. From above, we could hear our girls (obvious in pink below) excitedly running to meet their mom (in blue).

For a few minutes, Grandpa and I lingered atop the trail, attempting to take photos. The smoke, however, began to thicken and it soon became apparent that there wasn’t much left to photograph. Que sera, sera… Time to start down!

On descent, we returned via the easier alternate trail so that we could visit different viewpoints (like this one which provided some of the day’s best views of the Cavell Glacier and Pond).

LEFT and RIGHT: Smoky glacier views.

A closer look at the calving Cavell Glacier and its iceberg-filled namesake Pond.

Mom and her hiking girls. Brianne wasn’t blessed with company half this cute on our first trip to Jasper!

Parks Canada’s signage at the viewpoint could, perhaps, be better-described in gif form.

LEFT: My wonderful little hikers stop to enjoy the final meadowy views of the Angel Glacier before returning to the subalpine forest below. 😍
RIGHT: Are you sick of this glacier yet? Apparently, I wasn’t as I stopped to photograph it often (even once we’d entered the forest).

LEFT and RIGHT: Back alongside the moraine, we soon spotted one of the pika’s neighbors: an epic glacier marmot!

Mera and Penny pause to play “marmots.” 🤣

Happy hiking Hobbs’ enjoying some final glacier-filled views with the trail’s end approaching.

LEFT: After passing on heartwarming songs 🎵 from generations past to present, we thanked Grandma by stuffing her in the trunk of our car. (She was the one that wanted to carpool…) 🙃
RIGHT: While Grandma shimmied her way into the trunk, Mera and Penny amused themselves in the parking lot. Typically, we advise them not to “play in traffic” but there was hopscotch so…

“All aboard!” after a wonderful family hike and a great kickoff to our 2021 Jasper trip!