Path of the Glacier

Elevation: 1820 m
Elevation Gain: 70 m
“Path of the Glacier” is a short hike that ascends toward the great north face of Mount Edith Cavell. At one time, this face was home to a single massive glacier, however, glacial retreat has split the Cavell and Ghost Glaciers from the main body of the larger Angel Glacier. The hike follows rocky moraines that were left behind as this mass of ice retreated and is considered one of the most spectacular walks in the Canadian Rockies. Mount Edith Cavell was named in honor of Edith Louisa Cavell. Cavell was a British nurse during the First World War, who famously saved Allied and German soldiers without discrimination, and assisted the escape of many others from German-occupied Belgium. The latter led to her arrest and execution at the hands of German forces on August 5, 1915, when she was only 49 years old.
My Ascents:
July 15 2024
Trailhead: Mount Edith Cavell Parking Lot

In July 2024, we made an overdue return to beautiful Jasper, AB. Having enjoyed our previous trips there as a young couple and a young family, we wanted to share this one with our extended families and invited my parents, Brianne’s parents, Brianne’s sister, her husband and our niece, an aunt, an uncle and a couple of family friends. From July 13 – 17, we enjoyed some of the best that Jasper has to offer, in terms of hikes, bike rides, swimming, food, medical attention and, most importantly, company. As we drove home, we were already discussing our next visit.

Jasper Wildfire

On the evening of July 22, Parks Canada responded to multiple wildfire starts following a storm and an extensive heatwave. Within hours, it became clear that two wildfires were approaching the town of Jasper from the south and the north and an evacuation order was issued at 10:00 pm. About 25,000 evacuees were forced to flee in the middle of the night. On July 23, high temperatures and strong winds led to “aggressive fire behaviour” and many of the town’s remaining first responders were relocated to nearby Hinton. At 6:40 pm, a wall of flames, 100-m-high, reached the townsite and Albertans held their collective breath and hoped for the best. That night, about 30% of the town was lost. Remarkably, fire crews were able to save the remaining 70%. Weeks later, the townsite has been largely extinguished, however, the fire continues to burn, out of control, and officials estimate that it may continue to do so for months, forever altering Jasper’s magnificent mountainscapes.

July 15

In the midst of a sweltering July heatwave, 🥵 our Jasper family camping trip quickly turned into an exercise in finding creative ways to cool off! Having enjoyed a cold swim in the Valley of the Five Lakes the day prior, we decided to investigate 🕵️ alternative cooling methods on July 15.

Climate change is dramatically reshaping the glaciers in Jasper National Park but, for now, ice can still be found near roadside trailheads in a couple of spots. The closest of these was the Mount Edith Cavell parking lot, which serves as the trailhead for the “Path of the Glacier” and “Cavell Meadows” hikes. Widely known as one of the most scenic 🤩 walks in the Canadian Rockies, we decided that “Path of the Glacier” would be a spectacular outing to share with our families and hoped for a cooling katabatic breeze off the Angel Glacier as we did!

LEFT: After a twisty-turvy commute up the Edith Cavell Road reminded us that some members of our family suffer from car sickness 🤢 (oops), we arrived (without incident 🙏) at the magnificent trailhead with Edith Cavell’s north face towering over a vertical mile above us. As you can see, 1-year-old Lillian was very excited to catch her first glimpse of “the White Ghost” and to learn about glacial recession along the way! 🙌 If anyone needs evidence of the staggering pace at which the glaciers above Lilly are retreating, consider that they covered this parking lot about 100-years-ago… 🤯
RIGHT: After a staggeringly short nap, nearly-3-year-old Maren awoke, full of energy, and happily followed her 8-year-old cousin Mera up along the glacier’s former path.

LEFT: Travel along moraines is usually miserable thanks to the concrete hard dirt and miscellaneous boulders that they’re made of. Here, however, the Angel Glacier appeared to leave behind a smooth asphalt path for us to follow up! 😂
RIGHT: Having anticipated Maren taking a longer nap than she did, Uncle Craig found himself stuck pushing an empty stroller up when she woke in the parking lot. Fortunately, “Path of the Glacier” is one of the few trails in the Canadian Rockies that is legitimately stroller-friendly so feel free to bring yours along – just make sure there’s actually a kid in it, or you’ll look like a bit of a knob! 😝

About 0.5-km from the parking lot, the trail split near a wooden senior citizen trap bench. From here, the “Path of the Glacier” trail continued straight to a lookout, while the more involved “Cavell Meadows” hiking trail branched off and began its steeper ascent to the beautiful alpine meadows above this moraine.

LEFT: Nannie takes advantage of the bench to empty rocks from her sandals. That’s right – sandals! 🤯🙃 I’d give her a hard time for wearing such flimsy footwear on a hike with me, but that might make me a bit of a hypocrite… 😂
RIGHT: Things rarely seen on hike with yours truly:
1) Strollers
2) Sandals
3) Family members casually enjoying a cold Bubly as they meander up a paved path.
We were really roughing it today! 😁

About 200-m beyond the bench, we reached the official end of the “Path of the Glacier” trail and were treated to this spectacular panorama of Mount Edith Cavell and the rocky valley left in the wake of its glaciers. Click to see larger.

All of the hike’s glacial excitement proved too much for our littlest hiker (who wasn’t feeling the best to begin with 😔) …

Turquoise Cavell Pond collects icebergs from the calving Cavell Glacier while meltwater cascades down a steep headwall from the Angel Glacier’s higher rocky bench. Only a century ago, these were all the same glacier...

All that remains of the Ghost Glacier. In 2012, 100,000,000 kg of this glacier fell nearly a thousand vertical meters in the middle of the night, hitting Cavell Pond below and generating a destructive tsunami. Additional failures, all the way to ground, in this photo suggest that the little ice that’s left on this face won’t be here for long…

A snowy cornice guards Edith Cavell’s over 11,000-foot-tall summit above the hanging Angel Glacier. On my 40th birthday, I had to privilege of enjoying the reverse view from the summit of this magnificent mountain and it was cool to revisit the peak from this angle with my family almost 1-year-later.

The last remnants of the Cavell Glacier and the namesake Pond that it’s becoming. This glacier sits well-below the accumulation zone and it continues to exist only because of snow and ice that fall of Edith Cavell’s north face/other glaciers. While there is an unofficial path that continues down from the lookout to Cavell Pond, its wise to remember that 100,000,000-kg of ice can fall into this pool with no notice! Parks Canada, therefore, advises against continuing down to it (although many hikers do).

Another day, another successful three-generation group hiking photo! ❤️

LEFT: After marveling at Edith Cavell’s north face, and enjoying a snack, it was time to bid the Path of the Glacier “adieu” and we retraced our steps back down the short, paved path. Note that Miss Maren is still very much awake and not in the empty stroller that her parents are randomly pushing behind her! 😂
RIGHT: While little Lillian wasn’t feeling the best, her 6-year-old sister Penny also started to come down with a bug of some sort while we hiked. 😔 Fortunately, a hand from her Mom (and a dose of Tylenol from her Dad) kept her moving and reasonably happy.

LEFT and RIGHT: Crossing a scenic alpine stream just before returning to the expansive trailhead parking lot.

LEFT: Hey – those aren’t Bublys! 🤔 While we waited for everyone to make it back down, Brianne and her Uncle Odo discovered another way to beat the heat: a couple “cold ones”!
RIGHT: A good idea is a good idea… Inspired by Brianne and Odo, we retreated to the valley bottom for ice-cold pints at the Jasper Brewing Company! 🍻

Goofing around with the kids and Engine 6015 🚂 while Brianne finishes her beer across the street (and gets stuck with the tab – thanks Hon 🤑)!

Having survived another day of this mid-July heatwave, we turned our attention towards the following day (the last of our Jasper camping trip). So far, we’d cooled off in crystal clear mountain lakes and alongside ancient icy glaciers ❄️ but how would we beat the heat tomorrow? How does the cool shade of a deep, dark canyon sound?...

Jasper Wildfire Epilogue

The 2024 Jasper wildfire forever changed many of the Park’s landmarks, including those that we visited and enjoyed as a family. As images of the fire’s devastation begin to appear in its aftermath, we’re deeply saddened by the scale of the devastation, but grateful that we were able to experience these special places together before it happened. We’re also thankful for the men and women who risked so much to fight this fire.

Edith Cavell Road on August 7, 2024 (image credit: Jasper National Park Facebook).

Sadly, these destructive events are becoming more and more commonplace as the result of anthropogenic climate change. As the 2017 Kenow Fire in Waterton showed us, however, every ending brings with it a new beginning. We’ll, therefore, look forward to revisiting this beautiful area when it’s safe to do so. For Jasper National Park, this isn’t “goodbye”, it’s “see you later.”