Date: August 27, 2023
Location: Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta, Canada
Total Trip Distance: 18.34 mi / 29.51 km Total Elevation Gain: 6,127 ft / 1,868 m
Trip Duration: 2 days
Team: With Alex Catalfamo
Field Notes: The Alderson / Carthew Lakes area makes for great camping with a short approach. From there, the mountains above area easily accessible being no more than a simple hike. We carried almost no water as there is plenty of water the entire route. This area is quite unique and the views spectacular.
Rating: Class 1
Approach to Carthew Lakes
With only two weekends left before Alex and I call it an end to an epic Canadian summer of peak-bagging, we decided to head down south one last time. Our objective was a set of peaks off of the well-known Carthew Alderson trail. We had been in this area before, having done Forum Peak and Akamina Ridge. However, there was a decent amount of smoke that weekend and we wondered what this zone would be like in clear weather.
We arrived at the Cameron Falls trailhead on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. We knew the approach would be relatively quick so we got a late afternoon start. I was pretty surprised by the amount of visitors and tourists in the area. With that said, Waterton is beautiful and we were just another two digits adding to the crowd.
As we traveled west towards our camp for the night, I couldn't help but think about how epic it would be to do the Great Divide Trail. A few of the trips we've done this summer have been on sections of the trail. The whole 1,123 kilometers seems to pass through jaw dropping sections of the Canadian Rockies.
The trail slowly climbed in elevation and I'm glad we aren't allergic to pollen because it was virtually snowing. The wind was pretty strong and it blew the powdery grains everywhere. It made for a beautiful look as the sun shined down from the peaks above. We climbed higher and the trail weaved through poplar and coniferous forest. At every creek crossing I bent down and drank from natures faucet. It was a beautiful approach.
Nearing two hours without a break, we stopped at the campsite for Alderson Lake and ate a snack. We were another 300 meters in elevation to camp. Forty-five windy minutes later and we found ourselves staring at the white capped Carthew Lakes. It was definitely a gem of an area. We made our way down towards the trees at the edge of the lake and found a relatively sheltered camp for the night.
We relaxed as the sun warmed the tent, eventually losing height before dipping below the horizon. This in turn dialed down the wind a few notches and we enjoyed a perfect sunset. We slept without a rain fly and the tent door fully open. I gazed up at the stars until I fell asleep.
Mount Alderson
Alex and I haven't slept great this summer in the mountains. I woke up at 1am ready to rock and roll. We had a plan to be up on Alderson for sunrise. With six hours to go, I wrestled myself back to "sleep" - although I wouldn't actually call it that. At 4 am I asked Alex when was sunrise. He said about 6:45 and then I passed out deeply for the next two hours. At six I got up, made a coffee, and we were on our way. Alderson is a quick and easy climb from Carthew Lakes. We went to the western end of the first lake, took a left, and went straight up the face that meets the ridge. There is a trail the entire way. As we made our way up the peak, the sunrise was incredible. There wasn't a soul around and the sky was smoke free. The higher we climbed the better the views became. The early morning sun produced an incredible golden light that light up Buchanan Ridge.
About an hour and a half later, we stood alone on Mount Alderson. My favorite view was looking east towards Bertha Lake. I hid behind the summit cairn to block the wind while Alex enjoyed the views. There was a layer between the clouds where the golden light of morning was breaking through. Behind us, the massive peaks of Glacier National Park in Montana towered in the distance. Twenty minutes later we turned our attention to the next objective of the day.
Mount Carthew
We left the summit and took the entire ridge back down to the col between Carthew and Alderson. From the col we made our way up Carthew. This views from here were spectacular. The ridge of Mount Alderson had a reddish color to it, the sky was a mixture of sunlight and dark clouds, and the lakes below added their own unique color to the scene. As the trail worked across the face it finally met the summit ridge. The wind was blowing hard from the West, so once we gained the ridge we got blasted again.
A false summit or two later and we were on the top. I tapped the summit with my one remaining hiking pole (the other one had snapped earlier) and made my way a few meters back down the ridge to take shelter from the wind. I sat alone and ate some food while taking in the views to the east. Alex was off scouting out a potential route to Buchanan Ridge. This trip had blown me away. I knew the views would be good - but this was spectacular. There seemed to be so much variety in the mountains, the colors, the sub-alpine from the alpine. Being such a busy trail, we hadn't even seen anyone yet and we were close to four hours into the day.
The views from Carthew were our favorite. Unfortunately, one can't live on a summit so we made our way back down to camp. Reversing our steps opened up even more incredible vantage points that we hadn't noticed on the way up.
Within an hour or so we were back at camp. Going simple and light on this trip, it took us five minutes to pack up camp. The sun began to finally break through the clouds allowing us to strip down to our base layers. We turned our backs on Carthew Lakes and made the two hour non-stop hike back to the csar and ended a fantastic two day, two peak trip.
Happy days...
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