The trail made a sharp right-hand turn where the Carthew Creek valley joins with the Cameron Creek valley. Soon afterwards, we began to get glimpses of open sky with a mountain in the distance - Vimy Peak, in fact. This meant that we were looking across Waterton Valley, and therefore, we were quite close to the townsite. The trail began to lose elevation rapidly with a series of tight switchbacks, and soon we could hear the rushing of Cameron Creek not far below.
In another sign that we were getting close to the townsite, we began to encounter large quantities of other people on the path - people who didn't really look like they hiked much or that they intended to walk very far.
Elevation loss switchbacks
Fencing above Carthew creek
Although we had maintained a fast pace, it was clear that we wouldn't be at the trailhead for 2pm, but were on track for a time closer to 2:30. Since Adam had said that he'd be waiting for us at his home in the townsite, we waited until we arrived at the trail's end before sending him a text message. Minutes later, he showed up to give us a ride.
courtesy JInnes
Traffic along the Akamina parkway was fairly heavy as we made our way back up to Cameron Lake. The parking lot at Cameron Lake was an over-congested zoo of cars - a complete contrast to the emptiness we encountered at 6:30 a.m. On a busy summer weekend, I highly recommend getting to Cameron Lake early. You'll enjoy the solitude.
Shuttling to Cameron Lake
After profusely thanking Adam one last time (he refused any sort of payment or gift, simply suggesting that we "pay it forward"), we parted ways. Really, really nice guy.
Interactive trackmap with photo points - Carthew-Alderson Traverse (incl. Mt Carthew) - click map to view
Carthew-Alderson Trail (+ Mt Carthew) - Hike Data
Start Time:
6:46a.m.
End Time:
2:27p.m.
Duration:
7h40m
Distance:
22.28 km
(13.85 mi)
Average Speed:
2.9 km/hr
(1.8 mph)
Start Elevation:
5122ft
(1561m)
*
Max Elevation:
8687ft
(2648m)
*
Min Elevation:
4303ft
(1312m)
*
End Elevation:
4304ft
(1312m)
*
* : +/- 75 feet
Total Elevation Gain:
3581ft
(1091m)
*
Total Elevation Loss:
4479ft
(1365m)
*
* : +/- 75 feet
Elevation Graph
