Return to Waterton Part 2: Carthew-Alderson Hike

Distance: 20km

Elevation: 997m

One way hike 

(requires shuttle or car drop at Cameron Lake)

Morning coffee on the Cameron Lake dock

The Carthew-Alderson trail is a one-way hike from Cameron Lake back to the Waterton Townsite. This is probably my favourite day hike because of the constantly changing vistas, multiple alpine lakes and opportunities for small detours to summit Mt. Carthew or its small subpeak. I also love that you get all of your elevation out of the way at the beginning of the day, and spend the majority of the hike in the alpine with a long descent to Waterton. You do need to arrange transportation to the trailhead at Cameron Lake. Since we only had one vehicle, we booked a shuttle with Tamarack the night before. Sunday morning we hopped on the bus then hiked back to our car.

Up through the burn to Summit Lake (not the summit)

The trail starts at Cameron lake and switchbacks up to Summit Lake, which is definitely not the summit of the hike. After you reach Summit Lake, you start up into the alpine and make your way up to the high point of the trail below the summit of Mt. Carthew. Looking south, you can see the mountains of Glacier National Park in Montana.

Mt. Carthew on the left, trail takes you up and over the low point of the ridge

Looking back at the trail with Mt. Carthew on the left and the ridge of Mt. Alderson on the right

As we approached the ridge, the wind picked up and it began to rain. We pulled on our rain jackets and synched our hoods tight as we battled the squall. Seeking shelter from the wind, we continued up to the rocky south point of the ridge for a quick snack.

Summit squall at the top of the ridge

Our break didn't last long and we got back on the trail to start our descent towards Carthew Lakes.

Ridgetop smiles

Dropping over the ridge gave us some reprieve and we left the rain behind. It was still windy on the open slopes but much warmer as we descended.

Descending the scree from the ridge 

Approaching Carthew Lakes

The peak of Mt. Alderson above Carthew Lake

We stopped for a hot lunch over the stove at the edge of the lowest of the Carthew Lakes. The sun was shining and we were having a great day on the trail.

On our way down to Alderson Lake, protected by the huge face of Mt. Alderson

We passed the brilliant green Alderson Lake before heading back into the trees, making lots of noise and keeping an eye open for bears that are very common in the area.

Seasons are changing

It is long descent back to Waterton and hiking poles would have been nice to have. By the end of the hike, our feet and knees were pretty sore. We celebrated with a big ice cream cone from the candy shop before hitting the road back home.

Hiking through the Kenow Wildfire burn