BOU AVENUE
Cavell Meadows
Camping for the weekend near Jasper, Alberta, Kelly Bou and I got up before dawn on 3 September 2011 and headed to Cavell Pond so that she could take some photographs to use as inspiration for her artwork.   As Kelly moved about with the camera and tripod around the edges of the pond, I tried to stay warm by climbing partway up the nearby moraine.  As more tourists began arriving, Kelly and I escaped the crowds by hiking up the scenic Cavell Meadows trail.  We visited a couple of scenic viewpoints before turning around at trail’s end.  On the way down, I slipped and fell on a muddy section of trail and was quite sour about having mud caked all over my backside.  We later stopped at the top of the moraine overlooking Cavell Pond to have a bite and to try and dry out some of my muddy clothing.  My mood lightened a bit when a couple of golden-mantled ground squirrels came scavenging for crumbs from our chicken pita sandwich.  A few dropped pieces of lettuce were instantly grabbed and consumed by the ground squirrels.  One of them actually snagged a piece of chicken that Kelly had inadvertently dropped, and it ate it voraciously.  Interestingly, that same ground squirrel seemed disinterested in subsequently dropped pieces of lettuce.  Perhaps we created a monster—the first carnivorous ground squirrel!  After our quick lunch, Kelly and I dodged a steady stream of tourists on our way back to the parking lot.  We would spend the rest of the day in and around Jasper visiting other points of interest before retiring to our campground.
Brrrrrr...it was freakin' cold this morning! The morning light illuminates Mount Edith Cavell and Angel Glacier.
Eeep! A pika pauses briefly to look cute for tourists.
Kelly thinks it looks like a big tongue--the Tongue Glacier! Angel Glacier seemingly hangs like the Sword of Damocles.
I was fortunate to see--and hear--a big chunk of ice calving into the pond. Cavell Glacier is reflected in Cavell Pond.
I was a bit surprised to see marmots, ground-squirrels and pikas cohabiting on the same moraine. Hoary marmots like this one frequent the moraines near Cavell Pond.
From the pond, the north face is over 1500 metres high! Spindrift often tumbles down the north face of Mount Edith Cavell onto Cavell Glacier.
Good views already! Kelly hikes up the trail to Cavell Meadows.
More glaciers than you can shake a stick at? Okay, not quite... Here is another perspective of Angel Glacier above Cavell Pond.
Ice, ice, baby! Cavell Glacier looks much more impressive from up high.
Franchère Peak looks like a long but easy scree slog. Visible to the northwest are (L to R) Franchère Peak, Aquila Mountain and Lectern Peak.
I'd like to climb it some day... The east ridge of Mount Edith Cavell is a classic climb.
Looks like a good scramble! Or perhaps ski ascent? The striking mountain to the northwest is Chak Peak.
Looks like a Himalayan giant, doesn't it? The upper east ridge of Mount Edith Cavell is plastered with snow on this day.
Tired of the Angel Glacier yet? The bulk of Angel Glacier sits in a high cirque north of Mount Edith Cavell.
It's like a big frozen waterfall! Here is a closer look at Angel Glacier.
It's possible to climb higher and bag an unnamed peak, but we didn't. Kelly and Sonny reach the official end of Cavell Meadows trail.
Not sure why I included this photo, but I like it. Kelly heads back down the trail.