Just out of the town site of Jasper, Alberta, in Jasper National Park, is a wonderful environs known as Cavell Meadows. Known for beautiful Angel Glacier on the north side of Mount Edith Cavell, this is a must see if you visit this part of the country.

Just below Angel Glacier is Cavell Pond. Large pieces of calved glacial ice decorate the lake and its shore. It is a spectacular sight and makes for great photographs. Beware though, in the middle of summer the mosquito's are ravenous! To hike all the way to Cavell Meadows during mosquito season is inviting torture.

This hike was in early February and very cold indeed. However, it was a great time to visit. The park was virtually devoid of people and the landscape was very dramatic. What you see in this photo is the beginnings of recolonization of a glacial landscape. Angel Glacier, and the surrounding region, was far more glaciated in the recent past, leaving the landscape rubble strewn and austere. The small trees can be seen marching up close to the very foot of Mount Edith Cavell, and given time will create a forested valley once again. Please stay on the trail in the meadows; the alpine tundra is very fragile and can take decades to recover from off-trail abuse. Leave no Trace.

A little background information:

Mount Edith Cavell is named for a remarkable young woman that risked her life to tend to the wounded of WWI. Edith Louisa Cavell was born on 4 December 1865 in Swardeston in Norfolk. At the age of 20 she entered the nursing profession. In 1907 she became the matron of the Berkendael Institute in Brussels. During the First World War the Germans occupied Belgium, and Cavell sheltered British, French and Belgian soldiers at the Institute, from where they were helped to escape to Holland, which was neutral. In August 1915, Cavell and several others were arrested and tried by a court-martial. Cavell made a full confession and was sentenced to death on 7 October. Although neutral governments, including the Us and Spanish representatives tried to have them reprieved, she and a Belgian, Philippe Baucq, were shot on 12 October. Her death was widely condemned, and Cavell is commemorated in a statue just off Trafalgar Square. She is buried at Norwich Cathedral.