Waterton National Park: Carthew-Alderson Hike

The first of two premier day hikes in Waterton is the Carthew-Alderson hike. It's 12+ miles one way, with about 2,200' of gain (most of which is in the first 5 miles). We drove the van to the trailhead at Cameron Lake. Here we are, ready to go! Our first photo stop at Summit Lake. It wasn't even close to the summit! It was straight UP from here!!!
Looking down on Cameron Lake. We've come up a long way... And there's way more climbing to go!
Views from the summit follow. Unfortunately, it was raining when we made it to the top; and it was too cold to sit around waiting until it passed. So we started down, trying to get out of the wind. The sun eventually came out - and it was a perfect day for hiking!Ah...! Waterton Townsite down below! Less than a mile or so to go!!!
Oh yeah... We had to ride our bikes to get the van... It was only 10 miles -- but with over 1,300' of climbing! Not so easy after hiking 12.5 miles! No doubt we're going to get a GREAT night's sleep!