Alexandra River Headwaters

Following last year's descent of the Alexandra River in Banff National Park, I wanted to explore this magnificent river a little further and hike up to its headwaters at the Alexandra Glaciers. The map was showing a massive lake (unofficially named Lake Alexandra) just below the hanging glaciers and this is where I wanted to camp to explore the area. After sharing my idea on social media, a fellow packrafter from Jasper, Michal Jurik, was interested in this trip and we met on a sunny Tuesday morning mid-July, ready to discover this remote wilderness area together.

The Alexandra River headwaters, below the Alexandra Glaciers.

Once again, the adventure started with an early departure from Calgary at 3AM. The sunrise above the mountains made for a fun drive. After a long delay due to road improvement work, I made it to the Alexandra River confluence with the North Saskatchewan.

Michal and I had talked about an alternate start where we would skip the first 6KM of the Alexandra River trail because frankly, they are quite boring and full of deadfall. There was only one catch to this alternate way in: crossing the North Saskatchewan River. Even if it's braided at this spot, this river is still very fast and crossing it could potentially be dangerous. We both agreed to evaluate the feasibility of this fording when we get there in the morning. We parked along the highway and decided to give it a try since the flow didn't look too bad as we were still early in the morning.

On the other side of the North Saskatchewan River, with the Icefields Parkway behind it.

The fording went well. Some channels were deeper and faster then others, but in the end it was well worth the wet feet. All that was left was to follow the Alexandra as long as we could and bushwack our way up to join the trail that runs higher up above the river. This bushwacking session was the very small price to pay to shave a few kilometers off of our 30KM day.

Mount Amery

Back on trail! We were both excited when we caught our first glimpse of the Alexandra Glaciers in the distance. So good to be here gain!

We made good progress on the trail and when possible, we followed the river instead of walking in the trees. The weather was perfect and the river flats were full of blooming wildflowers.

After a well deserved snack break at Terrace Creek, Michal and I kept on walking towards our objective that seemed still so far on the horizon. There was a lot of fresh bear scat on the trail, almost like we were following one, but we never saw it.

Finally, we were at the point where we had to leave the trail to walk towards the confluence of the Alexandra River and Castleguard River.

The confluence: Alexandra on the left, Castleguard on the right. The water was wild and fast. We had to cross the Castleguard in order to climb up to Lake Alexandra.

Even with our packrafts, crossing the Castleguard River looked tricky because further upstream was a canyon and the only spot that made sense before the rapids had no place to pull out on the other side.

We evaluated our options and after carefully planning our ford, we decided to give it a try on foot where the river was wider. We went in side-by-side with our arms locked together. It was intense but despite the fast and deep water, we were safe the entire way.

There was a faint trail on the right side of the river and following it, we arrived at the waterfalls. WOW! What an incredible view! We spent a lot of time looking at them and taking pictures. I remember Michal saying "it's not a bad place to be!" Indeed. And in less than 3KM of bushwacking, we would be starring at the turquoise Lake Alexandra.

Photo by Michal J.

We made it. Exhausted but in awe in front of this immense glacier-fed lake. Filled with excitement, we inflated our packrafts and proceeded to the exploration of the area bellow the multiple Alexandra Glaciers.

Even though the sky turned gray, the wind was still calm and the traverse wasn't too hard. As we reached the middle of the lake, the views opened up on some more glaciers!

It's only when we got to shore that we realized how big the terrain was around us. From the map it looked like the biggest of the Alexandra Glaciers would be easily reachable on foot. But walking to the very end of the valley where the Alexandra River starts would have meant hiking almost 5KM on loose rocks. It was late in the afternoon so we decided to explore near the East Alexandra Glacier instead.

But... only to find out that a canyon and a waterfall would prevent us from reaching the tongue of the glacier. We climbed up to the falls. The rocks were very interesting to look at. I've seen my fair share of rocks this summer but nothing can quite match the beauty of these sedimentary rocks.

It wasn't too long before we were treated with breathtaking views of Lake Alexandra from higher up. Look at the size of it!

Judging by the size of the moraine on the eastern shore of the lake, this entire lake had to be a glacier a couple of thousand years ago. This area looks like it was shaped by melting ice.

Can you spot our packrafts on the shore for a better perspective of the immensity of this place?

A superb view of the Alexandra Valley below The Castelets (named after their summits that look like two castles).

The moraine to the west was as impressive, running just below the south summit of Watchman Peak.

There were so many waterfalls coming from the top. I would love to see what this place looks like during the spring meltdown!

Steep canyon walls carved by water over the years. Isn't nature powerful?

Michal and I got as close as we could from the glacier and we were both like kids in a candy shop. I absolutely LOVE glaciers and so does he. I could have looked at this baby glacier all day long. The different shades of blue in the crevasses, the scary-looking seracs, the occasional sounds of the moving ice... it makes me smile and makes me feel grateful to be able to discover such remote wilderness areas.

I didn’t want to leave!

Climbing back down to our rafts, we both agreed to come back next year to explore further up the river and spend more time here.

It was now the time to paddle back to the other side of the lake and establish our camp for the night. The wind was picking up. Fortunately it was blowing in our back and it made for a faster traverse.

To say that we were starving would be an understatement. What a long day it had been. After a 3AM departure, a 4-hour drive and 30KM of hiking, this meal was more than welcomed. Diner was eaten on the shore of the lake under a menacing sky.

I would choose this setting, a homemade dehydrated pasta meal in front of a glacier, over a seat in a Michelin Star restaurant any day of the year. Cheers!

We established our camp near the shore, sheltered by the trees. The wind was a concern for the night and we took advantage of the small spruce trees as much as possible. Setting up my tent in front of the Alexandra Glaciers was something I had dreamed about for over a year. Another item crossed off on my adventure bucket list!

Low-hanging clouds were moving in fast from the the other side of the mountains. The wind was getting intense and it forced us to retreat into our shelters sooner than what we would have hoped. But in the end, we needed to rest and recover, so no one complained.

My setup for the night: my trusty SMD Deschutes tent (without the inner) and my Alpacka Caribou packraft as a groundsheet.

I had a good night of sleep. The sound of the wind would drive a lot of people crazy at night. But after living a few years near the busiest street of Toronto's downtown core, nothing can help me fall asleep better than nature sounds! I was hoping for a blue sky when I unzipped my tent door but I woke up to a gray sky. Meh. I walked a little but around camp to stretch my legs and in a matter of minutes, the sky started to clear up. Yay!

I checked up on Michal and sleeping on his inflated packraft must have been really comfortable because it was getting late in the morning and he was still snoring like a tractor inside his bivy bag!!! (I can make fun of his snoring.... because mine is even worst LOL)

I waited for him to wake up while sitting near the water, looking at the glaciers. The bigger one was calving and the frequent thunder sounds made by the cracking ice were indicating that something was about to happen. CRAAAACCCKK BOOOM. A big chunk gave up and fell down the cliffs onto the snow below. Perfect timing!

Well rested, the conversation during breakfast was all about how easy of day it would be. 3KM of hiking with our heavy backpacks and then 20KM of paddling down the river in the comfort of our boats.

My usual backcountry breakfast: a homemade oatmeal mix with dehydrated fruits and crushed nuts and a cup of orange pekoe tea.

One last look at this majestic landscape and we were off to the confluence of the Castleguard and Alexandra Rivers.

That's what it looked like between the lake and the Alexandra waterfalls. That's the perfect environment to see a bear. With almost all the big rocks on the ground being turned upside down, we knew they were around. I kept my bear spray in my hand for a while and Michal was yelling HHHEEEYYYYY OOOOHHHH every other minute to let any potential bear know that we were here.

This time, we tried to follow the river but it ended up being more difficult than bushwacking our way in a straight line.

One last stop at the waterfalls before heading back down to the confluence.

Backpacks are on the ground… we’re done with the hiking portion of the trip!

The contrast between the two rivers was striking. The Castleguard River (on the left), fed by the Castleguard Glaciers is less silty (probably because it's quite far from the glaciers at this point and the silt has settled down) than the Alexandra (on the right). The sediment line in the water is almost straight and constantly stays that way for a few meters.

Once the fast-moving water section was negotiated, we knew the rest of the river would be somewhat smooth. We stopped quite a few times to admire the river and its wildflowers.

I'll never get bored of paddling this river. The sense of solitude in this seldom visited area is what makes it so special.

We rested under the sun while it was out and shining!

The last leg of the descent was relaxing. We almost let the water do the work, carrying us back to the North Saskatchewan without paddling.

It started raining as soon as I hit the road. Not for long. I drove back home while reflecting back on the last few weeks. Backcountry camping had just been allowed again by Parks Canada after being forbidden because of COVID. It was only for about two months, but it made me appreciate these mountains more than ever before. I can't take them for granted because I now know what it feels like not having access to them when you want and need to. These mountains are my safe haven. I keep going back to them to find myself, I keep going back to them to loose myself.

A couple of weeks after this trip, I received an email from Michal with a cool surprise. Our adventure had been published in The Jasper Local journal (on the day of my birthday!). Thank you Michal!!