Castleguard Meadows via Saskatchewan Glacier - Banff National Park Backcountry Backpacking

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Located in a very remote area of Banff National Park, Castleguard Meadows, Caves and the surrounding area are a masterpiece of geology and geography that can only be reached this way by backpacking.
Thanks to Scott for planning an amazing backcountry hike that lead us up over the Saskatchewan Glacier, scrambling chutes and finding the elusive Castleguard Cave system!
This hike has everything from glacier travel to scrambling to bushwhacking. But nestled in between all of that is a piece of paradise!
GAIA GPS Tracks:
www.gaiagps.com/map/?loc=10.4...
00:00 Intro
07:52 Day 2
27:58 Day 3
43:07 Day 4
59:54 Day 5
1:14:27 Howe's the Hike?

[@sheripacori2097]

I was intrigued by the cave. So interesting. Can imagine that it would be dangerous. The locked gate tells the story. Awesome hike.

[@HowestheHike]

Thanks! They only go in there during winter for safety reasons. Still, it was really cool to actually find the entrance. Not as easy as it seems!

[@campingboy9213]

Saskatchewan Glacier. During the summer of 1942, U. S. Army training and equipment-testing forces constructed a road from the Lake Louise-Jasper highway to the tongue of the Saskatchewan Glacier, thence up the glacier to the head of Cattleguard Valley. Copied from the AAC

[@HowestheHike]

Yep. Seeing the old stuff left behind was cool. So much history in those hills!! And, I guess the Army can "leave a trace" hahah!

[@ricklarry4212]

Very impressive. The hike up the glacier and then ascending the cliffs was epic. Castleguard Meadows was a beautiful area. Great hike and great companions on this one, Stu. A shout out to Scott for including you on this hike.

[@HowestheHike]

Scott is fantastic at planning his hikes! And this was a highlight of my summer for sure. An outstanding group of guys, so many laughs, and so many different things to see on any given day. Hiking up the glacier and scrambling up the chute was just, well, I can't describe it. It was just an amazing amazing experience. Truly blessed to have been included. Scott and I have more to do this year And hopefully we will start that journey on 18 September :-) look out Yellowstone here we come again.

[@therealnealw]

Incredible video, certainly captured all the highs and lows of such an amazing hike! 😀

[@HowestheHike]

Thanks a ton! I really appreciate it :)

[@mudskipper1675]

What an amazing hike! So many stunning views and mind blowing mountains scales. Thank you for taking me along this journey. What I liked the most, was when you showed the difficult part of the hike through the burns. It adds a new perspective to your hikes and makes them even more captivating. I'm a fan and really enjoy watching your videos.

[@HowestheHike]

Thank you so much for this wonderful comment and very kind words! I really loved this hike and I really really appreciate how much you enjoyed watching it. Thank you and please keep in touch!!

[@user-ps6pi4mo8g]

Contemplating my eleventh trip up Saskatchewan Glacier to go climb Mt. Castleguard, when I saw your video. Brought back many great memories. Many changes from my first trip in 1985. There was no lake in the valley then, and you could walk up to the toe of the glacier and easily step onto it. Castleguard cave had a lower gate blocking access to the interior than the one that is there now, so you could easily climb over and explore into the depths, which we did for a short distance, perhaps 60m. Love your videos. Did North Boundary in 1975, South Boundary in 1976, and over subsequent years, many other trips you have chronicled. So good to see your documentation of these fabulous areas, and so good to be enticed with areas I have not yet travelled to. You inspire me to do more!

[@HowestheHike]

Thanks so much and WOW! Thanks for sharing your past trips. I have to say, I'm a bit jealous that you were able to hike the NBT and SBT during their glory days of maintenance and infrastructure... As I expect most trails were in better shape in the 70's. It must be interesting seeing their state of repair now? Keep in touch!

[@user-ps6pi4mo8g]

NBT and SBT were different then. (Being 18 years old and naive, why not pick two of the longest hikes in Jasper for our first ever backpacking trips?) Wardens were on patrol, cabins were being used, bridges were in place, but still remote with that feeling of real wilderness. We actually started toward the NBT from Snaring River Bridge since the cab would not take us further on the Celestine Lake road, so even a longer hike than usual. SBT started at Medicine Lake through Jacques Lake. Still doing stuff nearly 50 years later. And of course will keep looking for new videos from you for further inspiration.

[@HowestheHike]

Well at 18, you had a sense of adventure! And yes, the trails were maintained back then. We are working on it. Savethetrails.ca will soon become a lot bigger!

[@jjinthemountains369]

Great to see you out lots in the Rockies this "summer of Stu".

[@HowestheHike]

Ha ha ha, thanks :-) I do love that phrase that somebody cleaned on here ;-) it's been fun so far with a lot more to come…

[@SLAMCGY]

“Terry” approves of this video! Well done.

[@HowestheHike]

Hahahhahaha!!!! Thanks Steve :)

[@kellyvansluys1721]

Great video. We were the couple of hikers you met on your last night. Wish we could say we had beautiful weather like you did up at the meadow, but our next three days were crummy unfortunately 😢

[@HowestheHike]

It was so great to meet you! And thank you for taking the time after a long difficult day to prepare us for what we were going to face on the way out :-) Much appreciated. Very sorry to hear that your weather didn't cooperate however. It wasn't great for us either, but at least we were heading to the car. And we all have a saying, "it's just good to be out!" Hope to see you guys again soon.

[@scrambles8819]

Definitely on my bucket list, but I guess I'll have to learn how to cross glaciers.

[@esmeadows]

It's way easier than you're thinking. Strap on the crampons and start walking. Getting off the ice through the lateral moraine and up to the meadows is harder.

[@HowestheHike]

As Scott says, it is FAR easier than you'd think. The snow needs to be gone and you have to have an idea where NOT to walk (common sense really) but I found it easier than the entire approach to the use, which was all rocks and such as well as the mucky mess we crossed to the chutes...

[@wanderworm]

A great way to do more glacier travel safely, if you’re interested, is to look at the trips offered by the Alpine Club of Canada. The GMC (General Mountaineering Camp) takes you to remote wilderness areas in the mountains and offers fully guided summit and glacial objectives with all meals provided and delicious. Many of their other trips combine hiking and glacier travel with stays at the club’s backcountry huts and meals are included. I’ve done the 55+ and GMC camps as well as a trip to Lake O’Hara offered by the Ottawa section

[@HowestheHike]

Thanks for the info - I'll look into that for sure!

[@barryparris91]

That was a epic trip!

[@HowestheHike]

Thanks Barry - it sure was! I'd go back.

[@barryparris91]

@@HowestheHike If I wasn't in my seventies, I'd be packing up the car right now.

[@HowestheHike]

Age is a number. Pack it up and I'll hike with you!

[@andrewduncan7643]

Boy you've been busy this summer. I have to say for me this is your best and most interesting trip to date. This kind of stuff is right up my alley. Problem is finding other's whose alley it is right up to join ones self. Have to ask in hindsight which way do you think is preferrable? Also, wondering about how you all celebrated afterwards. After hike meal somewhere perhaps?

[@HowestheHike]

Thanks! And more to come! I agree this is one for the books. It has everything. Just AMAZING. If you are asking about the route, I prefer the glacier approach. And, if I could imagine a safe way to scramble back down the chutes, I'd exit that way as well. The old river trail is not enjoyable at all really. We actually parted ways at the trailhead! I'll hike with Scott again this week (Banff) and again in September (Yellowstone) but the guys had to get back to Edmonton. We'll have to table that one for the future!

[@andrewduncan7643]

Such a shame all this old routes are evaporating away to the elements. Happened to find the descriptor of your route in a book called " Canadian Rockies Trail Guide" Has some good details. A very good book for those looking into trips around the Rockies. I'm betting you know of it (:@@HowestheHike

[@HowestheHike]

The CRTG is still the BIBLE for backpacking. A must have for sure. The latest edition is updated and in colour!! I use it for all of these trips.

[@marcofthetrail]

Glad you guys found the entrance to the cave. Now go watch an epic adventure into there from the 70's that's also here on KZbin. It's a little mind blowing how far that cave goes back.

[@HowestheHike]

It was amazing to find it. And thanks for the tip. Marc - I'll be looking that up for sure!

[@OverThePeaks]

Wow where the cairn is near the falls on the Castleguard is where I crossed in 2018. Easy ford at the time and that’s why the cairn was put there. It should be taken down now that the Castleguard is not an option anymore. Nice views of the upper meadows. Brought back memories of one of my favourite trip to date. Awesome video!

[@HowestheHike]

Laurant ! We looked for your cairn and we think we found it although it's getting pretty beat up. Your blog post was an amazing resource for me when looking at this trip with Scott. Thank you so much for the time you take to put your amazing trip reports together. I absolutely love reading them and love what you do in the back country! Yes things are changing very quickly along the Castleguard River. Glaciers are melting in an extremely high rate and erosion is serious. I think pretty soon the only entrance to this area will be over the glacier which if I might say, is spectacular and I would do it again in a heartbeat. Hope to meet you one day my friend, you are a legend!

[@OverThePeaks]

@@HowestheHike Thank you for your kind words, but I’m just a regular guy who likes to walk in the woods. 😅 I had plans for the Kootenays in September but the wildfire situation is making me looking at other options for a multi-day trip. After watching your video, I think I’ll end up going to the Castleguard Meadows again. I wasn’t sure if the prescribed burn had affected the trail but it looks like you made it through. In anticipation of the burn I had mapped another way in that would take you to the meadows in a single day. That route starts on the BC side just above the Bush River, via Thompson Pass, pass Cinema Lake, Watchman Lake and back down just where you camped at the bottom of Outram’s falls. From there it’s an easy climb up to the meadows via the well used trail. If that route works out, it would make the meadows so much more accessible. We’ll see if I can make it!

[@HowestheHike]

We wanted to go to Thompson Pass and the lakes but the river was INSANELY high at that time due to glacier melt. Large rocks were literally tumbling down the river.... I think you may be onto something with this idea - water levels permitting!!

[@karaokerich]

Great video!! Curious if you’ll post your gpx file anywhere and what you did about food storage - night one in particular because it didn’t seem possible to hang 😊.

[@HowestheHike]

Thank you! I have just linked the GAIA tracks in the video description. I use an ursack (with an OPSak) and it can be tied to a tree or even large rocks. That said, there are times both are impossible and in that case I will sleep on it - a la Andrew Skurka. This is RARE and not recommended, but sometimes necessary and ONLY in areas where animals are extremely unlikely to be present or transiting. .

[@Booboomiss]

How beautiful 🩵🩵🩵🩵 Alberta is my happy place ✅

[@HowestheHike]

Mine too - thanks!!

[@Wondering_Fireball]

What was the temps while you were on the glacier?

[@HowestheHike]

Temps certainly dropped. But mostly due to katabatic winds. Once we got on the glacier we had quite a downslope wind hitting us in the face. But of course it was a hot summer so it felt pretty darn good even though we had to layer up to protect ourselves a little bit. All in all it was an extremely pleasant walk and much easier than it may appear.

[@eyalofer5015]

Truely an amazing video and hike. How does one find information to prepare for this hike ?

[@HowestheHike]

My suggestion is to read all of the information you can in the Canadian Rockies trail guide and perhaps join some of the Facebook groups for the Canadian Rockies. I'm certainly not the only person that's been out there with the group this summer and there are lots of folks who don't do videos that participate in these Facebook forums. They have tremendous information, share pictures and such and contribute to the discussion. You'll find me on there as well :-) of course if you have any other specific questions, please post them here or find my email under the about section of the channel and I'd be happy to chat with you that way as well.

[@eyalofer5015]

@@HowestheHike thx. What is: "Canadian Rockies trail guide"? A book or web site?

[@HowestheHike]

It's a book. Actually, THE book for trail research and info!!