Camille Senechal, a 13-year-old Parisian boy, sits down and takes a break on the Cavell Meadows Trails. Staring at the giant mountain in front of him, he angles his camera for the best possible perspective. 

As the sun hits the mirky white-coloured Angel Glacier in front of him, his small frame seems disproportionate to the absolute grandeur of Mount Edith Cavell.

Much to the boy’s disgust, his mother asks him to pose for a photo in front of the mountainous background so that they can forever keep a memento of their visit to Jasper National Park. 

Another man, slightly older, George Silcho from Minnesota had stopped to take a well-earned rest on one of the oversized boulders along the first section of the Cavell Meadows trail leading to that amazing viewpoint.

With his chin rested on his closed fist, he sits calmly as his eyes wander into the never-ending views around him. As the unrelenting sun beats down on his tired body, he too is a miniature compared to the grandeur of the surrounding mountains. 

His peaceful silence is interrupted by the rumbling of the Angel Glacier as it gives in to the brunt of mother natures incredible heat, all while a small insignificant squeak from a pica, hidden underneath the rocks, responds to the thunderous crashes.

These sights are common along the Edith Cavell meadow trail.

The seven kilometre trail, which starts at the parking lot, winds away from the base of Edith Cavell and the ice-cave at the base of the Angel Glacier. Walking away from the mountain there is a north vista of the Rockies with Cavell Lake just in view.

As you take another u-turn behind the large mounds of rock, the scenery will slowly change. To the left, there is now greenery and, if you’re lucky, some picas, marmots or squirrels to be found.

This is where Silcho was found taking a well-earned break – enjoying the view of the mountain before the next switch back into the meadows beyond. 

As the trail climbs above tree-line, an array of floral beauty becomes visible. Though possibly tinnier than imagined, depending on your timing, the reds, yellows, whites, and purples of the forest make for picture-perfect hiking.

On an easy-to-follow trail, there’s one junction where you can head left up the steeper terrain and through the floral meadows to the peak of the ridge. Heading right, or straight, will take you to the overlook where Senechal stopped to take his photograph of a lifetime.

Despite being a little off-route, the view of the Angel Glacier from the lookout is hard to beat and well worth the extra mileage.

Once back on the trail heading towards the peak of the ridge, the climb gets a little steeper as you walk out of the lush meadows and onto the gritty gravel of the alpine. 

Though it might be a little steeper, take your time and enjoy the views ahead – Pyramid Mountain standing out proudly in the distance even looks smaller than normal from this view point but still grander than the small bouquets of flowers dotted along the narrow mountain-side trail.

The summit of the ridge, at around 2,288 metres – about 560 metres above where you began will give you another memorable view of the ranging mountains.