Norbert_Halibut
Google
On a recent 8-day trip to Banff, Jasper, and Yoho, we stayed in five different hostels, two of them HI wilderness hostels. HI Mt. Edith Cavell was my favourite of all of them, even though it has minimal facilities. That's because Ernie, the warden-manager, has figured out how to make the "wilderness" experience comfortable and communal. The two sleeping cabins are large and well heated by woodstoves, so even with 16 or 20 people in each, they don't seem at all crowded. The kitchen cabin is well organized and a very welcoming place to sit and chat with fellow hostellers from all over the world. The pit toilets are immaculate, quite a feat! And there's a massive tank of water in its own separate building from which you can fill hydration packs and pots, or drawa an infinite supply of water for washing-up. ||||Walk outside in the dawn and you'll be greated by the massive sun-tinged twin peaks of Mt. Edith Cavell rising before you, and just 2km down the road, you can take the trail to the base of the Angel Glacier and read about the massive fall of ice from the Ghost Glacier that wiped out many of the facilities in 2012, and decimated the glacier itself (or you can just ask Ernie about this). The same trail leads to the much-lauded Cavell Meadows. Another trail from the hostel itself leads into the stunning Tonquin Valley.||||Even though you're in the "wilderness" here, you're only 25 minutes from Jasper. And Ernie, who's affable, kind, and humble, can give you lots of advice about the many, many things to do.
