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Originally posted by jact
Castle Mountain would be a fun hike, you're making me itch for a trip out west sooner then later. You're a bad, bad man 
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hehe, for sure.
i've read up on Cascade and it sounds not too bad, unless you want to make the peak.
Quote:
Cascade Amphitheatre
?_Rating: moderate/difficult
This enormous cirque and the subalpine meadows directly behind Cascade Mountain are one of the most rewarding destinations for hiking in the Banff area. The demanding trail begins by the Banff Mt. Norquay day lodge at the end of Mt. Norquay Road. From parking lot no. 3, the trail skirts the base of a number of ski lifts, following an old road to the floor of Forty Mile Valley. Keep right at all trail junctions. One km after crossing Forty Mile Creek the trail begins switchbacking up the western flank of Cascade Mountain through a forest of lodgepole pine. Along the way are breathtaking views of Mt. Louis?s sheer east face. After the trail levels off it enters a magnificent U-shaped valley and the amphitheater begins to define itself. The trail becomes indistinct in the subalpine meadow, which is carpeted in colorful wildflowers during summer. Farther up the valley, vegetation thins out as boulder-strewn talus slopes cover the ground. If you sit still long enough on these rocks, marmots and pikas will slowly appear, emitting shrill whistles before disappearing again.
The most popular route to the summit of 2,998-meter Cascade Mountain is along the southern ridge of the amphitheater wall. It is a long scramble up scree slopes-made more difficult by a false summit; it should be attempted only by experienced scramblers.
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but after Rundle i'm prepared for anything...
