Scaling Summits in Garibaldi
Garibaldi Provincial Park is home to the rugged but divine Garibaldi Mountain Range. About an hour north of Vancouver, it’s a very popular area for hiking and backpacking. After seeing some pictures online of Garibaldi Lake and the surrounding mountains we knew we couldn’t miss out on an opportunity to explore this spot.
Day 1:
To get from Vancouver to Garibaldi you have to drive the winding Sea to Sky highway. It’s one of the most jaw-dropping drives in the country, skirting around the towering Rocky Mountains while overlooking the clear blue waters of Howe Sound.
We arrived at the Rubble Creek trailhead in Garibaldi Provincial Park just after 6pm. It was only 7 kilometers to get to Taylor Meadows campground from here, but that included almost 900 meters of elevation gain. But it was a beautiful evening to be hiking.
It was a challenging ascent full of switchbacks. We made it to Taylor Meadows camp just before sunset. The campsites at Garibaldi Provincial Park all have raised wooden tent platforms which is nice. At each campground there are also shared outhouses, enclosed cooking shelters, and bear poles for food storage.
After setting up camp it was time for a rinse in the nearby Taylor Creek. It was flowing with frigid glacier water but was refreshing after a grueling climb. Dinner was grilled ham and cheese sandwiches in the cooking shelter. The bugs were terrible so the shelter was a lifesaver. Today we travelled 7.53 km and gained 882 meters of elevation in 2.5 hours.
Day 2:
It gets cold up in the mountains at night! Even though it was mid-August it dropped to 5 degrees Celsius last night. The plan today was to head towards Garibaldi Lake, where we would be camping tonight, and drop our stuff there. Then try to take on the Black Tusk. Enjoying our coffee in the cooking shelter we could see the aforementioned summit. In the below picture its the skinny cylindrical peak.
It was a fairly flat 2.5 km from Taylor Meadows to Garibaldi Lake. The color and setting of this lake is unbelievable.
After admiring Garibaldi Lake for a while we found our tent site. We set up camp and started out towards the Black Tusk with our day packs.
After a short incline out of the Garibaldi Lake basin the trail traverses a forested valley to the base of the Black Tusk.
We passed the junction where the Black Tusk trail splits from the Panorama Ridge trail. We were hit with an immediate incline as the trail passes over a number of mountain brooks. The view of Garibaldi Lake improved the higher we went.
Above the tree line the terrain turned to loose shale rock and we ended up losing the trail for a while. Our detour was actually a short cut, though it was maybe a bit more technical. As the peak of the Black Tusk comes into view the trail comes to a flat rest area. There’s a sign there that indicates this is the end of the official trail, and continuing to the summit is not recommended. Naturally, we continued.
There was still a clear path above this point as many people continue beyond the official trail. The incline intensifies as a series of switchbacks bring you to a ridge that traverses around the bottom of the actual “tusk”.
Over the back side of the ridge there’s a terrifying drop. Many people stop here and don’t continue to the summit, as the next part gets pretty sketchy.
The trail circles around the front (south) face of the tusk then you have to scramble up the far west side of the tusk. You have to climb this section to summit.
While climbing this near-vertical volcanic rock face, seemingly reliable hand- or foot-hold would disintegrate and tumble down out of sight. Make sure to yell a warning if there’s any other hikers around. At the top of this short climb it flattens out slightly and you climb through a little crevice to the back (north) side of the tusk.
After you climb out of the crevice you’re able to walk the rest of the trail to the summit. It’s still steep, but no hand-holds are necessary.
Finally, the summit of the Black Tusk. The views up there are breathtaking.
On the way down the crevice leading into the near-vertical section looked even more challenging.
The descent was much faster. It’s hard to slow down because its pretty steep and the terrain is like loose gravel. So you pretty much slide most of the way down.
Back at camp we went for a swim and hung out by the lake.
Such a cool spot to camp. We headed to the cooking shelter for a spaghetti and meat sauce dinner. Before going to bed we came back out to the lake and were blown away by the starry sky over the mountains. Pictures obviously don’t do it justice.
Today we hiked 13.5 kilometers and gained 820 meters in elevation in 4.5 hours.
Day 3:
By all accounts Panorama Ridge is one of the most picturesque viewpoints in all of British Columbia. We started on the same flat stretch of valley as yesterday. Past the Black Tusk junction the trail weaves through some small mountain lakes and creeks then looped around to the back (north) side of Panorama Ridge.
Then the trail transitions into steep switchbacks up the back of the ridge. Turning around we were greeted with great views of the Black Tusk across the valley.
The dirt trail turned to loose shale near the top. It seemed pretty manageable compared to the Black Tusk yesterday. At the top of the ridge the lake and surrounding mountain range had us in awe.
Across the top of the ridge was “Panorama Peak”. Though the peak was barely any higher than the rest of the ridge. We found a little spot on the ridge to have a snack (and a beer) and take in the view.
We didn’t want to leave this amazing spot. But eventually got moving down the mountain. We made it back to Garibaldi Lake camp pretty quickly took one final look at the breathtaking landscape. In the upper left corner of the below photo you can see the bare, rocky summit of Panorama Peak where we just came from.
After our tent and gear was loaded into our packs we took off down towards the trailhead. The descent with the heavy packs was tough on quads. From the top of Panorama Ridge to our car we ended up descending 1600 meters! Today we travelled 22.2 kilometers and gained 800 meters of elevation in 5.5 hours.
Garibaldi Provincial Park is home to some of the most insane views in all of Canada. If anyone has the time to explore it even for a day, we strongly recommend it. The trails and campsites are generally in great condition, but make sure you know what you’re getting into. These mountains are no joke!
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This is a fantastic account of your amazing adventure. I loved every word you guys wrote!