British Columbia
From Jasper (see blog post ‘Canadian Rockies’) we took the train to Vancouver; almost 24hrs on the train crossing the mountains. Trains in Canada are very slow, often late or cancelled, not the most efficient or reliable mode of transportation. However, our train trip was surely a very enjoyable experience, closer to visiting a museum than what you would expect from a train in Europe (to take you from A to B).
Whistler
If in the Rockies there is a strong old school vibe, 70’s style of going in the mountains, Whistler, appears in comparison more modern and ‘cool’, seeming to fulfill the needs of the outdoor person in 2022, with well developed infrastructure for hiking, cycling and winter sports.
Rainbow mountain 32km
We were very enthusiastic with the change in vegetation from the Rockies. The forests on the coastal mountains of southwestern British Columbia are lush are dense. On our path we encountered many mushrooms, berries, lupinus flowers, the big Western red cedar tree and the Western hemlock tree. We camped next to Hanging Lake, a spot very popular with midges, mosquitoes and flies. On the way back down in the morning we had a close encounter with a black bear, about 4-5m away, on the hiking path. While grizzly bears are of an impressive, frightening size, black bears look cute and fluffy; you almost want to go towards them to hug and play with.
Garibaldi Provincial Park 104,5km
Day 1: Parking - Taylor Meadows campground 7,5km
Two days after we camped at Taylor Meadows, a black bear climbed the tree to get to the food hangers. He stole a few backpacks with food and ran away. The rangers found him guarding the backpacks and sadly had to euthanise him.
Day 2: Black Tusk & Garibaldi Panorama Ridge 29km
From Taylor Meadows campground we climbed the Black Tusk Peak, then went up to Garibaldi Panorama Ridge, then walked back to Taylor Meadows campground, packed our backpacks and walked to Helm Creek campground. A very tiring, but beautiful, beautiful day. We started hiking at 6am and arrived at the camp at 6pm.
Day 3: Helm Glacier & Cinder Cone Peak 16km
We walked to and explored around Helm Glacier, which was a lot of fun, since there is no official trail. We walked up on the edge of the glacier until the point that it felt unsafe without proper alpinism equipment. Then we went for a swim in the lake and climbed Cinder Cone peak from where we had a great view of Helm Glacier and the lakes around.
Day 4: walk out from Helm Creek camping & Russet Lake via Singing Pass Trail 24km
The Singing Pass trail was remarkable for the amount of mushrooms, different kinds, that we encountered on our path, despite the rather dry weather all summer.
Day 5: (Almost) Wirlwind Peak and Overlord glacier 12km
In the morning we walked towards Wirlwind peak, but a few hundred meters from the peak itself we decided to turn back because we didn’t feel comfortable crossing the thick snow field without a helmet, ice axe and crampons. Normally it’s a peak without much snow in the summer, but this year the snowfall was particularly heavy. From the ridge we had fantastic views of Cheakamus lake and glacier. It was a little frustrating to give up so close to the peak, but we immediately cheered up when Orrin, one of our camp neighbours invited us to drink wine with him. After a short afternoon nap, we walked to a nice viewpoint of Overlord glacier. There are no official paths for both Whirlwind peak and Overlord glacier so we had to orient and do the navigation on our own. The evening was warm and pleasant, with surprisingly few mosquitos, so we could enjoy talking to our camp neighbours and watch the stars.
Day 6: walk out from Russet Lake via Musical Bumps and High Note Trail to Whistler 16km
Tricouni Peak
