I love long weekends, and last year at Garibaldi Lake in British Columbia, Canada was one of my absolute favorites, so we decided to head that direction again. Friday afternoon we hopped in the car with Lance & Val and made our way north to Canada. Traffic was bad, and the border crossing was a bit long, so we were ready to eat by the time we reached White Rock, right over the border. We grabbed sushi and made our way to the waterfront where we frolicked in the sun for a short time. The drive up towards Whistler on the Sea-to-Sky highway is gorgeous every time. That night we stayed at a hotel in Squamish - one last shower and good sleep before hitting the trail.
Val's
Saturday morning we had a delicious breakfast and coffee at Zephyr Cafe in Squamish and then made our way to the Diamond Head Trailhead. We were planning on making Elfin Lakes our base camp for the weekend and the hike in was 7 miles and ~2500ft of elevation gain, not too bad. Classic BC, the hike consisted of lots of open vistas, and snowy peaks for miles in every direction. We were disappointed to find that the campground was 1km past and downhill from the lakes themselves, but it did have evening sunshine and reasonable privacy. We pitched our tents and spent the afternoon meandering the area and relaxing by the lake.
Val's
Saturday we had planned a day hike, and had three options that were all shared the same first part of the trail. Diamond Head was completely ensconced in clouds and billed as 'arduous' so we decided that without views we would skip it. We moved on to Opal Cone, which is an old volcano with a crater than you can hike up to. Mamquam Lake was another 5km each way further on and we decided it didn't warrant the journey. The top of Opal Cone was surprisingly windless and we ate lunch and then spent time circumnavigating the rim of the crater, taking in the views from every direction. It was reasonably cloudy, but cleared as the day went on. Getting to and from the cone involved fording a river, walking a sharp ridgeline, and scampering along a tiny face of dirt. Fun.
Val's
Vals
Val's
Val's
Val's
Val's
Val's
Sunday night we again enjoyed the views, dined on freeze dried food, and played cards in the tent to avoid mosquitoes. Monday morning dawned perfectly clear so we packed up camp right away, hiked up the hill to the lakes and better views, and ate breakfast there. We made quick time on the way down and were to our cars by 11:30am. We stopped at Lonsdale Quay Market in North Vancouver for lunch, sunshine, and relaxing before continuing the journey home. I can never get enough of Vancouver, and this short stop was just enough to ensure we'd be coming back soon.
Last years stay at Garibaldi Lake was surely more stunning, but the crowds were fewer at Elfin, and BC is really just unbeatable wherever you go.
Val's
driving through Vancouver
Saturday morning we had a delicious breakfast and coffee at Zephyr Cafe in Squamish and then made our way to the Diamond Head Trailhead. We were planning on making Elfin Lakes our base camp for the weekend and the hike in was 7 miles and ~2500ft of elevation gain, not too bad. Classic BC, the hike consisted of lots of open vistas, and snowy peaks for miles in every direction. We were disappointed to find that the campground was 1km past and downhill from the lakes themselves, but it did have evening sunshine and reasonable privacy. We pitched our tents and spent the afternoon meandering the area and relaxing by the lake.
Looking back at Squamish
mushrooms
mountains
Elfin Lakes
glacier
camping area
hiding in the tent from the skeeters
Val's
dinner time
sunrise
blueberry pancakes - fancy backpacking
yum
Saturday we had planned a day hike, and had three options that were all shared the same first part of the trail. Diamond Head was completely ensconced in clouds and billed as 'arduous' so we decided that without views we would skip it. We moved on to Opal Cone, which is an old volcano with a crater than you can hike up to. Mamquam Lake was another 5km each way further on and we decided it didn't warrant the journey. The top of Opal Cone was surprisingly windless and we ate lunch and then spent time circumnavigating the rim of the crater, taking in the views from every direction. It was reasonably cloudy, but cleared as the day went on. Getting to and from the cone involved fording a river, walking a sharp ridgeline, and scampering along a tiny face of dirt. Fun.
At the bottom is the river we crossed, top right is Opal Cone
Val's
ready for the river crossing
Val crossing
Gargoyles
ridgeline
Vals
Val's
final push
Rim walk
crater
more glacier
Val's
self timer up top
Val's
Picking our way down. So much green
silly river crossing, trying not to get wet this time
Val's
Val's
they call that a trail?
Sunday night we again enjoyed the views, dined on freeze dried food, and played cards in the tent to avoid mosquitoes. Monday morning dawned perfectly clear so we packed up camp right away, hiked up the hill to the lakes and better views, and ate breakfast there. We made quick time on the way down and were to our cars by 11:30am. We stopped at Lonsdale Quay Market in North Vancouver for lunch, sunshine, and relaxing before continuing the journey home. I can never get enough of Vancouver, and this short stop was just enough to ensure we'd be coming back soon.
skeeters
sunset
sunrise
Lonsdale Quay Market
breakfast for lunch
Last years stay at Garibaldi Lake was surely more stunning, but the crowds were fewer at Elfin, and BC is really just unbeatable wherever you go.
