Just Another Mountain

Rubble Creek Trailhead – Taylor Meadows: 7.5km

Taylor Meadows – Garibaldi Lake: 2km

Garibaldi Lake – Rubble Creek Trailhead: 9km

Total Elevation: 820m

Having already hiked to Garibaldi lake last summer, we decided it would be perfect for our first attempt at backcountry camping. We knew to expect the never-ending switchbacks and constant uphill pull. Granted, we were a little too eager doing this hike at the end of May, but we certainly overcame the challenge of not just backcountry camping, but doing so in winter conditions.

The hike itself was easier than I thought it’d be considering I was carrying a lot more than I’m used to. We met only a few other hikers along the way so it was pleasantly quiet. It was serene walking with just the sounds of a distant grouse and a woodpecker drilling in the trees. At around the 4km mark, snow appeared on the trail which we naively unexpected. We figured there would be snow further on but were definitely not prepared to continue another 3km trudging through the snow to get to Taylor Meadows to find it completely blanketed. The signs, the outhouses, the shelters and most importantly, the wooden platforms we needed for our tent were all buried in snow.

Having only taken one quick water break during the 2.5 hour hike, we were starving so decided to set up our tents so we could sit and eat but also test what it would be like to set up camp here. No surprise, it was freezing. Our mats were not thick enough to stop the cold from seeping through. Sleeping here was definitely not an option.

There is a great view of Black Tusk from Taylor Meadows, it was a stunningly sunny day so the white-capped mountains looked incredible against the blue sky. The meadow is filled with wildflowers that start to appear around end of July, I can imagine it would a beautiful place to camp although bug spray would definitely be needed on hand at all times. Since we couldn’t find any tent pad, we decided to head towards Garibaldi to see if we could camp there instead.

The trail to Garibaldi was 2km uphill through thick forest, made even more challenging by the blanket of snow obscuring the path. We tried our best to follow faint traces of footsteps from previous hikers, which resulted in some hilarious falls. I was waist deep in the snow more than once and my boots were soaked. The falls stopped being funny once we reached Garibaldi and had to walk across an extremely narrow path along the perimeter of the lake. There were several people coming against us so we had to try to stand in which resulted in immediately falling through the snow. What passes as a trail in the summer is just a series of large rocks lining the lake. But in winter, they’re completely hidden beneath the snow, turning each step into a gamble. One wrong move and your foot plunges deep between the rocks.

When we got around the corner, seeing the lake frozen over and all the snowy, glacial mountains behind it made it all worthwhile. Unfortunately, we still couldn’t find any wooden platforms so camping seemed less and less likely. My feet were in so much pain from being so cold that I was actually worried about having to hike 9 km back down to the car. We also didn’t want our first backcountry camping experience to be a failure! Thankfully, some guys who were set up pointed us in the direction of a platform they saw that was about 20% free from snow. It was uphill, tucked away behind the trees. A beautiful hidden spot where you could see the lake between the branches, but uphill meant more falling through the deep snow and getting even more soaked. With no tools but no other choice, we (mostly John) dug out the platform using a stick, a plate and a rock and about an hour or so later, there was enough space for our tent! (note: there are actually shovels in some of the shelters at Garibaldi, unfortunately for us we couldn’t find them).

We cooked our dinner in the shelter and then hung up our food and went to the tent to finally take off our boots. My feet were frozen and in a lot of pain because of it. There was no way our boots were going to dry out even with the warm weather. Putting them back on our feet caused instant pain due to the coldness. So we were tent bound for the evening! Thankfully, we both fell asleep pretty easily (despite it being 8:00 PM and my feet not regaining much warmth).

The next morning, I woke up at 5:00 AM and it was already bright, although the sun didn’t start to rise until closer to 7:30 AM. Our shoes remained wet and freezing so putting them back on our feet was awful. We made some coffee and found some rocks to sit on by the lake. It was really beautiful seeing the sun peeking out behind the mountains and feeling its warmth.

The walk back down wasn’t as bad and there were far fewer falls! It took a while but we eventually regained the feeling in our feet. We were treated to another gorgeous sunny day so we stopped in Squamish for a sandwich at La Buvette (10/10) and a coffee at Outbound Station on the Sea To Sky highway as we headed back to Vancouver.