Sea to Sky Adventures in Squamish, BC

I have to be honest.  When I first heard of the proposal to build the Sea to Sky Gondola in Squamish, I was a doubter and really not thrilled with the thought of paving paradise to put in a parking lot.  Sometimes in life you have to earn the view, and to me hiking is one of those activities that rewards hard work and perseverance.  I also believe strongly in no impact camping and preserving nature for future generations.

Sea to Sky Gondola Parking Area - Squamish, BC

However, I was convinced to try the Sea to Sky gondola to see for myself.  Opened in 2014, the Gondola transports visitors from the parking lot adjacent to the Sea to Sky highway to the lodge at 885 meters.

Base Facilities - Sea to Sky Gondola - Squamish BC

We purchased our tickets, hopped in line and joined a young family in the Gondola car.  We were quickly whisked up the mountain.  The views from the Gondola were absolutely spectacular!  Unfortunately, we missed most of them, as we were completely taken with the young 'uns who shared our Gondola.  The kids were ages 2 and 4, and mom was pregnant with her 3rd baby.  They were dressed in muddy buddies, boots and toques and their excitement was contagious!  Hurrah for a young family connecting their kids to nature!  The little man, excitedly exclaimed GABOLA every time we passed another Gondola car.....it's the small things in life isn't it?

Summit Lodge - Sea to Sky Gondola - Squamish, BC

We soon arrived at the top, bid farewell to our newest "favourite" family and stopped in at the lodge.  Magnificent!  The Summit Lodge featured a restaurant, bar, tea house, gift shop and a sheltered place to take in the panoramic views of the surrounding mountains.  After reviewing the trail maps, we began our hike by crossing the Sky Pilot Suspension Bridge.  This bridge is 100 metres long and a definite crowd favourite. Having said that, we were surprised at how many people were truly fearful of crossing the suspension bridge.  It seemed a shame for them to miss out on the trails that beckoned from the other side.

Sky Pilot Suspension Bridge - Sea to Sky Gondola - Squamish, BC

Sky Pilot Suspension Bridge - Sea to Sky Gondola - Squamish, BC

The area is extremely well maintained.  In fact, we both commented that if felt a bit like visiting Tom Sawyer Island in Disneyland.  The trails and viewing platforms are well planned, well marked and feature signage highlighting the natural features along the way.

View of Sky Pilot - Squamish, BC

We enjoyed the views, and then decided to follow the trail leading out to the back country access.  We chose the Skyline Pilot trail hoping to take in views of Pilot and Copilot along the way.  It was an easy hike, with relatively little elevation gain and before we knew it, we were feasting on a picnic lunch at the end of the marked trail.  We joked that although the sign said end of the trail, we felt like it was only the beginning.  Despite the lodge and gondola being very busy, we did not encounter a single soul on the back country access trail.  I must confess...that is how we like it.

End of the line...Sky Pilot Valley Trail

We made our way back to the Lodge and decided to pop in for a coffee.  The lodge is a fantastic place to people watch.  It is a strange mixture of seasoned hikers (the ones covered in mud who refused to take the gondola up, and instead climbed and grunted their way to the top), tourists from all over the world and some of the best dressed hikers I have ever seen.  I could barely believe my eyes as a group of ladies in high heels made their way to the bar, purchased a couple of bottles of wine and settled in on the outdoor deck beside the roaring fire.  In truth, I still can't quite believe there was a bar up there!  Time passed quickly as we enjoyed the views...both those of nature and the people!

I left with mixed emotions.  We had definitely passed many people who physically would not have been able to visit this area had they been required to hike up on their own.  The demands of the hike would have been too much.  The Gondola has opened up an area of the mountain that many would not have the opportunity to visit.  Sea to Sky adventures appears to be attempting to blend education into the mountain experience and have created a wonderful opportunity for many to learn more about the mountain vegetation, wildlife and natural history.  Additionally, easy access to the back country provides hikers opportunities for expanded hiking options in the area.  Admittedly, we enjoyed a great day of hiking and yet there still is a part of me worried that we paved paradise to put in a parking lot.

Selfie Props - Sea to Sky Gondola - Squamish, BC

Giggle of the day:

We had the pleasure of riding the Gondola down the mountain with a couple of Aussies (it seems every fun story also begins with a couple of Aussies ) and a couple of gentlemen from Israel.  One of the Israelis was valiantly trying to share a story with us in English when his cell phone rang.  His ring tone was the theme song from the old western "The Good, The Bad and the Ugly".  We all broke out into laughter and then Rob asked the question we were all thinking....which one are you?  Without missing a beat, he replied, in perfect English...I am good.  It left us pondering which gondola the bad and ugly might be on.


Map and route tips

Fees

Gondola download is available for those hardy souls who hike up and want to relax on the way down.  There is a charge to download.

Trail maps available at the kiosk.

Interactive Map

#explorebc #SeaToSky #Squamish #yvr #vancouver #discoveroutdoors

Family Hike Garibaldi Lake - Beach Day in the Snow!

In our family, like many others, it is a tradition that the birthday boy or girl chooses something special to do on their "special" day.  You can imagine my delight, when my daughter, Emma, suggested an overnight hike to Garibaldi Lake to celebrate her 20th birthday.

Creek Crossing on trail to Garibaldi Lake

We have spent many a vacation camping, hiking and paddling with our children, and now that they are all grown up it brings us such great pleasure to see them planning and embarking on their own adventures in the outdoors.  It only gets better when we are invited to join the "expeditions!"  I literally jumped at the chance to hike with Adam and Emma to one of my favourite destinations - Garibaldi Provincial Park.  This 195,000 hectare park is located in the heart of the British Columbia Coast Mountains and features over 90 kms of hiking trails.  Visitors can choose from 5 different access points as a starting point for their visit to the park.  At 2,678 meters, Mount Garibaldi stands proudly overlooking the park below.  One of my favourite features, and an iconic symbol of the park is Black Tusk - a giant remnant of a volcanic cone.

Ridge at base of Black Tusk (2012)

Final ascent to base of Black Tusk - only experienced climbers should attempt final chimney section (2012)

Base of Black Tusk (2012)

In all honesty, the majority of the hike in, is pure grunt work as you hike 9 km and climb 850 metres to Garibaldi Lake.  The trail switches back numerous times as you climb up, up and up through the forest.  To keep us entertained and our minds off the trek, Emma entertained us by sharing her knowledge of the trees, shrubs and ferns we were passing.  What a treat to have a naturalist leading the charge!  The forest features giant Douglas fir, Western Red Cedar and Western Hemlock, so she had lots to talk about.

Emma our resident Naturalist enjoys the forest

As you finish the long stretch of switchbacks you are rewarded with a visit to a viewpoint overlooking a huge slide area.  It is hard to look at the slide and not be humbled by the power of Mother Nature.  You can see where literally half of the ridge fell away.

Viewpoint on trail to Garibaldi Lake

We stopped to take it all in and of course nibble on our trail mix.  We were soon joined by a couple of hikers who were on their way down the mountain.  They were from San Francisco, California.  We laughed as they politely inquired when our summer started.  They had spent a very cold night in the snow at Garibaldi Lake.

Snow capped glaciers reflected in Garibaldi Lake

We bid farewell to the Californians and set off for the Lake.  As we continued to gain elevation, we could feel the temperature dropping and soon found ourselves hiking through snow.  In true, family vacation fashion the rain began.  It just would not be one of our family outings without some sort of bad weather!  We arrived at the lake wet and cold and quickly found our way to the warming hut to shed our wet clothing and put on our warm fleecies.  As we were warming up a group of 3 hikers joined us.  One of their group had fallen through the snow and had quite a nasty cut on his leg.  They were short a few first aid supplies, so Adam naturally kicked into gear and was soon sharing our supplies and keeping an eye on the "treatment."

As we were preparing dinner in the warming hut, we looked out over the lake and were treated to a full rainbow.  We took it as a sign that tomorrow would be sunny and warm.  We were not disappointed as we woke up to brilliant sunshine.  The views of the lake and snow capped glaciers were breathtaking...a perfect birthday gift for our birthday girl.

Perfect birthday morning on Garibaldi Lake

Giggle of the day:

With our combined years of experience, we really should know better, but we found ourselves shocked to arrive at the lake and find we were up to our knees in snow.  We had planned for a birthday picnic beside the lake and were fully prepared with frisbees, swimsuits and sunglasses.  We were huddled up in the warming hut, laughing about the tricks Mother Nature can play when 2 climbers arrived equipped with ice axes and snowshoes.  They had been up trying to make their way to Black Tusk, but had turned back because of the weather. I wish I had taken a picture of the group....Emma in her sunglasses, Adam in his beach wear and the climbers in their snowshoes!

Where's the beach?

Maps and Route tips:

You are required to purchase a BC Discover Camping back country permit for all back-country wilderness camping.  These can be purchased online or at the trail head parking lot.

Access points to the Provincial Park are located along the Sea to Sky Highway (Highway 99) between Squamish and Pemberton.


#hike #discoveroutdoors #getoutsideandplay