Pacific Northwest

Easy flight to Vancouver (cool plane picture of Mt Baker!).  We arrived in Vancouver at 11:30am and were through Customs and had our car by 12:30.   It took a while to get out of the city but then we were free to enjoy the beautiful drive up the Sea to Sky Highway - just as pretty as we remembered it.

Squamish has really grown up since our last trip, no longer a sleepy mountain town. We were able to secure an early check-in at our hotel, the August Jack Inn, which had an incredible view of Stawamus Chief.  It's a simple and clean lodging with a nice kitchenette and walking distance to everywhere in town.  We spent the rest of the day meandering about town, grabbing fresh groceries to supplement the hiking food we packed, and ate dinner at 3:30p at Howe Sound Inn and Brewing - it was really delicious and that also looks like a great place to stay if we were to return.  In bed by 6p and excited for our hike the next day!

So excited for this hike!  We secured our day-pass parking 48 hours prior to using the online system.  It's free, but did fill up within 5 minutes so important to visit the BCParks website before you go.  We were at the Rubble Creek trailhead by 5:30a.  Weather was cloudy with a chance of spotty showers, but didn't matter to us.  We were so happy to escape the 95 degree weather at home and be outside in 50 degree weather.  The switchbacks up to Taylor Meadows were just as we remembered, but we made quick work of it and enjoyed having the trail to ourselves.  In the meadows, the clouds started breaking giving us peeks of Black Tusk while we enjoyed the wildflowers and little brooks that meandered along the trail.  We started to see a few trail runners here but otherwise continued to enjoy the beautiful morning in solitude!

The last push up Panorama Ridge is a bit of a slog on rocky terrain, but after trekking in the Alps, this part went by really quick for us.  The clouds kept coming in and out, obscuring our view which made us a little nervous for what we would (or wouldn't) be able to see at the top.  But, on top of the Ridge, we were rewarded with our first summit above the clouds.  It was spectacular!  We had 360 degree views of snow-covered peaks - we couldn't get enough.  Although we were unable to see Lake Garibaldi below, as we had the first time, this experience was honestly just as special and we felt very lucky.  We stayed on the Ridge for over an hour by ourselves enjoying lunch of Bobos, goldfish and Snickers, with the clouds creating unique views every few minutes.  It was hard to leave....

We love a good loop trail, so on the way down once we'd reached Taylor Meadows, we veered toward Lake Garibaldi and enjoyed more snacks on a bench by the lake.  This area was busy with people, as we expected, but with the new day pass requirement, it wasn't nearly as crowded as the first time we came so that was nice.  Patches of sun lit the lake up to its brilliant turquoise color, just a beautiful spot.  After a rest, we headed back down the never-ending switchbacks and were back to the car by 3p, not too shabby for 18 miles and 4500 ft of elevation gain.  Even in our old age, we were faster this time than the first time we did this hike 10 years ago.

We remembered eating at the Watershed Grill from our first trip and decided to hit it up again.  Great food, great prices and a beautiful location riverside.  I enjoyed chicken pot pie and Shawn loved his fish and chips - one of my favorite things to do after a hard hike is to eat A LOT of food. Back to the hotel for a shower and asleep by 7p!  

While mostly a travel day, we decided to intersperse a few stops at Provincial Parks as we worked out way down Howe Sound.  After a few bars for breakfast, we packed up and were on the road by about 5:30a.  We parked at Stawamus Chief trailhead and walked down to Shannon Falls Provincial Park (that gate was closed) for a quick view of Shannon Falls.  Honestly, we enjoyed looking at the Douglas Fir trees along the walk more than the Falls themselves which were still cool, but Iceland spoiled us with spectacular waterfalls.

Next stop was Murrin Provincial Park where we intended to just walk a little loop but instead ended up hiking the Jurassic Ridge Loop (1.9 mi, 794 ft elevation) which was a little tougher than we expected to do but we had a great time.  What a cool little park with tons of places for rock climbing.  We were alone in the park since it wasn't yet 7a and enjoyed a long rest at the summit with views of Howe Sound and that crazy turqoise water.  We watched some kayakers in the distance - that would be a fun way to spend the morning too.

Back on the road, we headed to Cypress Provincial Park.  We had originally planned to do St Mark's Summit but since our walks at Shannon Falls and Murrin were a little longer than expected, we decided to just walk to Bowen's Lookout (2.8 mi, 541 ft elevation).  A nice walk overall, took us about an hour and a half with views of Howe Sound and Bowen Island.  Saw a curious little buck who walked with us a while.  After our walk, we headed back down to what looks to be a new housing development area and ate a yummy pizza at The Shed Coffee Pizza Bar with incredible views of Vancouver.  We planned out our border crossing, and to minimize wait time at Peace Arch, we crossed the border at Lynden and meandered down to Marblemount.  We grabbed a few more groceries along the way and enjoyed the scenic drive along the Sedro-Woolley Valley.  After settling in our hotel, we ate cup o noodles and went to bed.

I chose this hike based on the Earthtrekker's website - one of my favorite travel blogs.  As usual, they advised us well.  The drive over was a little rainy but was done by the time we reached the trailhead.  Trailhead parking requires a $5 fee, but there was no service to pay the fee, nor place to leave cash, nor pencil to write with for the pass.... hmmm NFS.  Shawn had read up on the hike and decided our best views would be counter clockwise, so off we went up on the gradual, well-maintained trail that was, again, a beautiful way to spend a morning.  We stopped by Lake Ann which gave us a nice view of the ridgeline we would be walking up to and along.  Clouds were, again, coming in and out giving us unique views when we got above the treeline.

Since we were going fairly slowly, we were able to meet and chat with more people on this day than others.  We met a really nice man who had retired at 53 (retiring is really on our minds right now...) and enjoyed a long chat with him while waiting for a shrouded mountain to come into view.  We passed a couple of girls who were asking us what that 'little animal' was - a hoary marmot (they are everywhere), and met a nice family toward the top also from the East Coast who, like us, like to stay on east coast time and hike early.  They were spry and their kiddo is a big Duke fan.

Great views all along the ridge at the pass and we were luck to have no wind and comfortable temperatures at the top.  We ate lunch and enjoyed the descent into the woods.  The weather improved with each passing minute so maybe we should have waited until a little later in the day to start the hike, but the clouds make for unique experiences and cool pictures too so we appreciate it all just the same.  We took the spur trail to Rainy Lake, and it was fine for the extra exercise but wasn't as spectacular as the view we had of the lake during our descent.  

Since restaurant options are limited in Marblemount, we chose to drive to Winthrop to explore the cute little western town and eat dinner.  We ate bowls at Jupiter (recommend!) and then enjoyed a massive bowl of ice cream at the little shop on the corner.  Super glad to have not stayed in Winthrop, though - it was so hot and dusty.  After our ice cream, we scurried back to our cool mountain air, stopping at the Diablo Lake overlook for a bit before heading back to the hotel for a good night's rest.  Awesome day:  9.7 miles, 2461 ft elevation gain.

Big day and the weather was looking perfect!  The road to the trailhead was right at the intersection by our hotel, so we were on the road by 4:30a for the hour-long drive up.  The road turns to gravel about 13 miles in, but is well-maintained, mostly single-lane road.  Wasn't too scary and we didn't encounter any vehicles on our way up.  We were on the trail by 5:30a and had it to ourselves again.  A whole bunch of switchbacks on the way up, similar to Panorama Ridge - we counted 35-37 in total, but they were gradual and the trail was smooth allowing us to look around at the forest.  After crossing a boulder field, we arrived at Cascade Pass and enjoyed beautiful views all around.  The next section of trail was pretty tough, more switchbacks but at least above the treeline so when we stopped for rest, beautiful views in all directions.  Along the meadows, we started to see wildlife:  hoary marmot, pica and mountain goats!  We first saw a family of goats and watched them for a long time - they sure had their eyes on us.  And then a few other sitting on rocks or ambling around, they didn't give a hoot about us.  

The last push to the Sahale Arm campsite was challenging - about 900 ft of gain in a half-mile on loose rocks, and sometimes scree.  We had it in our mind it was going to be harder than it actually was, honestly.  We stopped often and the views got better and better as we ascended which motivated us.  We could see Mt Baker in the distance, pretty cool because we had seen it from the plane and it did get shrouded later in the day.  Before we knew it, we were at the base of the glacier with epic views in all directions.  We ambled along the rocks, admired the campsites which had rock walls surrounding them, watched mountain goats and a group of people ambling up on the glacier.  We had some snacks and the chipmunks were in cahoots to steal our lunches so we couldn't leave them unattended.  After about an hour, we began our descent.  It was a pretty warm day and we encountered a lot of people who were struggling to ascend in the heat.  We were grateful to have started early and to be going down in the heat of the day.  Admittedly, the switchbacks at the end got really, really tedious so it was exciting to see the parking lot.

We encountered a few cars on the drive back to town, but not bad.  After a very mediocre dinner at a restaurant in town, we were excited for a shower and sleep.  Perfect day: 13.2 miles, 4242 ft elevation gain.

Our open day... we are not good with spontaneity but we decided the previous night to book a canoe for a ride on Ross Lake.  Over breakfast, we decided to change our reservation to a motorboat.  I hadn't gotten a confirmation from the resort about the canoe, or the motorboat, so we just decided to head out there and hope for the best.  Accessing Ross Lake Resort is a 1 mile descent where you can either pick up a boat taxi for a lift over to the resort (30 seconds, $4 a person) or walk another 2 miles (30 minutes) to get there.  We took the water taxi and were at the resort by 8:15a.  They said they don't do last minute boat reservations, but we were in luck because there was one boat left to be rented.  And it was ours!  This day ended up being a highlight of our trip.  I had packed all the junk food (Dorito's, Chewy Chips Ahoy, Twizzlers) and we spend the day boating, eating garbage food, looking for wildlife, and exploring Ross Lake.  We were given a map of all the best places to hang out, where to avoid the wind (which tends to come up in the early afternoon), where to stop, hazards to avoid - and off we went!

Devil's Creek was definitely a highlight - it was like a slot canyon with water deep enough for our boat.  We slowly went through the canyon as far as we could go and just hung out there waiting for the sun to rise into it.  We then motored up to other creeks,  moored the boat and explored along the rocks.  Shawn used his peak-finder app and enjoyed being able to name all the mountains around us.  The water was crystal clear and, since it's a dammed lake, we could see a lot of stumps in the water which we got a kick out of.  We stopped at several remote waterfalls. We were the only ones out there - it was just exceptional. 

 After 1p, the wind started picking up so we sought refuge in the Ruby Arm which was just a beautiful spot to boat along.  At this point, I was thinking the only way this day could be made better is if we saw a bear but since we hadn't in the more remote parts of the lake, I thought it was unlikely.  BUT, then I spotted something swimming across the lake - maybe an otter?  No - it was a black bear!  Shawn slowed the boat and we watched it swimming and then leaving the lake along the far shore.  I have it on video - it was super cool and a highlight of the trip.  After about 6 hours on the lake, we returned our little vessel to Ross Lake Resort, taxied back across the lake, hiked a mile up to our car and headed back to Marblemount.  The 1 mile hike up was kind of tiring after all that junk food and being sun- and wind- exposed, but we made it! So glad we chose the motorboat over the canoe - we got to see so much more of the lake and relax.  We decided on this trip that we always need to have a water activity on our vacations, just had so much fun.  

Back in town, we had a really good dinner at Mondo's restaurant and packed up our suitcases for our trip back home.  

Shawn was really interested in going to Anacortes, so we left the hotel around 6a and headed to the coast to explore a little before our 1:30p flight.  We ambled along the rocks at Deception Pass State Park and then drove up to the top of Mt Erie to catch views of the ocean and enjoy the last of the cool weather before heading back to the summer inferno of the South.

Our border crossing back into Canada was uneventful, and the Vancouver airport and customs were very easy to navigate.  A quick 5 hour flight and taxi ride, and we were home to our happy cats.  Another memorable trip!