Trip Highlights & Description
Garibaldi Provincial Park is one of the gems of British Columbia. It features a lot of natural diversity and breathtaking places packed into a relatively small area.
We have a couple of different itineraries for your Garibaldi backpacking trip and will recommend them depending on your wishes, local conditions and snow, as well as campground availability for your preferred dates.
In any case, we would love to take you to at all of these places:
Garibaldi Lake:
One of the most scenic lakes in Canada, surrounded by mountains and glaciers. Its turquoise coloured waters spread over a massive area of 10 km² (3.8 mi²).
Panorama Ridge:
Its high and central location inside the Park provides truly breathtaking views in all directions. With Garibaldi Lake sitting hundreds of metres below you, expansive glaciers beyond it and an imposing Black Tusk on the other side this is one of the most magnificent scenery you will ever experience.
Black Tusk:
Black Tusk is an iconic mountain on the West Coast. Its black volcanic rock and steep appearance makes this stratovolcano recognizable from far way. The name for Black Tusk by local native people means the “Landing Place of the Thunderbird” – a legendary creature in some North American indigenous peoples’ history and culture.
While we won’t climb to its summit, we can definitely take you to a nice lunch spot high up on this mountain.
Expansive alpine meadows:
To contrast the colours of blue sky, white snow, black and grey rocks, the vast meadows connect everything together and paint one seamless picture of natural perfection.
Off the beaten path:
If you would like to avoid other tourists and have a more adventurous experience then we know of many secret spots in this area. We can go to touch an old glacier, hike up a mountain or walk on a scenic alpine ridge.
Itinerary
This is an approximate itinerary and might be adjusted based on your needs, mountain conditions and weather forecast.
Day 1:
Our meeting time will depend on your availability (whether you are already in the area or you are travelling) but it should preferably be around 9am and no later than noon. As for meeting place, this could be either in Whistler, in Squamish, or somewhere along the way.
- 10.30-11.00am: Our group starts hiking
- 3-4.00pm: We reach our campsite and setup our tents
- 5.00pm: We can do a little side trip or just relax
- 7.00pm: Dinner time!
Day 2-3:
Whether it be one or two days, the middle portion of our backpacking trip will be spend hiking with light packs to the many gorgeous places in the area.
Should we want to switch camps then we would hike with our bigger packs to another location on one of those days.
Daily “schedule” will be flexible but just to give you an idea:
- 8am: Breakfast
- 9.15am: Start hiking towards our day’s objective
- 12-12.30am: Lunch high in the alpine
- 3.30-4.30pm: Back at our camp
- 6-6.30pm: Dinner
Final Day:
Depending on how strong our group feels and on your travel needs later that day, we can go for a one-to-two hour trip in the morning or take our time to casually pack our camp and hike out.
Hiking out to our car will be easier than hiking on the first day – it will be all downhill and our packs will be lighter (remember all that food we at?!) However, we still need to plan about 3h for the descent.
Included in Our Backpacking Trip Price
- Quality backcountry tent
- Technical multi-day backpack
- Sleeping pad and sleeping pillow
- All meals (from lunch on the first day to lunch on the last day)
- Entrance fees, permits and passes
- Use of trekking poles and micro-spike crampons if necessary
- Headlamp and mosquito head net
- * Sleeping bag (rent for $10/day, or we can help you buy one)
We Provide for the Whole Group
- Cooking stoves, all cookware and kitchen utensils
- First-aid kit and bear spray
- Communication emergency device
Not Included in the Price
This trip’s price does not included:
– Transportation for people not riding in our car (we can drive up to 4)
– 5% Goods and Services Tax (GST)
– Your personal insurance
– Guide gratuity
Meals: What to Expect?
All of our backpacking trips include a variety of nutritious tasty meals that we cook from scratch at the camp or prepare before the trip.
We carry foods that travel well in the backcountry – rice, pastas, couscous, packaged meats, cheese, lentils, beans, nuts, breads, oatmeal, granola, and occasionally hard boiled eggs if temperatures are cool enough. For optimal taste, we supplement all our meals with spices, herbs, oils, maple syrup, fruits and vegetables (fresh and dried).
For snacks, we will provide you with an assortment of trail mix, bars and dried fruits to eat at your own discretion.
Coffee and variety of teas will be available as well.
Food Allergies or Dietary Preferences?
Please advise us of any food allegories anyone in your group has at least one week before the trip.
Beyond that, please tell us about your dietary preferences such as vegan, vegetarian, paleo, kosher, low carb, or non-gluten. Some of these special dietary requests may require an additional small fee.
Your Packing List: What to Bring?
If you need to rent or buy some of the required gear let us know and we will help you choose.
Clothing (avoid cotton items):
- Hiking boots – waterproof, above the ankle, mid weight, above the ankle, ideally well broken in
If buying: buy your boots 1/2 to 1 size larger than your street shoes, to allow for thicker socks and feet swelling and - Lightweight sandals or shoes for camp use
- Hiking socks – 2-3 pairs, padded
- Gaiters (bring if you have them)
- Sunhat or baseball cap and bandana
- Warm hat and light gloves
- Underwear – 3-4 pairs, moisture wicking, Merino wool or synthetic (light to mid-weight)
- Long underwear – 1 pair, moisture wicking
- T-shirt – bring 2, moisture wicking, Merino wool or synthetic
- Top long sleeve layer – bring 1, wicking material, mid-weight
- Fleece or insulated jacket – warm, lightweight and packable, preferably synthetic over down filling
- Hiking pants or zip-offs – 1 pair, soft-shell or other light weight breathable moisture wicking material
- Shorts (optional) – 1 pair, light weight
- Rainproof jacket and pants – waterproof but breathable such as Gore-Tex® or coated nylon
If buying: look for side leg zippered pants or a style that lets you to put them on and remove them without removing your boots
Gear & Personal Items:
- Sleeping bag (rent for $10/day, or we can help you buy one)
- Prescription and personal medications
- Knee braces (if needed)
- Water bottles or bladder – 2 liters total capacity
- Contact lenses and glasses – your contacts might become difficult to clean
- Sunglasses
- Sunscreen and lip balm
- Bug repellent
- Toiletries and a small camping towel
- Camera and spare batteries
Emergency Insurance, Cancellations, Refunds…
Please visit this page for more details on what kind of emergency medical insurance we recommend you have for your trip and all other important information.