Trip Highlights & Description
Tenquille Lake area boasts expansive alpine meadows and gentle peaks suitable for a variety of adventures. It is an adorable hiking location where trails are a lot more quiet than around Whistler. Climate is somewhat drier and warmer than usual coastal areas, supporting slightly different vegetation.
Access to the area starts with an off-road drive followed by reasonably easy hiking with a large pack. The views will begin already during our drive and will only improve as we hike into the mountains.
Once we set up our camp we are free to explore our neighborhood with a small pack over the next couple of days. There is no shortage of options to accommodate for various levels of hiking experience.
Highlights:
The highlights of this trip are adventurous off-trail hiking, ever changing alpine meadows, walking on long scenic ridges, swimming in a pristine lake, and even reaching summits of some gentle peaks that feature tremendous views.
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, Pemberton, or Squamish.
- 8.30-9.00am: We meet up
- 11.00am: Our group starts hiking
- 2.30-3.30pm: We reach our campsite and setup our tents
- 4.00pm: We can do a small side trip or just relax
- 6.30pm: Dinner time!
Day 2-3:
Whether it be one or two days, the middle portion of our trip will be spend hiking with light packs to the many gorgeous places in the area.
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
- 6.30pm: 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 simply take our time to casually pack our camp before hike out.
Hiking back to our car with the bigger packs will be easier than hiking up on the first day but we still need to plan about 3h for the return trip.
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.