Panorama Ridge-Garibaldi Park

Last year we hiked up to the gorgeous Panorama Ridge in Garibaldi Park.  We based ourselves right at the lake after about a 3 hour hike up from the parking lot.  This was our first time up here and although tiring with all the weight on our backs once we got our first glimpse of the lake we knew it was well worth it.  After a dehydrated dinner and a walk around the lake we headed into our tent for a good night's sleep.  If you are coming up to the lake, either keep your hiking shoes/boots on or bring good sandals with you.  Flip flops are not an option.  The rocks around the lake are lava, uneven and sometimes sharp.  My advice is not tempt twisting an ankle.  The next morning under a warm sunny sky we headed up to Panorama Ridge.  This is a gorgeous hike filled with meadows, smaller lakes, creeks and tons of flowers in bloom. 

This is a great hike if you love rocks!  There are so many varities and shapes of rocks to look at and I'll have to look up the correct terms before I misquote the types we saw. 

The thing about this hike is that you seem to see the peak but once you climb to the top you look up and realize there's another peak to climb, you're just not there yet!  So, after climbing a to a few peaks we thought were the top we finally arrived and was it ever worth it.  The views of the lakes are outstanding!  The hike up through an icefield was tough but you forget the challenge when you are staring at such a glorious, natural beauty. 

The infamous Black Tusk

This is me hiking back down from the peak ready to melt some snow in our pot and have some hot lunch!  There were about a dozen people on the path when we hiked up here and it was on a weekend.  I strongly encourage you to leave early and avoid long weekends as it is extremely busy.  I've heard that climbing up Black Tusk can be a gong show with too many people heading up and down the Tusk on weekends.  If possible I would do this again during the week to avoid the weekend crowd.  Garibaldi is an ever increasing popular place.  Don't forget, pack in what you pack out! 

We loved this place, we'll do it again for sure.  There are no amenities on the trail, make sure you have your water and food with you and a means to purify your water along the way.  Once we reached this icefield we ended up packing the snow into our empty water bottles and letting it melt for drinking.  Nice, cold water!