Wilderness

Every time I visit Garibaldi, I’m taken aback by how much beauty is within a couple of hours of Vancouver.

Our recent hike up to Elfin Lakes was in the fog. It was a grey climb up and visibility was limited.

By mid-day on Day 2, the weather started to clear. We spent the afternoon exploring the Opal Cone with hardly another hiker in the area.

Our descent on Day 3 was in bright sunshine and we finally saw all that we missed on our walk up. It is truly a breathtaking area.

The tent pads were pretty full up during our stay. We didn’t sleep in the hut, but it looked pretty nice. (I suspect that if we had stayed there, others would have disliked my snoring.)

There were a surprising amount of flies in the shelter and the outhouses. I use the word swarms without a hint of hyperbole.

The facilities are good with ample bear hangs. The hut at the mid-way point even had a stove.

Bears were in the area. We kept our distance but they didn’t seem concerned with us. Still, it’s wise to keep any food and smelly things you have well away from your tent, in one of the handy bear hangs.