another way | panorama ridge via taylor meadows

22 miles . 5500 ft . 6900 ft high

Garibaldi Provincial Park

Two years ago, I first laid eyes on Garibaldi Lake. Little did I know how popular this trail was. This year, my friend decided to get a second chance backpacking in the Garibaldi Provincial Park but at a different camp site. I couldn’t resist saying no even though I generally like to hike to different view points, this offered a variation in the approach.

Overall, while my stats technically show a longer hike via Taylor Meadows, it is actually the shorter method to get to Panorama Ridge (by a mile round trip) than via Helm Creek. However, it’s actually at least 500-1000 ft more gain.

By chance, we were able to get overnight permits to Taylor Meadows, though we originally wanted to be by Garibaldi Lake. It was honestly not a bad idea though! About 4 miles into the hike, we were able to drop our bags and set up camp around lunch time at a leisurely pace. The trail sort of makes a triangle between Taylor Meadows, Garibaldi Lake Campground, and an intersection where all the trails meet to head up further towards Black Tusk and Panorama Ridge.

It still seemed a bit daunting though having to literally do another full day hike to Panorama Ridge and back. Remembering the last time when the 4 miles back to camp in the dark was quite unpleasant, we decided against staying for sunset at the ridge this time. Plus, sunset was much later this time mid summer as opposed to late summer. I was astounded by how many people were on the trail in the summer! Apparently it was a long weekend for Canadians so people were flocking to see the incredible views, which I’m glad people were making the trek. However, I passed a lot of judgement on many hikers who seemed rather ill-prepared with training and gear. I kept hoping they would all make it back okay, even if late and in the dark. It’s literally the length of doing the Enchantments!

But literally straight out from Taylor Meadows, the meadows started becoming more consistent and the wildflowers were absolutely blooming. I could have cared less how fast we hiked and could have been so content just sitting among the flowers. I do love how these Canadian trails have so many signs for not going off trail and how it damages nature and can be dangerous on switchbacks. Plus the boardwalks seem super sustainable and clear where you should and shouldn’t walk on. Let’s adopt that Washington, shall we?

Not before long, we got views of Mimulus Lake and Black Tusk Lake. And here began our last major ascent to the ridge. It was quite crowded here, needing to let people pass and pulling over as people slowly made their way up and down the ridge. I’d definitely call it class 2 scrambling since it is a bit more involved than a typical trail but not dangerous.

We got some views and found a nice sitting spot to enjoy the scenery (and cell service) before we started to go down the 4 miles to the lake. The lake was a great spot to dip our feet in, though many people were prepared to take a full body dive into the lake since it was surprisingly warmer than you’d expect for an alpine lake. The views here were just as stunning, though different than from Panorama Ridge above. We made dinner here and enjoyed ourselves for a while as we waited for the sun to set.

Thankfully, the trail from Garibaldi Lake to Taylor Meadows is flat and just about a mile long so it went by fast and we barely didn’t even need to use headlamps! Back at camp, there were so many people there (more than at Helm Creek and less spread out) getting ready for bed too. We retired and didn’t stay up late, having already done quite a bit of hiking this day.

The next morning, we woke up naturally (how nice is that in this day and age?) and had a leisurely morning packing up and heading back down to the car. On our way down, we passed so many people that I noticed myself only smiling and ignoring people since it got to be too much to fully acknowledge and say hello to the hundreds of people coming up for the day. It struck me how ethnically diverse the hikers were on this trail as a reflection for the diversity in Vancouver compared to Seattle. I do wonder, however, if there’s more accessibility in Vancouver trails than there are for Seattle trails that might make a difference too.

Back at the car, it was still morning and we were ready to get our Squamish pastries and head back to Seattle!

Notes

• We parked at Rubble Creek Trailhead. Day hike and overnight permits are required for Friday-Monday and holidays. For day passes, they open 2 days beforehand and can be found at the BC Parks website. Rubble Creek is under Garibaldi, though you also have the option to start at Cheakamus. Overnight backpacking permits can also be found on the BC Parks website. Choose either Taylor Meadows or Garibaldi Lake for hikes starting at Rubble Creek. Helm Creek or Cheakamus Lake is also an option for backpacking to Panorama Ridge.
• Make sure you print out your permit or write down all the details.
• Taylor Meadows is bear hang only, so bring something (ideally waterproof too) to hang. We found some of the hangs were broken, so if you’re having a rough time with it, try a different one. Helm Creek had storage lockers too, but we didn’t find any at Taylor Meadows.

Photos take on Canon EOS R5