🏔 Andy McKay

For some reason Panorama Ridge has been on my list for a long time, but I haven't gone. Partly it was confusion on my part about how to get up to Panorama Ridge and how long the trail actually is. Turns out it's really easy to get to and well worth it. Unfortunately judging by the numbers of people I saw and the posts on /r/vancouverhiking it looks like it's getting overwhelmed by people, rather like Joffre Lakes.

You will need day passes, or camping passes from BC Parks to visit this part of Garibaldi.

Day 1: Chekamus 👉 Helm Creek

There are two main ways into this area, via Helm Creek (from the north) or via Taylor Meadows (from the south). The Helm Creek route is the furthest and comes in from Cheakamus Lake. It's not a technical trail and is an easy surface to hike on. In 8km it has almost 800m of elevation, but most of that comes in the last 6km of the hike. It starts off with steep switchbacks, but calms down after a while.

Helm Creek has bear caches, a couple of toilets and lots of tent pads spread out across the campsite. With Black Tusk visible from the campsite, it's a lovely spot.

That night a helicopter and crew came into to take out someone who had accidentally set off a bear spray canister into their face. Number of times I've seen bear spray set off at a bear: 0. Number of times I've seen set off accidentally: 2.

Day 2: Garibaldi Day 2: Helm Creek 👉 Panorama Ridge

I left my tent and gear at Helm Creek and moved the essentials into a smaller day bag. This was a pretty common approach, some people took their tent down and just put their backpack up the bear cache. It meant a light pack to tackle Panorama Ridge. The hike up towards the trail intersection is easy going. As you approach there are big flat areas of lacva rock, right underneath Black Tusk. It reminded me of volcanoes in New Zealand and was something I hadn't really experienced in BC.

The paths up to Black Tusk and the one up to Panorama Ridge are near each other. From that point it's 400m climb up a ridge and on to the top. I never felt exposed or nervous, the trail was pretty wide and felt good. There was one small part as it worked its way to the very top, but that was short lived and wasn't a problem for someone like me who is not keen on large drops or exposure. The top is absolutely stunning and had absolutely amazing views. I can see why its popular.

I left early in the morning and as I was heading down, more and more people were coming up. Runners and others from Rubble Creek via Taylor Meadows were also appearing. I can see this place being very, very busy. One brief diversion of the main trail and I found the place where people go to the toilet and sadly leave their toilet paper (leave no trace people). It was a little depressing.

I was able to have a nice swim in the lake, sunbathe and be back at Helm Creek in the early afternoon. I was tempted to just pack up and hike out, since I didn't figure it would take too long, but in the end I decided to enjoy another night in a lovely campsite.

Mountain lakes swum in: 2️⃣

Day 3: Helm Creek 👉 Cheakamus

This is a pretty straightforward hike out, due to it being downhill pretty much all the way, it passed really quickly. I enjoyed the sun rising and the sunlight coming in through the trees as I made my way down. It only took 1h 46m for me to get back to the car. Then it was drive out on the 8km of unpaved road to Function Junction feeling pretty happy and satisfied. This would be a nice opportunity to divert over to Cheakamus Lake if you fancied another mountain lake swim.

Summary

Overall a great hike with amazing views, but concerns about the overcrowding. I'd happily consider doing this in one day, or perhaps a loop up from one end to the other taking in Black Tusk next time.