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Garibaldi - Panorama Ridge

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Garibaldi ParkPanoramic Landscape across Garibaldi Lake to Coast Mountains of British Columbia from Panorama Ridge Viewpoint. More info

Panoramic views from south slopes of Panorama ridge.  Gentian peak left, Castle Towers behind to the right.  Sphinx glacier upper center,  Mt. Garibaldi rising above Sentinel Bay center right

October 27, 2015

Panorama Ridge is classic viewpoint of Garibaldi lake and one of most popular hikes in BC Coast mountains. Access is via main park artery that runs from Rubble creek to Cheakamus Lake above Whistler.  Although overall length is significant,  trip still lends itself well to day hike as trail is wide and well-graded, thus allowing for fast travel.  Overnight alternative is camping at Taylor meadows, then day hiking from there. Main advantage of overnight trip is enough time to explore beyond ridge highpoint towards Gentian peak and/or traverse of entire Gentian ridge and sub-sequent loop return via Helm creek.  Parties have also been known to bivi at one of corrals along the ridge.  This option is popular with photographers, as sunrise shots from Panorama are spectacular, while mid to late afternoon does not lends itself well to photography due to position of the sun. Note though that overnight anywhere except in designated park campgrounds (Garibaldi lake, Taylor meadows, Helm creek) is not allowed.

Park at Rubble creek parking lot and follow wide and super busy trail for 6.5 km to marked Taylor junction (about 1.5 hr of fast pace).  Turn left and reach Taylor meadows campground in another 30-40 minutes, then continue in easterly direction along the main trail.  Sections of trail are very boggy approaching Black Tusk turnoff; BC Parks have done plenty of work here to prevent erosion, so please stay on trail even if it means having muddy boots. Helm junction is reached in about 1 1/2 hour from the campground. Turn right and descend to Black Tusk lake, then follow marked trail ascending the ridge directly in front of you.  Views of Black Tusk behind you are simply spectacular and you are sure to make many photo breaks. Trail enters talus field halfway up, then ascends a bit more steeply but is never challenging. In winter posts with red wands mark the way.  Highpoint of the ridge is serious "ahhh" point as entire Garibaldi lake spreads below you.  As one might expect, it is also very popular so solitude might be hard to find.  If the wind is too strong, it is possible to drop 100 vertical meters or so towards the lake for more sheltered area, and possibly even better viewpoint.  Many other objectives can be readily studied from here.  Obvious one directly in front is Gentian peak - an easy scramble on broken talus. Behind are Castle Towers, while east end of Garibaldi lake lies below. Sharp eyes can spot VOC Burton Hut (very popular winter overnight spot) below Sphinx glacier. On the other side are Sentinel Bay, Glacier Pikes, Table and Mt. Price (great day hike from Rubble creek as well).  

Winter visit is feasible, but considerably more difficult due to shorter daylight while travel is not as fast as in summer.  You also might need to walk additional couple of kilometers from Sea-to-Sky as approach road is not plowed.

Note that car break-ins are very frequent in Rubble creek parking lot. Most break-ins appear to happen in wee hours of the morning, thus backpackers are in most risk.  Despite public outcry, situation has improved little over the years. Best strategy is to leave vehicle unlocked with compartments open and empty clearly showing that nothing of value is kept inside.

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