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The new BC Parks day use pass system had just launched the previous week, so for this hike we were in a learning phase to see how that system works. This very popular trail starts from the Rubble Creek trailhead parking lot.
I created my account the week before at https://discovercamping.ca/BCCWeb/Customers/NewCustomer.aspx
On the morning of the hike, I had my alarm set for 5:45am, to be at my computer logged in before 6am when the pass reservations open at https://discovercamping.ca/BCCWeb/MEMBERSHIPS/MembershipPasses.aspx
Before 6am, the “ADD TO CART” buttons are greyed out. At 6am they don’t automatically become live and clickable — you have to refresh the browser page to make that happen. Then click to choose how many passes, and ADD TO CART. One person can reserve up to 8 passes for their hiking group members.
On the weekend a few days earlier, the Rubble Creek passes sold out at 6am almost instantaneously. I probably wouldn’t have managed to get any. But our hike was on a weekday (Wednesday), so I had no problem. The day before (Tuesday), I had watched and found there were still 8 or more available at 6:05am, and just 2 available the next time I looked, at 8:35am.
I emailed the confirmation number to the other 5 hikers on the trip, along with the pass itself (pdf file), which I received by email in a few minutes. Good thing I did, because each car needs to prove they’re registered before reaching the parking lot. Confirmation number seemed enough.
(BTW we had already agreed on a Plan B hike in case we couldn’t get passes, but fortunately we didn’t need to switch.)
So finally we got to start hiking, about 9:35am. 🙂 The weather was perfect — mostly sunny, a little warm but not hot. The well graded and maintained trail eased our uphill progress through the shady woods.
Lunch at Garibaldi Lake — cobalt blue and gorgeous as ever!
We then hiked up to Taylor Meadows junction, the highest point of this lollipop route. Gazing at the trail leading further up toward Panorama Ridge and Black Tusk, we started planning future hikes that would allocate enough time to enjoy those even more spectacular heights.
Headed back through Taylor Meadows, enjoying the many flowers in bloom… 🙂
Our stats:
Distance: 22 km
Ascent: 1100 m
Total time: 6hr 53min
Moving time: 5hr 49min
Somehow I couldn’t upload our GPS track, so here’s one from last year:
Original trip posting:
http://northshorehikers.org/events/garibaldi-lake-loop-to-taylor-meadows-2/
— Mark
Thank you again for organizing this trip, Mark!
Here is the link to see my pics from the hike: https://www.flickr.com/photos/benrose/albums/72157715384916366
See you on the trails…
Bengül
Hi Mark, just wondering how it ended up being 22km? The guides I have reviewed (Alltrails, Vancouver Trails, etc.) note its 18-19km with Taylor Meadows. Am hoping to do this trail in the Fall so any intel would be highly appreciated!
Many thanks,
Shamim
Hi Shamim —
Comparing the trail maps and statistics of these four:
https://www.vancouvertrails.com/trails/garibaldi-lake/
https://www.alltrails.com/trail/canada/british-columbia/garibaldi-lake-trail
It looks like the statistics on the first one above (vancouvertrails) are wrong. The route on the alltrails map is clearly shorter than the other three, and it correctly shows a shorter distance and less ascent than my two gaiagps tracks. But vancouvertrails map shows a longer route (like my gaia routes) but its 18km length is the same as alltrails, and ascent is less than alltrails — must be wrong.
— Mark
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