Black Tusk Hike

Black Tusk 2008
Destination: Black Tusk and Garibaldi Lake Hike
Date: July 20th, 2008
Location: 37 km north of Squamish
Duration: 30km, 6-9 hours
Cost: free
Discipline: hiking
Rating: 10 / 10

Team Average Jo and Innovative Fitness stayed in the backyard of beautiful British Columbia this weekend to head to the Black Tusk. 37km north of Squamish, 7,600 feet up, 9 hours up and down, and 32 of us in total! We could not have asked for a more beautiful day to make our trek up. Over the day we would pass through 3 different terrains – BC forest, lush meadows, and rocky slate to the top.

We met at Rubble Creek at 9am, and after a quick debrief – everyone has fuel, water, proper gear, where are checkpoints were going to be, and off we were!

This hike starts off with 6km of switchbacks up through the base of the mountain. This beginning is a bit deceiving of what the rest of the hike is like, as it does not allow for much scenery, and seems to continue on for sometime before getting anywhere – but this is only to award those who persist for what lies ahead. We met at our first junction just before two hours in. A bit of food and fluid, a few quick stretches and we were off to our first big stop – Garibaldi Lake. We also were able to witness the whiskey jacks – but we had to be careful eating our food – as an open hand with food was an invitation for a bird to swoop down and grab the food right out of your hands!
This junction actually allows you to go straight to the Tusk or take a bit of detour to the lake. We decided to take the long way as the lake is a beautiful spot you don’t want to miss. It’s also a great spot to stop and have lunch and cool off with a quick swim before continuing.

Before long we were continuing along the switchbacks making our way to Garibaldi Lake. Passing by a few small lakes, and rushing waterfalls with fresh glacier water coming down the side of the mountain – we knew we were getting close. Soon we made our way down into the lake to be presented with breathtaking views! Garibaldi lake is bright blue-green, and it’s hard not to look around you in awe! This is a beautiful spot and becomes hard to believe that we are only an hour outside of Vancouver! How many will live their whole lifes in Vancouver and not realize the picturesque hikes right in their back yards! Garibaldi lake also is a big camp site for those wanting to hike in, spend the night, and then finish the rest of this difficult hike the next day.



Not us – we were going to do the whole thing today. The lake was our first big stop for the day and not bad for time – we had now been hiking for 3 ½ hours. We enjoyed packed lunches, lots of photos, and the warm sunshine before heading on our way up. The rest of the hike would prove all the switchbacks worth the work!

Next we would head through the meadows. This seriously makes you question whether you’re still in BC – stunning in every direction! Glacier streams to cross over, wild flowers covering the ground, and snow capped mountains in every direction. It makes you want to ‘Yodel’ and sing renditions of ‘The Sound of Music.!’ By now we were above Garibaldi lake so we were able to look back and get a great view from above. We were also lucky enough to see a bear. Not too far off – about 200metres in the distance and a trail we were following that would take us about 50m away. Most put on a brave face – and we even had one in our group wanting to wrestle the bear – it would get him a great picture to put on the wall of fame, and defiantly up his Average Jo Status! Lucky for the bear, it didn’t get too close. After spending a bit of time hiking flat ground across the meadow, we were now making our way back up. It’s here that you real feel like you’re in Mother Nature’s playground. The air is so fresh and crisp, and extremely peaceful – the air is also a bit thinner, which is becoming obvious as we are starting to get above the tree line.

Before we know it, we are staring up at the Tusk – this will be the final trek up. Defiantly not easy as a lot of the rock is loose so it feels like for every 2 steps forward, you go back 1. The final climb is slow and tough – but we had a great group who were up for the challenge! We would soon get to the end of the ‘maintained trail’ with an option to continue going but at your own risk – and you guessed it – we kept on hiking. How could we come this far and not keep going!

The final trek up was slow but well worth it! We were able to climb right to the ridge and be presented with a straight drop down! Breathtaking views in every direction, this was what we came for. Many stopped here to have a quick bite to eat, take many pictures, and just look out in awe. A few others of the group decided to brave the tusk itself – this would mean hiking along the edge of the drop off (don’t look down if you’re afraid of heights!), and climbing up the chimney shoot of the tusk to reach the true peak of the climb. Standing at the bottom of the tusk you’re looking straight up and realizing that you’re going to have to do a bit of rock climbing to make it up. The surface is jagged and allows for numerous hand and footholds to climb. A quick scramble up and we made it! From here you really do feel like you’re on top of the world. Words can’t describe what an incredible feeling it is – you’re standing on the highest point around you and are able to have a full 360 degree view around. It’s quite, it’s peaceful, it’s humbling, it’s truly amazing.



Soon we would climb down – not before a plane flew by level and waved it’s wings at us – pretty cool! The group was able to make it down quite quickly – a few even running through the meadows and down the switchback trails. It was 6pm when we exited the trail – 9 hours after we started. Not bad for a Sunday!

I would really recommend this hike to everyone - if you do not think you are in good enough shape – remember, that we had 32 people of all ages and fitness. If you are still not convinced then start with smaller hikes in your area to train for this one. If you live in Vancouver, it’s just too close to miss out on. I promise you, you will not regret it – it’s not difficult in terms of risk (unless you decide to summit the tusk chute), and does not require a lot of hiking gear. It’s absolutely breathtaking – and that alone is worth the effort and work to get there!