Solo Hike to Garibaldi Lake

No other hike so far, felt as good as this solo hike to Garibaldi lake - feeling of contentment more than an achievement. 

I travel to Seattle often, outdoors caught my eye and always wanted to explore beyond the area. So, I did a good research on places around and decided to hike at Garibaldi Provisional Park. This was my first solo hike and that made me prepare more than usual. Of course, black bears in the park made me rethink about going all by myself. But, I decided to do it. I flew to Seattle Thursday night, reached home at around 11 PM and started my drive to Garibaldi at 3.30 AM on Friday. It was about a 4 hr drive to get to the park and you would not realize the last 2 hour drive. Once you are past Vancouver city, the scenic views of Squamish, British Columbia amazes you. Sea to Sky highway was one of my favorite drives.

Garibaldi is one of the most scenic destinations in British Columbia. It was definitely worth the drive and hike to see the turquoise colored beauty in the alpine mountains with a glacier backdrop. Rubble Creek parking is the closest to where the hike starts and the lot was more than half filled at 7.30 AM on a Friday.  I met a group of 3 people, surprisingly from my city. After a quick chat with them, I started my hike around 8 AM and weather was pretty favorable. The first 6 km of the hike was a relentless uphill battle through the dense forests. Very few people were  seen on the trail. At times, it felt like this trail goes on forever and wondered if the view was actually good enough for all this drive, hike and altitude gain. Short breaks, protein bars and water were all that helped me with this tough part of the hike. 

At the 6 Km mark, I took a brief 15-20 min break. This area had maps and directions to different routes - Garibaldi lake, Taylor meadows, Panoramic view of Garibaldi. I just decided to stick to the plan and head to the lake. The remaining 3 km was more of a leveled and downhill hike. Throughout my hike to the lake, I barely saw people on the way and wondered if I was on right trail. The paranoid part in me kept looking around to make sure there were no black bears. The closer I was getting to the lake, I saw people returning from camping sites at the lake. A couple of girls on their way back warned me about a black bear near the lake and I freaked out a bit. There was a small turquoise lake on the way before you reach the actual lake. This was like a small version or a sneak peak before you get to see what you started for. I reached a wooden bridge crossing and was able to see only some parts yet. The color of the lake just amazed me. I just stopped thinking and started to look around the area. It was so quiet and serene. Felt like I was in a whole different world. I continued to walk past this bridge, and it becomes even more visible revealing the turquoise lake with a backdrop of glacier. 

I was in awe, found a perfect spot to sit and stare at this beauty. I was speechless just looking at the lake and glacier for at least 15 mins and yes of course got into the water later. It's quite slippery but the water was warm. I made sure to capture a lot of pictures and get different views. However, pictures don't do any justice to how it really looks and feels while you are there seeing and living it. I spent a little over an hour getting beautiful views of the lake, captured the views in my mind, thinking how amazing traveling could be. It was a feeling of contentment.

I headed back in the same route. All doubts and fears cleared - no black bears and hiked the right trail. After about 30 minutes of hiking alone, I met a guy and we started to have a conversation on our way back. Sure, I haven't realized the time it took us to reach the parking lot.