Garibaldi's Singing Pass

The Singing Pass is a very scenic hike taking you through mountain ranges, rock edges, and alpine meadows. The picture to the right was taken on the approach of the alpine meadows. Along the way, there are many viewpoints where you can get a different angle on each of the mountains that you cross. There are not many places where you can comfortably rest. The first real rest is most of the way into the hike in the Alpine Meadows.

I chose to do this hike in July. This was a nice time to take it as the weather was very clear and warm. The only bother were the black flies in the area. (Never as bad as on Blackcomb Mountain though.) As I mentioned, the first part of the hike began by hiking up the vehicle road to get to the trailhead. Along the way there were a few viewpoints: nothing like the ones that were to come though. The picture to the right is of the trail part way through the hike. As you can see, you have constant close up views of the neighboring mountain ranges.

Since the hike I have ATV'd up to the trailhead of Singing Pass and then down to Fitzsimmons Creek to Blackcomb. I recall thinking how much easier it is taking the ATV. : ) There are actually two ways to get to the Singing Pass: a high route and a low route. The low route is far more demanding as the elevation gain to get to the height of Whistler is required. The high route begins up top of Whistler and can be started by the "lift" to the top. The upper route is commonly referred to as the "Musical Bumps". Perhaps I'll try that route some time. Should yield a different set of shots.

Once at the trailhead, the initial climb begins. You take a narrow trail to the right to begin the journey. The trail is largely covered by the forest occasionally revealing itself to the daylight and to some majestic views of the Spearhead Range. The hike parallels Fitzsimmons Creek for a way before breaking off towards Singing Creek. Along the way I crossed three creeks: Harmony, Flute, and Oboe. (Harmony to the right.) Another interesting thing to note is that much of the trail is actually part of Garibaldi Park. I passed a signpost indicating that I was about to cross park lines about 1/4 of the way into the trail.

On the way to the meadows, the hike winds on a constant gradual uphill. If I remember right, there were only a couple occasions before the valley where there was downhill hiking. About 3/4 of the way to the meadows I was beginning to wonder if I was ever going to reach them. The trail seemed to go on forever. Finally, an hour later I reached the meadows (left). Sigh of relief. : ) I was amazed at how lush looking the meadows were. I had never seen meadows that large or that green before.

As I started working my way down to the meadows I could see the first glimpse of the glaciers to the south. At the base of the meadows was a neat little pond. It seemed strange to find such a place up in the mountains. The picture to the right is a view of the pond facing towards the north. I didn't notice this till just recently but in my photo I caught a float plane in the top left hand corner. Either that or it is a giant mosquito on my lens. : ) Click on the photo to enlarge.

I decided to take a break for dinner at this point. I was starting to get pretty hungry. I found a nice rock near the pond and relaxed for a bit taking in the beauty of the surroundings. I had to keep an eye on my watch though. I didn't start the hike till quite late (1pm) and realized that I would be running a little short of time considering I started before the trailhead.

After relaxing a while longer I decided to press on. Due to the shortness of time, and a sudden burst of energy after dinner, I decided to sprint the last part of the hike up the mountain to Russet Lake. At the time it seemed like a good idea. After coming back down to the meadows and being tired before a 14km hike back it seemed like a rather dumb idea. Oh well, at least I got to see a better view of the glaciers (left).

Once I was back at the meadows, it was about time to put on the second skin. A blister was starting to flare which made even walking uncomfortable. I will tell you, the stuff works wonders. For a good part of the hike back I couldn't even tell I had blistered. The hike back was long and tiring. I had the feeling of "Isn't this damn trail ever going to end" before finally reaching the trailhead. Once at the trailhead, I made my way down the mountain towards Whistler Village. The vehicle road seemed to last forever too. Especially since it was starting to get pretty dark at 9:00pm. Although I could be heard cussing a little down the vehicle road, I would say that it ranked as one of the better hikes I have been on.