A fantastic trip! Easy to get to, and extremely rewarding.

Trip itinerary:

Day 1 - Cheakamus Lake Parking Lot to Cheakamus Lake - 3.8km

A stunning lake and super easy hike! Great for family day trips away from large crowds.

Day 2 - Cheakamus Lake to Helm Creek Campground - ~9km (this one was brutally steep)

My girlfriend collapse (but got back up eventually) and I nearly did, too. Imagine doing 200 squats without stopping and with 45lbs on your back… yeah, brutal. Mosquitoes were terrible here, as well. Luckily, I brought a bug mask that kept them out of my face. A worthy investment!

Day 3 - Day hike to Panorama Ridge - ~16km

Panorama is just incredible. Arguably better than Black Tusk, and safer to get to. You'd be getting an incredible sunrise here if you're strategic.

Day 4 - Helm Creek to Taylor Meadows to Garibaldi Lake - 12km

Garibaldi lake is so refreshing to jump into, so don't be scared, go for a dip! Taylor meadows is the first campsite from the Garibaldi Lake Parking Lot entrance so it's very popular but we found spots to sleep no problem.

Day 5 - Day trip to Black Tusk - ~10.5km

Black Tusk sure is scary. If you have a problem with heights, use this to face your fears or maybe just stay where you're comfortable (I don't blame you). Absolutely worth it, though!

Day 6 - Hike out to Garibaldi Lake Parking Lot - 6.9km

Total trip distance: ~58.2km

Lessons learned:

• Mosquitoes SUCK and you should definitely look into getting a bug mask.

• Use moleskin to prevent blisters on your feet. The moment you feet your foot burning is when you should apply it (so before the blister forms). I had blisters forming on just the second day, but because of the moleskin, I had no blisters and it was great walking for the rest of the week.

• No matter what entrance you choose to start from (Garibaldi Lake parking lot or Cheakamus Lake parking lot), you're going to face some brutal uphill’s and switchbacks in order to get to Panorama Ridge and Black Tusk. But if you decide on Cheakamus Lake, you can at least see a lake before going up a steep mountain.

• Don't eat a massive bag of candy before going on a backpacking trip. I had terrible bowel movements the whole week😖

• If you're on a popular campground, be mindful that tents aren't sound proof! I was woken up at 12am by laughter and they went on for another hour before I had to stop them. I hate to ruin their fun, but I did have a 16km hike to do the next morning.

• If you use a camera, buy yourself a camera shoulder clip so you can whip our your camera in just 2 seconds. It's SO handy not having to carry my camera everywhere, yet have it accessible to me. I used the capture clip by peak design

Sucky Parts:

• No drones allowed ANYWHERE 😭

• Lots of mosquitoes in July, but the flowers were blooming