Blanca lake squamish

This trip from October last year is a return to getting caught up. No, blanca lake squamish, not the one in Washington State. And it is blanca lake squamish effort. Blanca Lake may only be 40 kms away from Whistler, but the road you need to take to get there leaves the Sea-to-Sky highway just beyond Squamish and turns to gravel after about 20 kms.

Blanca Lake has been at the back of my mind for some years now. Sign me up! The final stretch was steep and loose, and there were water bars which caused us to leave our car 3 kms from the trailhead. Our friends and their five year old had driven up a bit earlier, keen to get an early start as usual. When we made our final turn onto the little logging road that would take us to the trailhead, we were surprised to see their car parked right there! We figured they would make it part way up, but they were stopped by a rough section right at the start. The hike up the logging road was very hot, causing some of us to cool down in the creek and to choose strategic rest stops in the shade.

Blanca lake squamish

Difficulty: Moderate Distance: Dogs Permitted? Follow this until you reach the E spur road, which you drive up to the very end to the trailhead. Blanca Peak is an easily hiked summit located northeast of the lake, offering panoramic views in a truly remote region. While Blanca Lake is located closer to Whistler than Squamish, access is from the Squamish Valley Road and indeed is the most challenging part of this trip. You will be driving a full 40km along forest service roads in order to access the trailhead, taking around 3 hours from Vancouver. An SUV can likely make it to the E spur road, and indeed up most of it, but you will likely have to park further down the E spur as the road deteriorates, increasing the distance and elevation gain of the hike. Blanca Lake has been growing in popularity due to the sheer beauty of the lake and the region as a whole. There are multiple lakes in the area to explore, and plenty of ridges and bumps to leisurely saunter around while soaking in the panoramic views. Blanca Peak is a fairly straightforward hike up a boulder field, with some light, unexposed scrambling towards the summit. As the route is unmarked beyond the lake an offline map is required. Due to the difficulty of accessing this area and the stunning setting Blanca Lake is in, many people opt to camp around the lake so as to allow more time to explore. That being said, Blanca Peak is a relatively simple hike from the lake and should only take a couple of hours to summit and return back to the lake.

I did do a very hard leg day at the gym the day before so that may be a contributing factor to blanca lake squamish I felt it was hard lol. The mosquitoes were bad in the morning even with repellent. Pretty much well marked.

This area locates not far from the confluence of Elaho River and Squamish River and can also be considered as the very southern extension of Pemberton Icecap. Logging roads had been pushed to m elevation on the southern slopes and a trail had been built to access Blanca Lake. Because of the easy access and the scenic terrain this area had caught a lot of attention on social media these days, such that even on weekday one can expect to encounter multiple parties. I had heard about this peak years ago but my plan had always been to ascend it on snowshoes in spring, but after seeing so many summer photos of the lakes I changed my mind this year. We anticipated some slow show on the roads so agreed to meet up at am at the church in West Vancouver. This further meant a wake-up call at am for me, which was pretty tiring. The drive to Squamish was without event and the foray into the upper Squamish River valley was as expected, slow due to the endless pot holes.

There are a couple small early fall weather small creek crossings 1m wide that require some boulder hopping or log balancing. The trail is mostly obvious but for a small section of boulders and a boggy creek-side area, but ravine sides and Blanca Peak in view keep you oriented. Having cancelled our Blanca plans last weekend due to rains—and snow above m—my friend Mark noticed sunny window was predicted for Friday, September 24, so within 24hrs we had Googled and asked friends about the route—both the road and the hike—and set off from Squamish on our motorbikes at am with our daypacks, a couple lunches, the Gaia GPS app and a Back Road Map Book. From there we take the traffic-calmed Government Road for a couple kilometres before the T-intersection and left-turn on to Squamish Valley Road. We stay on this road, following the east bank of its namesake river, for the majority of the drive to the trailhead. From here road condition is mostly wide, smooth, hard-packed gravel, though heavily potholed from the frequent recreation traffic: rafting buses to luxury SUVs, GS motorbikes to beat-up enduros, the ubiquitous tent-topped Tacoma trucks, and Honda Civics with teenagers partying along the river sandbars. We average about 50kph along this section.

Blanca lake squamish

Blanca Lake has been at the back of my mind for some years now. Sign me up! The final stretch was steep and loose, and there were water bars which caused us to leave our car 3 kms from the trailhead. Our friends and their five year old had driven up a bit earlier, keen to get an early start as usual.

Real men in black pictures

The hike to the peak is a bit harder though because of the rocks, there were not many markings, and perhaps the trail also covered by the thin layer of snow, we gotta scramble quite a bit. Length 8. A little further up the road, I spied some blue spraypaint on a rock that seemed to indicate a trail and after a bit of searching, we picked it up and were able to leave the cutblock behind. Agreed, this was a hard hike! We descent from the lake around 3. How to get to Blanca Lake Trail? Hannah MacIsaac. The hike up the logging road was very hot, causing some of us to cool down in the creek and to choose strategic rest stops in the shade. Lots of water below lakes. Prob inches at the lake. The traverse under the cliffs on somewhat unstable talus went well and after a short elevation gain of less than m, we were at the gap in the ridge. The peak trail is a scramble and not well defined.

Try this Generally considered a challenging route. This trail is great for hiking, and it's unlikely you'll encounter many other people while exploring.

Only saw 10 people on the hike! We also now got our first look at Exodus Peak and the south end of the Pemberton Icefield. Submit a trip report! Lots of water below lakes. Loading Comments As the route is unmarked beyond the lake an offline map is required. At the very least I would suggest gaining some elevation on a small hill to the southwest of the lake, which provides a beautiful vantage point for a photo of the lake with Blanca Peak behind. There are several sign along the way warning about it. From there we hiked down to Round Lake and climbed up to another bump, with more good views, and a nice little puddle for the kids to entertain themselves. Above lakes the only water was melting snow at elevation m.