Wedgemount Lake, Garibaldi Provincial Park

I've had quite a busy summer and didn't really get a chance to hit the mountains. Last Saturday I hiked Knight and Baby Munday which got me right pumped to bag some more peaks. With a very promising long weekend weather forecast, I decided to get in at least one more major hike before school starts. I picked up Philip (a former scout) at 6:30 and we hit the highway heading for Garibaldi Provincial Park. I hadn't yet decided which hike to do, Garibaldi Lake and then Black Tusk and Panarama Ridge, or Wedgemount Lake with a summit attempt on one of the surrounding peaks. I've done Garibaldi Lake quite a few times, but don't have any pictures from the gorgeous vantage point of Panarama Ridge. We pulled over at the Garibaldi Lake Exit to decide what hike we should do. As we were discussing it, about 6 vehicles passed us all heading up to the Lake...it was going to be a crazy busy day on the trail. That made up our minds, Wedgemount won't have the same traffic, plus it would be a nice hike I could add to my list. I definitely was NOT disappointed! It only took 2 hours to get to the lake. I bumped into a guy last Saturday who also was in that area, and tried to summit Mount Weart, the second highest peak in Garibaldi Park. That was our goal, the only problem was that none of the maps showed a trail to Mount Weart, and no one we asked could point out where Mount Weart was. Philip and I had plenty of time yet, so we guessed what peak was Weart, and headed in that direction. Mountains are always so deceiving, and soon enough we found ourselves just short of rock climbing on steep and very rocky terrain. It was the never ending mountain with numerous false summits. Every time we thought to be 'almost there' another rock face rose in the distance. When we finally reached the summit only to discover we were on the wrong mountain altogether, Mount Weart was the next ridge northeast of us. We got amazing pictures nonetheless, but could only enjoy the summit views for a few minutes, it was past 4:00 and we had a long hike/drive ahead of us! From our vantage point, we did see the correct route for Mount Weart, and discovered from some hikers that it definitely takes 2 days to summit. You spend 1 night at the lake and then summit on day 2. I was so jealous of the people camped out next to the lake and surrounding glaciers, thinking of the solitude and amazing night sky views they'd have with the moonlight illuminating the snow.
We finally made it to the parking lot at 8:30, just as it was getting dark, and at 11:45 were back at home. It was a 17 hour day, 11 hour hike, but the views were worth every bit of it!!! Can't wait to get out and do the 2 day summit!

Wedgemount Lake. Look left and you can see a small cabin for overnighters that sleeps about 5/6 people. Most people tent on nice wood platforms.







We had to navigate our way up this rockface! I'm glad we found a different route for the descent!





The majestic peak behind me (of which a picture does NO justice) is Garibaldi's highest peak, Wedge Mountain and Wedgemount Glacier.







Our "un-named summit shots"







Armchair Glacier looking pristine and untouched!









We finally stumbled on the proper trail to Weart! It was nice to bump into some other hikers.



Looking up at the glacier from the bottom.

Double Summit: Knight & Baby Munday!!!

A colleague of mine and I wanted to get in at least one epic hike before school starts on Monday. I emailed him a list of options including the Yellow Aster Butte trail, Wedgemount Lake, Garibaldi Lake, and the Central Cheam Range Trail with various summit options. We decided to go for the local hike and explore the Cheam Range a bit. I'm always a bit hesitate exploring new trails as I've attempted hikes that were horribly marked with no visible trail. I'm sure most can relate to the experience of constantly searching for that next marker, cairn, or piece of flagging tape. I read several recent reports of this area, however, and the trail seemed easy enough to navigate. The risk is definitely worth it if you can summit a new peak with fantastic views.
Dave and I set off at about 6:15 and were hiking by 8:00, relieved at having very specific driving directions that took us right to the trailhead.
The trail intially was quite overgrown as you follow a deactivated logging road for 2km before descending towards the creek and crossing a log. From here the trail rises sharply with NO switchbacks. Apparently the grade at times can reach 55%, which my knees can definitley confirm! After 2 hours of steady hiking and heavy grunting we reached "the campsite" where the trail opens into a meadow. We took a break, had a snack, and decided what peak we'd like to summit. We weren't sure what any of the peaks in that area were called, but after reading a few TR I assumed it must be Baby Munday. We continued and followed some flags for a short bit, but soon after could not locate the trail...it just disappeared. Not to worry, we were in alpine territory...time to navigate our own trail and head for the peaks. We climbed steeply at the first stream valley between Knight and Baby Munday ascending Knight first. We stopped for lunch and had fantastic views of 10 mountain goats! After enjoying the scenery for a bit, we headed off towards Baby Munday. I could only guess what would be the easiest route for ascent and we had a few failed attempts where the rock face was too steep, especially considering we had no ropes! We finally made our way to the south side where it was quite easy to scramble up to the top.
It was tempting to try for a triple summit, but we definitely did not want to be hiking in the dark, so after enjoying the view for a bit and coveting a still summit, we headed down the east side of the mountain where we met another hiker. Finally, someone could confirm what mountains we'd just summited and surrounding peaks.
It was very excited to explore a new area in our backyard and I can't wait to spend another day bagging new summits!
After 9 hours of hiking we reached the truck and headed back home! What a great day!!!

Parking lot view of Slesse



These red pods were infused right into the leaves everywhere...



When popped open, each pod contained a single worm...I wonder if this is a parasitic or symbiotic relationship of some sort..






Baby Munday






Slesse, Illusion Peaks, Canadian Border Peaks, Baker, etc



Snow melt



en route to Knight



final destination






The view between Knight and Baby Munday



Looking down at the scramble up Knight



Mountain goats! 11 of them!!! Hard to see but I couldn't resist a picture...


In the foreground ar the north and south peaks of Baby Munday. To the left is Stewart and the majestic peak in the background is the Still...my next hiking objective!!!



Looking down at Lady and Mount Cheam



Harrison Lake





Lunch Stop



Jones Lake















Summit shots from north peak of Baby Munday!