Real Honest Trip Reports: Black Tusk the Beauty

Buckle up, folks, because my enthusiasm for the Black Tusk Ridge hike knows no bounds. Views? Epic. Slog? Absolutely. People? Surprisingly minimal, although it was a weekday. If you’ve been up Panorama Ridge but haven’t been up Black Tusk, then boy, are you missing out. The views are just as good, if not better, and you don’t need to go anywhere near the summit to get them.

In the language of the Squamish people, Black Tusk is called T’ákt’akmúten tl’a Ín7inyáx̱a7en, meaning “landing place of the thunderbird.” It’s always been one of those places that jumped out at me on a map, and its looming profile is iconic. When I hiked to Panorama Ridge a few years ago, Black Tusk was the real crown jewel of the view for me, and I knew I had to hike it one day. I’m no photographer, but you can’t go wrong with that mountain.

Do you need to hike to the summit? No! Black Tusk has views all the way up. You can stop at the official end of the trail and get an epic view of Garibaldi Lake, or you can continue up to the ridge and get almost 360-degree views. If you’re crazy, you can also hike up to the chimney and scramble up to the summit, but in all honesty, I think the people who do that have a few screws loose. (Mountaineering is not hiking, folks.)

Switchback Doldrums

Garibaldi Provincial Park, while busy, is well-maintained and boasts a fascinating geological landscape. I hiked in from the Helm Creek side. While you also can hike in from Rubble Creek Parking, that side has the most uninspiring set of switchbacks I’ve ever had the displeasure of slogging up. They will take the wind right out of your sails and your lungs, especially if you’ve got a heavy backpack. You will not avoid switchbacks on the Helm Creek side, but they’re shorter and less like the hiking equivalent of the equatorial doldrums.

Whichever side you pick, the trail winds steadily upwards, with the exception of those tiresome switchbacks. Both trails are easy to follow, well-marked, and well-maintained. From the Helm Creek side, you start at Cheakamus Lake Parking Lot (the access road is known to be rough, but it was getting a full resurfacing when I drove in). After a kilometre-and-a-half of fairly flat trail, you hang a right, cross a bridge over the Cheakamus River, and start up the switchbacks.

After this, it’s a steady uphill hike through gorgeous old-growth forest perfect for big tree enthusiasts. At Helm Creek Campsite, pick a meadow platform to maximize your sun exposure, or choose a spot by the trees for some bird action and your own personal creek access. The journey took me two-and-a-half hours, and I had plenty of time to lounge in the sun for the rest of the day.

Cool Morning on a Bluebird Day

From Helm Creek, the Black Tusk looms in the distance like a bat lurking in the corner of the room. It really does have a sinister profile. One of the benefits of an alpine hike in the autumn is that the blueberries are ripe, and so you can snack your way up the trail. The downside to this time of year is that it’s very cold at night. Frost was on the ground in the morning, but the glorious dawning of the sun over Cinder Cone as I made my way up the trail made me spread my arms and sing for joy.

The Helm Creek Trail climbs uphill at a pretty low grade, and then flattens out. On my way up, I could hear the far-off sound of rocks tumbling from the mountain. The landscape once you come out of the blueberry snack zone is a bit of a moonscape. A part of the Garibaldi Volcanic Belt, the region has been shaped by volcanic activity and glaciation. The Black Tusk itself is an extinct stratovolcano. Over time, the cinder eroded away, leaving the black lava core.

There are a lot of striking volcanic features that are probably a geologist’s dream. I am not smart enough to become a geologist, but I could appreciate that there were lots of really cool volcanic rocks. As a rock collector, it was a real struggle not to take one, but be like me and don’t take things from provincial parks.

Sugar-Fuelled Trek to Epic Views

After the junction with the Panorama Ridge Trail, it’s downhill to the Black Tusk Trail, which is a real bummer because this is all uphill on the way back. At the junction, I started huffing my way up the mountain. If you need to refill your water, there is creek access at the start of the hike.

At this point, I stopped to chug back a couple of homemade energy gels that were basically a pile of sugar with a touch of Gatorade powder. Did they help me get up that mountain? I have no idea. They made me burp up honey the entire way, though. I plodded along fairly steadily, but I was far from one of those trail gazelles.

The trail is rocky in some spots, and as you move upwards, it begins to braid a bit. That said, you can’t really get lost. It all goes to the same spot: the first viewpoint and the end of the official trail. Here you’ll find views of Mt. Garibaldi (Nch’kay’) and the lake that are a little less spectacular than Panorama Ridge but still pretty darned stunning.

After you go past the sign absolving BC Parks of any liability for your dumb decisions, the trail braids its way upwards through loose rock. The last little bit is a scree slope. I had heard that the scree was difficult to get up, but I didn’t find this to be the case. The rocks did slide under my feet, but my trusty hiking poles helped considerably.  

Near the top is where it gets scary for those of us terrified of heights. To the right, the ridge widened just enough to make me feel safe, so I sat down there, ate my lunch, and filled up my camera’s memory card. Out of curiosity, I chucked a rock over the edge, and it took an unnerving amount of time to land somewhere far below. All told, the hike took me three hours from Helm Creek.

The views? I can’t rave about them enough. It helps that it was a perfect bluebird day. You can see Whistler, the Helm Creek area, Mt. Garibaldi, Garibaldi Lake, a peek of Howe Sound, Mt. Tantalus, and, of course, the looming chimney of Black Tusk. I watched some lunatics hike up to it, and the sheer size of it in comparison is just mind-blowing. It was the most glorious, amazing, stupendous, best view ever!

If you are not a hiking pole user, why not? I highly recommend bringing a pair for this hike, because they made the journey down the scree slope a lot easier. Hiking down was quick and easy.

Cute Critters and Blueberries

After this, I was amped up to the maximum level I could possibly be. It may have been the homemade energy gels, but I very nearly went up Panorama Ridge as well. In the end, I talked myself out of it, and my bad knees thanked me later. Instead, I mosied my way back to camp, stopping to dip my feet in Helm Lake along the way. What I really felt like doing was frolicking in the meadows, but doing that damages them, so I ate handfuls of blueberries instead.

Where the trail curved around the shore of another unnamed lake, I saw not one, but four marmots, one of which was kind enough to stay on the rock where he was sunning himself long enough for me to take a photo. There were also a couple of busy chipmunks in this area.

After I entered the forest, I came upon a grouse standing guard as her nearly-grown chicks sunned themselves on the trail. Pro tip: If you move slowly and talk sweetly to animals, many of them will stay put so you can take a photo. As a bird lover, the plump, pear-shaped mama grouse and her babies were just so stinking cute.

Back at camp, I lounged in the sun, happily ate my dinner and chocolate mousse for dessert, then nearly froze my rear end off for a second night. I got up at dawn, mostly because moving was the only way to warm up, but also because two youth groups had rolled in the day before and were probably going to give the poor toilets a workout, and I wanted to get on the trail before they took over the place again. On the trail by 7:30, I couldn’t help but feel a little smug as I strode past the other campers who were standing there shivering in the frost. The hike down was straightforward, slightly boring, and took me two hours.

All in all, this trip was one of the best hikes I’ve ever done. I rank it second only to the West Coast Trail, which I’ve done twice. After viewing the panoramas from Black Tusk, I can already feel the landscape calling me back. Somewhere out there is another hike.

Black Tusk Trail Rating:

Views: 10/10

Volcanology: 10/10

Frost: 0˚/10

Cute grouse: 10/10

Overall: 100/10