Trip Summary

Steps to a fun weekend: 1. hike to Garibaldi Lake in winter. 2. Trail blaze across the 5km of Garibaldi Lake in near white-out conditions. 3. Sleep overnight at an unheated backcountry hut! This was one of my favourite trips so far this year. With almost 30km and 900m of elevation gain, it was a tough but rewarding weekend.

Trip Breakdown

Saturday
Arrive at Rubble Creek Trailhead 9am
Eat lunch and cross Barrier Lake at 12pm (6.8km and 790m elevation gain)
Get to Garibaldi Lake by 1:15pm, rest for 30 minutes (total 9.4km and 937m elevation gain)
Break trail across Garibaldi Lake (+ 5.51km and 0m elevation)
Arrive at Roland Burton Hut by 4:10pm
Cook dinner 5:30pm

Sunday
Wake up at 6:30am for overcast sunrise
Breakfast and packing 7:30am
Hit the trail by 9am
Lunch at Garibaldi Lake/Taylor Meadows Junction 11:45am
Back at parking lot by 1:15pm

Trip Details

This might come as a shock, but we arrived at Rubble Creek Trailhead before 9am. This early start to the hike was crucial to its success, since we had a lot of kilometres to put in. We spent the first hour or so leap-frogging with a large group of day hikers but eventually, we pulled ahead. We also passed a few of backcountry skiers, struggling with the uphill (I was sympathetic until I saw them fly past us on their way down). We didn’t need snowshoes until about halfway to Garibaldi Lake. After stopping for lunch at Barrier Lake, we continued on towards the lake under white skies and occasional flurries. 

We arrived at Garibaldi Lake just before 2pm. By this time, we’d put in 10 km and 900m elevation gain. However, we had our sights set on Roland Burton Hut, which was situated across Garibaldi Lake. Well, we figuratively had our sights set on the hut. It was impossible to see from 5km away in snowy winter conditions. Oh also, there were no footsteps nor ski tracks going to the hut. We were trail-breaking and sinking about 6 inches into the fluffy snow in snowshoes. It was so unreal and exciting to be in the middle of a frozen lake, surrounded by mountains, completely isolated from the rest of the world. The snow quieted our surroundings and I could focus on breathing and putting one snowshoe foot in front of the other. And when that became boring, we sang classic rock songs. It took us 2 hours and 15 mins to do 5km, but it felt like twice that. Again, I was having the time of my life. 

Finally, we see the hut!! Shouts of joy and laughter fill the air! At this point, we’d run into a young couple on skis with whom we would be sharing the shelter for the night. They were kind enough to pass us for the last 200m and did the last bit of wayfinding to the hut. Roland Burton Hut sleeps 14 people, so we had tons of room on the loft level to roll out our sleeping mat and bags. The hut was also home to a shelf of logbooks and songbooks, rusted pots and pans, and an infinite supply of worn sandals and crocs to keep our feet from the snow. A perfect sanctuary in the middle of an alpine winter wonderland. 

For the rest of the evening, we cooked dinner, exchanged stories, and rested our tired legs. The hut wasn’t exactly warm, but it did shelter us from the wind and snow which was lovely. We went to bed later than we would’ve in tents, and hoped for a clear-ish sunrise the next morning. 

It was not even close to clear the next morning. We watched the white sky gradually get brighter as we made breakfast and packed up. We melted snow from outside the hut and I even made a cup of tea. That’s the magic of backcountry huts. Then, we headed back across the frozen lake, this time following our tracks from the night before. This was much easier and it only took 1 hour and 45 mins to cross. Then we started our descent to the parking lot, zooming past uphill day hikers. At the Taylor Meadows/Garibaldi Lake Junction, we switched from snowshoes to microspikes and had a quick snack. Before we knew it, we were back at the parking lot. It was a big kilometre weekend (nearly 30km!) and I loved every part of it. 

Key points

• Garibaldi Lake looks smaller than it is. Don’t underestimate how long it will take to cross in snowhoes or skis.
• Without the hut’s GPS location, it would have been nearly impossible to find in the white-out snow.
• Backcountry huts are really cool! Shoutout to the VOC for all the work they do to keep them clean and safe.