Erin & Matt's Blog: Black Tusk

Despite having a cold and not feeling like even getting out of bed, Jay lured Erin, Mamiko and I up to Garibaldi Provincial Park, about an our and a half north of Vancouver, with the promise that it was 4km's each way to the top of the spectacular Black Tusk.
When we arrived at the car park the sign told us otherwise, 14km's one-way to the view point, plus another one or two to the top (and about 1750m vertical altitude gain, which is about sea level to the top of Falls Creek!) . Having come all this way we decided we would at least start walking in the right general direction. But of course once we started walking summit fever took hold and we had to keep going. After about three and a half hours Erin opted to turn around and take the long way back via Garibaldi (and several smaller) lakes, all the uphill was giving her pains in the hips. After climbing the final scree slope before the top cliffs, Mamiko (wisely) decided that the final chimney to the summit was too sketchy, leaving Jay and I (and about 10 other people) to reach the top, five and a half hour after leaving the car park.
Despite running several sections on the way back down, the return trip still took us more than three hours (Erin on the other hand had made it back down in less than two). We returned to the car just before dark, total trip time, about nine and a quarter hours. Well worth the walk though, as you'll see from the pictures below the scenery was most spectacular.
As a side note, I spent most of Sunday in bed!!