Hike 13: Rainbow Lake in Whistler

For my birthday we visited Whistler, BC, a hub of incredible outdoor recreational pursuits like ziplining, biking, kayaking, fishing, rafting and of course, hiking. Even though it was more of a birthday vacation, we brought our packs with us and planned for a long hike on Saturday. We stopped in the Whistler Visitor Centre and asked where a good long hike is, and the guide told us about Rainbow Lake. It is just a short drive from Whistler Village and measures 16km long and an 850 m elevation gain. For those of you who don't want to do the conversion in your head...that's 9.94 miles roundtrip with a 2,788 foot elevation gain. Whistler sits at about 2,200 feet, so we got to about 5,000 feet at the top.

The trail was absolutely gorgeous because it was so diverse. We hiked on gravel, rocks, streams, dirt, bridges, boardwalks and snow. We even had the rare opportunity to see 3 moose while hiking up. We couldn't get the camera out before they ran away, but we really did see them! It was our first time seeing moose in the wild.








This suspension bridge was very wobbly.



Here's Rainbow Lake, slowly melting from left to right.



A good reflection shot.




The green squiggly lines on the right side of the mountain are the famous Blackcomb ski trails, where tons of people visit in the winter.

This Saturday we are going to Muir again, but this time preparing more by getting up early during the week and hydrating a lot on Thursday and Friday. We also got some good advice from other climbers about hydration and elevation headaches. We'll see what happens...