Backcountry camping: An uphill hike

We waved everyone goodbye on Saturday morning and headed for Whistler, collecting some hitch hikers in Squamish on the way. The two girls were hitching for the first time and one worked in the Fairmont in Whistler, so she gave us some tips on where to go camping. 

We shopped, ate a disappointing lunch and headed for the mountains. First trip of the week was Wedgemount Lake. The gravel road was thankfully only 2km this time and we got to the trailhead without any trouble. We set off around 4pm and loads of day hikers were coming down. Most of them looked shattered! The steep grade was tough on the legs and one girl with a sweaty face said "I think I'm dying" on her way past. 

We were dying a bit on the way up and stopped pretty often to snack and drink. Slowly but surely we made it up the dusty trail that was basically a 7km long uneven staircase of roots and rocks. 

Towards the end of the four hour hike we came out of the big trees and into alpine meadows and dwarf conifers, up a rocky slope and over the lip to enter the valley and see the big milky-green lake below. It was quite a view - imposing dark rocky peaks all around, topped with glaciers whose runoff formed the lake. It was spectacular to look at but didn't have the nice safe feel of Rainy Day Lake or Elfin Lakes. The guys on the tent pad next to us were already in their sleeping bags, getting an early night ahead of a long day of ice climbing. We felt like we were in an alien environment without the necessary kit and experience. But after setting up camp and eating, it felt like home for the night and we stood outside to watch the world change...

The sun had set in the west and left a pale orange and blue glow across the sky. As it got darker, we looked to the east across the lake and saw the glow of the moon behind the mountains. We watched the moon rise - perfectly round, big and yellow, its craters visible with the naked eye. We watched until it was high enough to cast a reflection across the water then cosied into our sleeping bags to warm up.