Big Douglas fir trees, like this one near the Elaho Trail, are often over 1,000 years old. Photo credit:
TREE-MENDOUS HIKING
Multi-day wilderness backpacking trails are rare in the Lower Mainland. Whistler's Stoltmann Wilderness has some of the best trekking on Earth. If you want to experience the largest remaining rainforest in the region -- then the Elaho Valley Hiking Trail is for you. Thirty kilometres long, every bit of it built by Wilderness Committee volunteers, the trail takes from three to five days to traverse, depending on how much time you spend snoozing under the giant trees in the Stoltmann's rainforest.
The trail, usable from May through October, follows the lip of the Elaho canyon, a two hundred-foot-deep chasm comprised of multi-coloured layers of lava rock. At various places along the trail, spectacular waterfalls cascade down the canyon walls and mountain goats can be glimpsed carefully negotiating the almost vertical cliffs. Here and there huge Douglas fir and redcedar trees power out of the thick understory of blueberry and huckleberry bushes. Some of these giants are over a thousand years old.
After several days hiking, the trail zig-zags up into the highcountry and enters the Hundred-Lakes-Plateau, a semi-alpine area of rolling hills, heather meadows and a whole constellation of lakes and ponds. The trail eventually leaves the highcountry and finishes up at steaming Meager Creek Hotsprings...ahhh!
For those with mountaineering skills looking for a rugged backcountry experience, try the Sims Creek to Princess Louisa Hiking Route. The route climbs steeply out of the Sims Creek Valley to traverse the mists and snowfields that crown the spine of the Coast Mountains. Hikers typically spend a few days wending their way through the peaks to the shores of world-famous Princess Louisa Inlet.
Do you like glaciers and icefalls...but just to look at, not to cross? Then may we suggest the Salal Creek Hiking Route. For years, mountaineers have hiked through the lush oldgrowth forests along the valley-bottom Salal Creek Hiking Route to access spectacular views! This place rivals the finest Rocky Mountain scenery. Plan on taking two to three days to see this pristine wilderness jewel.
But the best hiking trail has yet to be built. The Whistler to Elaho Valley Grand Trekking Route is next on the Wilderness Committee's list of volunteer work projects. This trail will start in the Village of Whistler, use existing trails up into the Rainbow Lake area, traverse into the Upper Soo Valley's oldgrowth forest, climb up into the headwaters of the Squamish River, snake its way along the Elaho-Valley just below the Pemberton Ice Cap and join the Elaho Trail on the Hundred Lakes Plateau.
On a spectacular day trip from Vancouver you can see the best oldgrowth firs left in the Lower Mainland. Hike the Douglas Firs Loop Trail, a side trail branching off the Elaho Trail. Round trip hike takes about 5 hours.
To purchase a hiking map of the Stoltmann Wilderness visit our store.
