Nairn Falls Hike

Monday we did a day trip to Nairn Falls, a few kilometers north of Whistler Village. To get to Nairn Falls you take a short, well maintained trail from a parking lot at a large campground.  The cloudy pale Green River flows frothy along the path to the falls.  The glacier melt water is icy and swift along the route.  Many cairns have been built by visitors along the way.  

The falls is several cascades through narrow rock walls and tunnels.  The water was low enough for us to see the water flowing through the tunnel. 

Later we tried two hikes, one along the Green River that was supposed to go to a swimming hole which we never found.  The other that was 2.2 K to 1 Mile lake.  The 1 Mile Lake hike was up hill most of the way and ended up at a lake next to Highway 99 at Pemberton.   The path was along a ridgeline next the highway,.  When we realized it didn't lead to a pristine mountain lake, we turned back. 

Whistler, British Columbia, Canada

Gondola to Whistler and Peak to Peak

Three of us took the gondola ride from Whistler Village to Roundhouse Lodge on Whistler mountain.  The 25 (or so) minute ride took us up the mountain to a landing on the mountain from which we could either catch the "Peak to Peak" gondola, or ride the ski lift to the peak of Whistler.  We chose to ride the Peak to Peak to Black

comb Mountain where the hiking trails are more numerous.  There is shopping and food at the ski lodges at each gondola and ski lift stop. 

Interestingly, mountain bikers ride the gondolas up to take the numerous mountain biking trails down.  It appears that many of the mountain biking trails are ski runs in the winter.  Every other gondola was filled mostly men wearing large helmets and covered in protective gear hauling their bikes up.  It looks like a challenging and fun ride down on golden dusty trails. 

The gondola ride up Whistler was in a small glass capsule just above the trees.  Below you can watch the forest for a glimpse of bears feeding on huckleberries and mountain bikers whizzing down the ski trails.  You can see the bikers paused, assessing the next downward stretch, or cruising along a gentle path before a descent. 

From Roundhouse Lodge it is a short walk over to the Peak 2 Peak lift.  It is the longest and highest lift in the world between the tops of Whistler and Blackcomb mountains.  During the spectacular ride we had incomparable views of the mountains, glaciers and rivers below.   The Rendezvous Lodge on Blackcomb at the end of the Peak 2 Peak ride has glorious views from it's several outdoor seating areas. 

From there we hiked the "Alpine Walk, and Overlord Trails to a small glacial lake and back.  Views of glaciers, saw tooth mountains and blue sky made the easy hike moderate.  We only missed one corner on the trail causing us to backtrack an eighth mile or so.