August 21st, 2020: Crater Rim and Farside Loop

Type of hike: Loop

Time (approx): 2 hours 35 min

Distance: Around 9.5km

Hello, and welcome to my first venture into Whistler Interpretive Forest!

The Hike

When I first searched up this trail, I thought it was in Whistler's main village. Turns out, the trail is actually in Whistler Olympic Village, near Cheakamus Lake Road, about a 16 minutes drive away. There are lots of parking spaces available, and the village itself is very quiet. Couple of inns and some residential areas.

The trailhead can be a little hard to find because the sign is tiny. It is right behind the bus stop, and if you see the parking lot next to it, you already missed it. Took a bit of searching but eventually I found it. It was drizzling when I started the hike and within 30 minutes, it started pouring. I did not want to go back so I continued forward, but because of the weather, I was not able to take many photos.

The trail took me through Whistler Interpretive Forest and along the Lower Ridge. There were some switchbacks that got hard to push through because the rain turned everything into little mudslides. However, the scent of rain coupled with the scent of the forest was very refreshing. Too bad I was too cold to enjoy it much.

The trail was very quiet and peaceful, but there was not much to see except for tree trunks and plants.

I reached Loggers Lake about 5km in. By then, the rain had mostly dissipated and the sky cleared up a little bit. I actually had no idea this lake existed because it was not listed on the trail information. The water was so incredibly clear it created the most amazing reflections.

From there, it was a short distance before I heard the roaring waters from Cheakamus Lake. There is a suspension bridge that connects the Riverside trail and the Farside Trail.

The Farside trail was super easy and flat, which was good because I was starting to sniffle a bit from the cold and damp clothes, so I was walking really fast. The rest of the trail followed the lake and it was nice to have something visually stimulating after wandering around the forest about two hours.

What I brought:

1. Bug spray. Even in the rain, these things are relentless.

2. Bear spray. Solo hikers should have this with them at all times.

3. Bear bell. The forest is incredibly quiet so this kept me company (and hopefully bears away, but that is controversial apparently).

4. Hydration pack. I mentioned in another post this was one of my best hiking investments, aside from my shoes.

5. Speaking of shoes, hiking boots that grip the ground is essential. Whistler Interpretive Forest is very slippery in the rain.

6. Snacks.

7. Handwarmers.

8. Small ziploc bag to pack garbage out.

Overall thought:

This trail felt fairly easy to me, even with the switchbacks and the pouring rain. It was not incredibly scenic aside from Loggers Lake and Cheakamus Lake, so if you are looking for wildflowers or mountain views, this is not the one. It is definitely family and pet friendly. I probably would not do it again though because seeing Loggers Lake once is enough. Plus, there are so many other trails that allows me to view Cheakamus Lake from all sides. Perhaps I would feel a bit differently if I did not do this in the rain, but unfortunately it is hard to predict the weather as it changes hourly.