We had so many adventures right on our doorstep when we lived in Squamish, BC. The world’s best granite rock climbing, arguably the best mountain biking on the planet, Whistler just up the road (for both the snow and dirt), countless lakes and rivers, and more hikes than you could shake a stick at. One of my favourite missions was directly above town in the Garibaldi Provincial Park, and it was the hike/ride/ski trip to Elfin Lakes. If you didn’t turn off onto our street in the Garibaldi Highlands and kept driving, you would eventually get to the Elfin Lakes car park it was that close.
In summer it’s a popular hiking destination for Vancouverites, after the 11km walk/ride/ski there is a cute bookable hut and 35 camping platforms. The views are amazing, but the trail itself is just a rugged FSR road. Riding mountain bikes from home or better yet from the carpark is a much more attractive idea. In winter though, just getting to the carpark was an effort in itself, chains and a proper four-wheel-drive were required. The 12km route turned into an easy skin track to charge up on the split board or backcountry skis. The low angles and lack of major avalanche danger made this a popular spot with backcountry beginners (like me), although its easy access meant you’d see shredders lapping out the short runs on deep powder days.
I spent quite a few weekends up there in winter but only ever rode my bike up once. That once was with Emma and a couple of our friends for a fantastic night in the hut, after spying the camping platforms I did have a little tent site enve, but at the time we didn’t have a small enough tent to fit in our bikes bike bags. With my new MSR Hubba Hubba Bike Pack tent that’s all changed! Knowing that Elliot and I would be in or near Squamish in July, I packed two sets of Apidura frame and saddle bags and my two-person Hubba Hubba Bike Pack tent. The two-person tent weighs in only a fraction more than the one person at 1.71kg, and five empty bike bags weighed next to nothing so it was a no-brainer including them.
The stars eventually aligned and Elliot and I found a vacant campsite booking that aligned with a free evening we both had. We still needed a few essentials like freeze-dry food, gas, and some cutlery. Matt Harris lent us his pot set and a couple of lights and we were good to go. I should mention that every day leading up to our booked date had been nothing but blue sky and lush sunsets. All of the Pacific Northwest had been experiencing a heat wave but it seemed like our one evening was going to be the first cloudy night ina month! With my dreams of an epic sunset ruined, we slowed down our departure and leisurely packed our bags and bikes. As we drove up out of town though the clouds started to lift and before we knew it we were chasing the setting sun up the hiking trail!
We raced up the first 5km to Red Heather Shelter trying to get abve the treeline, thinking that at any moment the sun would drop below the Tantalus mountains on the other side of the valley and cast us in shade. The moment we got a little sun I’d frantically pull out my camera and snap a few shots and then desperately try to catch Elliot. I had one shot in mind that I’d taken of Emma and I wanted to repeat it with Elliot. But too many other shots kept presenting themselves and ultimately we didn’t make it to the spot in time, it wasn’t a total bust, but I didn’t get that beautifully lit mountain that I did on my previous trip (see the first photo in this post).
We rolled into camp after the 10km climb just on dusk and managed to set up the tent without needing lights. Tent setup was a breeze, this was the first time using the two-person Hubba Hubba and the dual-side entry was welcome, with two bikes worth of gear, it was super convenient to fill each of our vestibules with our own individual gear before crawling into the tent without disturbing each other.
I had plans for an epic sunrise shoot. But the clear night we’d gone to sleep in had all but disappeared. We high-tailed it back to the car, dodging early morning walkers heading up. I should point out that I could not keep up with Elliot on a gravel bike and me on my 150m travel trail bike!
Also after putting the MSR tent through its paces a second time, I have added some thoughts to the review. It is nothing major, the tent is still amazing as is the bag, but moving forward I’ll be packing the poles inside the main bag at the top. On gentle rolling gravel, it’s not a big issue but on the rough trail that we riding the poles mounted below were smacking the head tube. It wouldn’t cause the bike or the poles any damage it was just an annoying sound, with the pole bag tucked inside the main bag, the knocking sound was gone and the bag even compressed up smaller and was barely noticeable.