The last full weekend of October, I had the pleasure of being in Whistler. The weather was beautiful: cool, crisp and sunny. Even though it’s not far, I don’t get up to Whistler very often. Having to get through the city traffic always seems to keep me from heading North. Seeing as I would be there for a few days, I had to take advantage of some free time and get a few hikes in!
Lost Lake Loop – Lost Lake is the nearest lake to Whistler Village and has a large network of trails around it. After a busy afternoon in the village, I needed a breath of fresh air and so headed off down the trail. I was out for about 45 minutes and it was a real treat to walk out among the trees. Lost Lake itself was glowing in sunset colours.
Cheakamus Lake – Saturday afternoon my hiking partner, Judi, and I hit the road out of Whistler village. We took the gravel Cheakamus Road along the Cheakamus River to the trailhead. The forest trail was wide and mostly flat and we moved quickly, occasionally catching views of the river off to our right. We finally popped out near the outlet of Cheakamus Lake. Even with the high cloud, the lake had a beautiful colour to it. I can only imagine how much it shines on a sunny day! We had lots of time left in our afternoon so we continued to the end of the trail at Singing Creek, which follows along the northern bank of the lake, treating us to views of the surrounding peaks. 
Rainbow Lake – Sunday morning we woke up to blue skies with a few scattered clouds. There was a touch of frost on the mountains and it looked like a perfect day to hike up to an alpine lake. We chose Rainbow Lake, a very popular Whistler trail.
There was only one other vehicle at the trailhead. The trail climbs steeply through the forest with occasional views of a creek below. We took a brief side trail to enjoy some waterfalls. Eventually we popped out onto a gravel road, which we followed for about half an hour. Surprisingly, the road walk offered some good views back across the valley to Blackcomb Peak.
I was glad to get back into the forest, even though it meant a steeper climb. There was lots to see along the trail. The forest changed a few times, there were a couple great stream crossings, and the occasional view of the peaks across from us.
I knew we were close when we popped out into an alpine meadow. Just one more steep climb and we were looking down at Rainbow Lake. It was a beautiful sight and I wish we could have had the time to stay and explore the basin longer! As it was, we took a short break, turned ourselves (reluctantly) around and motored back down the trail. We were back to the trailhead about 5 hours after starting out.