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hiked  Black Tusk (from Rubble Creek parking lot)  and did 32.0Km and 1749m   
Mood and date:  Jul 31, 2010
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In native lore, the Thunderbird was said to be protecting its home, the Black Tusk, or the "Landing Place of the Thunderbird", by sending thunder and lightning towards those attempting to climb it. Had we lingered at the summit for longer, we would have had the chance to fully experience Thunderbird's wrath.

Saturday morning of the long weekend, we found the top parking lot full with barely any space left in the 2nd lot. The steady stream of day hikers and backpackers continued arriving as we headed towards the trailhead at 9am.

The warm weather has been doing its job exceptionally well over the last few weeks, as the meadows are now completely dry. The trail turns muddy higher up though, around the Panorama Ridge/Black Tusk junction, and there is a small snowfield still remaining before the Black Tusk shoulder.

The volcanic rock of Black Tusk is truly spectacular, and we spent a great deal of time gazing into the massive bowl of the former volcano, in awe of the powerful forces that created this structure. Waited at the chimney (the last one is the correct ascent route) for our turn and climbed up allowing some space between people. The crux of the ascent is the first 6m of the chimney, vertical at the base. Helmets are highly recommended for this portion of the trip. The most time-consuming process was not even finding the foot/hand holds, but testing them for stability. Majority of loose rock had already been released by multiple climbers though. After, the grade eases and the chimney turns into a narrow gully leading to a flat knob. It’s an easy scramble up the rock towards the summit from there.

Spent a lot of time on the summit while other groups w continue reading »
 
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By 9am, the 2nd parking lot was nearly full, and the cars full of campers and day hikers kept coming...
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