Review: Echo Lake Hike
On the 17th October 2022 I set off with a group of friends to hike up to Echo Lake. I had drunkenly agreed to go and had no idea of what I was signing up for. My friend Pete had been told- in a bar- that Echo Lake was a good hike and considered a locals’ secret by people in Squamish.
The evening before the hike a group of four of us assembled in the Peckinpah, a bar in central Squamish and tried to hash out a plan for the day to come. Getting to the start of the hike involved crossing the Squamish river, with our crossing point close to the river mouth.
Pete- who had suggested the hike- offered the prospect of swimming across the river and piling our kit on an inflatable paddle board which someone could drag along with them. I had just had a conversation with one of my housemates at the time and she had highlighted the risks of crossing rivers and the main thing that stuck in my mind was hidden currents. With that much flowing water in the Squamish river, we sunk Pete’s plan and tried to think of something new. Perhaps swimming at the start of the day would have been fine but swimming at the end of the day while tired and with water levels higher seemed a bit silly. Plans ranged from crossing the river with waddles and rubber rings but we eventually decided on hiring Kayaks to cross. If Pete still wanted to swim, he could. We had a few laughs complimented by a few beers and went our own ways looking forward to the hike.
There were some concerns about the time of year and the amount of daylight we would have. In October, Squamish and a lot of the Pacific North-West had been suffering from draught so conditions were really dry. Being four fit guys we thought October’s daylight hours should be fine.
On the morning on the 17th of October, we headed out to hike up to Echo Lake. The first port of call was hiring Kayaks but like any well made pub plan, it changed immediately. One of our group members had read that Squamish Water Sports would charter a boat to drop us off and pick us up. That sounded like a lot of fun to me. At around $60 pp the boat seemed expensive but it was worth it to avoid swimming there- and back.
Pete with a Lumberjack Sandwich, a hiking essential
Our view on out journey out. Seals rest peacefully on logs waiting to be loaded on to cargo ships.
Squamish is home to the Stawamus Chief, an iconic rock face that stands seven-hundred metres tall and is one of the biggest granite monoliths in the world. The face is commonly referred to as ‘the Chief’. Due to recent forest fires in Washington state long panoramic views were negated but the smoke made the landscape and the Chief look very atmospheric as there was almost a twilight effect. We hadn’t left the harbour area yet and the fee for the boat was already feeling like value for money. Our driver put his foot down and we glided off to the start of the hike.
Within 20 metres of jumping off the boat we had already been distracted by having a skim off. We need practice as the most anyone was able to manage was three bounces. Anyway wasn’t there something about October’s sunlight? We remembered we were meant to be doing a hike and set off.
The day started with an incline and this continued all the way to the lake. My sweat was on quickly and within 30 minutes of steep climbing all of us could’ve been mistaken for coming out of a sauna.
The first major feature of the hike is a waterfall that has a variety of different curves and depths in a small area. The smooth curves were unique and created shapes that only nature could provide. I felt a bit disappointed by the prospect of seeing more flowing water, but to see areas that would previously have been submerged so it was still cool.
As the day wore on, so did the uphill climb. There were even moments of slightly technical parts and looking out for an odd crimp of rock would be a valuable handhold when trying to climb. I personally found the technical parts of the climb the most fun. It was exciting to try and figure out foot and hand placements instead of being stuck on switchbacks.
Hiking the ‘up-route’ we experienced some great terrain: there was a felled tree being used as a bridge that required some dexterity to cross, a bridge made from dirt that looked like they could give way at any time and the waterfall on our left hand side the whole way up. All the while we had about 20 minutes of flat land.
The waterfall
The final push up to the lake was a real leg burner and I was starting to feel the pace of the day. Pete, who for some reason we believed still had all the answers, said there was 15 minutes left. 20 minutes later the pump was still on. I really started to feel like my body was tightening up. Finally the ground started to level out. In a mix between complacency and hubris I saw a tree root sticking out the ground and thought I could kick it out the way. Nope. Time for me to eat shit. I had some relief as no one witnessed my embarrassing moment, but unfortunately they did hear it, I wasn’t completely off the hook.
My embarrassment was short lived as out of the clearing we saw Echo Lake. One member of our group put it best when he said, ‘I thought it was going to be a puddle… But this is actually a lake!’. Echo Lake looked fantastic and we had the whole place to ourselves. I got a bit too carried away and threw my backpack down in triumph. Very slowly my backpack started to roll towards the lake. Seeing this I thought there would be no way it could get enough momentum to go all the way into the lake. Sure enough I was soon wading into the lake after my belongings, returning with soaked socks and shoes.
Despite our decision to complete the hike in one day, there is an option to take two days on the hike. The camping area is near the lake and looked very peaceful. If you’re lucky enough, it could also be a romantic spot to spend a summer’s evening. Throw a bit (a lot) of red wine, cheese and grapes into your backpack and you could be onto a winner.
We spent some time at the lake and there was a little bit of talk and action over some cliff jumps but nothing major. With some small concerns about daylight, we headed back to our pick up point, following the ‘down path’. The down path was significantly less interesting than the way up as it consisted mostly of switchbacks. The dry soil and lack of rain made for some fun as when any member of our group stood too far on the side of the path, it would just completely crumble. Luckily the down route wasn’t exposed so sketch levels were kept to a minimum.
Throughout the hike I was never able to forget the dry conditions. On the way down there was a tree obstructing the route and as I placed my weight onto my hand to try and climb over, the bark gave way. I fell over the tree and I was left with a small cut on my leg.
Conversation was limited among the group as fatigue started to set in and I was longing for a bit of flat land. There were several viewpoints on the way down and we spent some time gazing out at various locations in Squamish. One of our group members took the moment to tell us how great the camera zoom on his phone was and pointed out the Squamish Adventure Inn. The Squamish Adventure in is the hostel we had all met in and it was a nice shared moment.
As the sunlight was fading we jumped on the boat and everyone could relax after what had been a great day. I was even more thankful than I was in the morning that we weren’t facing a swim back and so were the others. We finished the day by piling into the pub to have a few beers and reminisce on our adventure.
Our boat journey back