Brandywine Meadows Trail (Whistler, BC)

Matt and I recently had our 15th wedding anniversary and decided to take a trip to Whistler to celebrate. We're not snow-sport people, so Whistler in the summer felt much more our speed. We intended to hike, enjoy the spa, and indulge in some great food.

We took Zoe along, which did curtail some of our plans—no worries, we'll be back in September to get the rest of our Whistler to-do list done—but we did manage a couple fun hikes! This is the first of the two.

We parked in the second lot, cutting a mile of ugly road-hiking off the total distance, which ended up being a brilliant move because by the end of this one, I was done.

Brandywine Meadows Trail may be the most difficult hike I've ever done. Not only is the first third basically vertical (and this is an out-and-back, so you know what that means for the last third), but it's also completely unmaintained. That meant that we actually had to find and follow the markers to make sure we stayed on the trail. We also didn't pack our hiking poles, which was a problem.

Within the first few minutes, it became clear this was going to be a tough one! The trail was steep and completely covered in rocks and roots. On the plus side, it was very shady, and there were water features all along the way that offered pretty distractions. Some spots were incredibly muddy, and Zoe soon looked like she was wearing thigh-high boots. I fell once while trying to avoid a deep puddle.

All that moisture meant mosquitos, which we've been lucky enough not to deal with on most of our Washington hikes. Good thing Matt thought ahead and brought the bug spray!

As always, Matt's and my watches weren't aligned on the distance, so I can't speak for how long the vertical-forest-climbing went on for, but as we got higher, things finally started to level out. We crossed some janky boardwalks and finally made it out of the forest to some flatlands.

From there, we followed a much easier trail through the valley, or the titular meadow, if you will. This area was absolutely stunning, with breathtaking views in both directions. Boulders littered the grassy meadow all along the way, making the landscape visually captivating everywhere we looked. A river cut through the entire valley, sometimes placid, sometimes roaring.

The view back behind us/the way we came.

The view ahead!

As we continued higher, we encountered snow, which Zoe was thrilled to zoomie through. We don't often take her off-leash on hikes, but she just loves snow so much, and her recall has improved to the point that we feel safe letting her free once in awhile.

The hike back down was hellish but short-lived. I only fell once, and I managed to fall backwards onto my ass rather than down the steep slope, so that was a win. I did, however, fall into water this time, so my butt was wet the entire way back to our hotel.

Overall, I'd say this hike earned its "hard" rating on All Trails, but the views were totally worth it. If we'd had poles, I don't think it would've been nearly as bad, but that climb was really something.

Ali