Garibaldi Park Whistler A to Z: KrummholzEvery unusual phenomenon in the forest seems to have a name, but one natural work of art seems to be without a commonly used name.  Big trees with sprawling roots that wrap around huge boulders, glacier erratics or jagged bedrock are sometimes called lithophytes which translates from Latin lith and phyte as stone and plant.  Lithophyte is not the best description for these because they don't so much live on rock as encompass it.

Whistler & Garibaldi Hiking

Easy Hiking Trail WhistlerAlexander Falls  Moderate Hiking Trail Whistler Dog FriendlyAncient Cedars  Moderate Hiking Trail WhistlerBlack Tusk  Pay Use Hiking Trail WhistlerBlackcomb Mountain  Easy Hiking Trail WhistlerBrandywine Falls  Moderate/Hard Hiking Trail Whistler Dog FriendlyBrandywine Meadows  Moderate/Hard Hiking Trail Whistler Dog FriendlyBrew Lake  Easy Hiking Trail WhistlerCallaghan Lake  Moderate Hiking Trail WhistlerCheakamus Lake  Whistler Hiking Trail EasyCheakamus River  Whistler Hiking Trail HardCirque Lake  Whistler Hiking Trail EasyFlank Trail  Moderate Hiking Trail WhistlerGaribaldi Lake  Moderate Hiking Trail WhistlerGaribaldi Park  Moderate Hiking Trail WhistlerHelm Creek  Moderate Hiking Trail Whistler Dog FriendlyJane Lakes  Joffre Lakes Hike in Whistler in SeptemberJoffre Lakes  Moderate Hiking Trail Whistler Dog FriendlyKeyhole Hot Springs  Hiking Trail Hard Dog FriendlyLogger’s Lake  Whistler Hiking Trail EasyMadeley Lake  Moderate/Hard Hiking Trail Whistler Dog FriendlyMeager Hot Springs Easy Hiking Trail WhistlerNairn Falls  Whistler Hiking Trail HardNewt Lake  Moderate Hiking Trail WhistlerPanorama Ridge  Whistler Hiking Trail EasyParkhurst Ghost Town  Hiking Trail Hard Dog FriendlyRainbow Falls  Moderate Hiking Trail WhistlerRainbow Lake  Moderate/Hard Hiking Trail Whistler Dog FriendlyRing Lake  Moderate Hiking Trail WhistlerRusset Lake  Whistler Hiking Trail EasySea to Sky Trail  Easy Hiking Trail WhistlerSkookumchuck Hot Springs  Easy Hiking Trail WhistlerSloquet Hot Springs  Sproatt East  Moderate Hiking Trail WhistlerSproatt West  Moderate Hiking Trail WhistlerTaylor Meadows  Whistler Hiking Trail EasyTrain Wreck  Hiking Trail Hard - Whistler TrailsWedgemount Lake  Pay Use Hiking Trail WhistlerWhistler Mountain

  Winter Hiking WhistlerJanuary  Winter Hiking WhistlerFebruary  Spring Hiking WhistlerMarch  Spring Hiking WhistlerApril  Spring Hiking WhistlerMay  Summer Hiking WhistlerJune  Summer Hiking WhistlerJuly  Summer Hiking WhistlerAugust  Fall Hiking WhistlerSeptember  Fall Hiking WhistlerOctober  Fall Hiking WhistlerNovember  Winter Hiking WhistlerDecember

Lithophyte is widely used to refer to a plant that grows on or out of a rock, but doesn’t seem accurate to describe a tree that grows over and engulfs a rock.  A lithophyte grows on solid rock or in the cracks of massive boulders and therefor survives on nutrients derived from these regions.  The big trees in the forest we are talking about don’t survive on or in the rock itself, but rather treat it as an obstacle and grow mighty roots over, around and under it.  Decades of water erosion may have washed away soil that once allowed a tree to grow on what now appears as solid rock.  This seems to be the origin of the big western hemlock on the Cheakamus Lake trail that is growing on a house sized boulder that likely tumbled down from Whistler Mountain a century ago.  One side of the boulder is mostly solid rock, whereas the side with the tree growing over it is disintegrating it into smaller boulders under the vice grip of roots and tremendous weight pressing down from above.

In other circumstances heavy snow of winter may bend a tree growing on a steep slope over a boulder for several years until it grows strong enough to resist the weight of snow and grow straight up.  An excellent example of this can be found on the trail to Newt Lake in Whistler.  In this case a fridge sized boulder on a hillside had a western hemlock crushed against it under snow for several years until it could resist the snow and grow upward.  Now a decades old tree, it appears to be growing out of the middle of a big round boulder.  Only when you walk around to look at it from the side do you notice the large tree trunk bending around the rock and into the ground.  It doesn’t seem accurate to call either of these two trees lithophytes.  As Steven Engelhart points out, “Lithophytes are plants that grown in or on rocks but most of these seem to take their nutrition from their immediate rock environment and not by extending their roots into the ground.”  He suggest the word arborlith as a more accurate term for these amazing trees.  Arbor is Latin for tree and lith translates as stone.

Arborlith on the Cheakamus Lake Trail

The hiking and biking trail to Cheakamus Lake takes you through a wonderfully wild old forest with plenty of remarkable trees.  This extraordinary western hemlock has wrapped its enormous roots around the crumbling remains of a huge boulder that probably came crashing down from Whistler Mountain a century ago.  This arborlith looks to be fracturing the enormous rock under the weight of its huge trunk.  Giant roots wrap around the side of the once solid rock and decades of growth have wrenched it into basketball sized chunks of rock.

Arborlith Cheakamus Lake Trail

Arborlith Cheakamus Lake Trail

Arborlith Cheakamus Lake 11

Arborlith Cheakamus Trail 3

Looking at the giant boulder from further along the trail you can see the enormous size of the rock that is comparatively smooth on one side and crumbling on the arborlith side.

Arborlith Side View

Cheakamus Lake Large Map v15

More Hiking Information for Cheakamus Lake

Newt Lake Trail Arborlith

It is not unusual to see trees that have managed to penetrate a crack in a large rock face and somehow survive to become quite large.  Another interesting type of arborlith you often encounter in Whistler is a large tree growing out of, or around a comparatively small boulder.  These are often found on steep terrain where boulders have forced a tree to grow around and over it.  A boulder may push against a small tree causing it to bend around the rock while growing, making it appear to be growing from the rock.  Also, on steep sloping terrain, heavy snow can push a small tree over and keep it buried in snow.  This causes the tree to grow sideways for much of the year.  Eventually the tree grows large enough to not be flattened by snow and grows upward year-round.  If a tree like this was forced against a boulder and buried by the snow it may eventually grow into an extraordinary looking tree that wraps around the boulder.  Pictured below is a wonderful example of this type of arborlith growing along the Newt Lake trail.  The tree appears to have begun growing on the upward sloping side of this big boulder.  Winter snow would have pushed it against the boulder with its roots growing underneath.  As the tree grew taller than the boulder, it would have been continually flattened over it until it grew strong enough to resist the weight of the snow.  Decades later it has grown to a substantial size and wonderfully interesting shape.

Newt Lake Trail Arborlith

Newt Lake Trail Arborlith

Newt Lake Trail Arborlith Close

The unmarked and deadfall obscured trailhead to Newt Lake is found at the far end of the Ancient Cedars trail on the far side of Cougar Mountain.  One great aspect of this wild and beautiful lake is the interesting hike to reach it.  Constantly undulating terrain, wildly chaotic forest with interesting trees, steep boulder strewn terrain and lots of deadfall to climb over and navigate around.  Always interesting, challenging, yet short enough to remain very enjoyable.

Ancient Cedars Map Large v10

More Hiking Information for Newt Lake

Garibaldi Lake Lithophyte

An example of a tree growing out of rock that the term lithophyte seem to fit fairly well is the young tree growing on one of the Battleship Islands in Garibaldi Lake.  Viewed from the shoreline at the Garibaldi Lake campsite just a few metres away, this hardy little krummholz appears to exist on an island with not a trace of soil.  It has managed to survive on this rocky little island on a lake that freezes half the year and is buried in deep snow for several months.

Battleship Islands Lithophyte

The Battleship Islands on Garibaldi Lake get their name from their appearance from Panorama Ridge as a group of battleships.  Given this name by Neal Carter when his saw the islands from Panorama Ridge in 1927 and observed, "a group of tiny islands with often a single tree as a mast, presenting the appearance of boats.."

Battleship Islands from Panorama Ridge

Garibaldi Lake Map v19a

More Hiking Information for Garibaldi Lake

More Whistler & Garibaldi Park Hiking A to Z!

If you make it to the summit of Wedge Mountain you will notice off in the distance a beautifully symmetrical mountain that stands out among the rest.  ...
Read more
Bushwhack is a term often used in Canada and the United States to refer to hiking off-trail where no trail exists.  Literally means 'bush' and 'whack'.  To ...
Read more
Mills Winram was a very active mountaineer from Vancouver with some very notable ascents in the 1920's and 1930's.  He, along with Fred Parkes and Stan ...
Read more
Mountain hemlock is a species of hemlock that thrives along the west coast of North America from Alaska to California. In Whistler and Garibaldi Park you ...
Read more
Green Lake is the marvellously vivid, green coloured lake just north of Whistler Village.  Driving north on the Sea to Sky Highway, Green Lake appears ...
Read more
Twentyone Mile Creek begins its long and steep journey from Rainbow Lake, high up and between Mount Sproatt and Rainbow Mountain.  Cutting between the two ...
Read more
The Fissile is the stunning Matterhorn-looking mountain that is visible from Village Gate Boulevard in Whistler.  Looking up from Village Gate you will see ...
Read more
Glacier Window: the cave-like opening at the mouth of a glacier where meltwater runs out.  Glacier windows are often extraordinarily beautiful.  A blue glow ...
Read more

West Coast Trail Best Sights

The Best Whistler & Garibaldi Park Hiking Trails!

Cirque Lake is a wild and beautiful lake that hides high above and beyond Callaghan Lake in Callaghan Lake Provincial Park.  What makes Cirque Lake special among the other sensationally beautiful lakes in the ...
Read more
Sloquet Hot Springs is a wonderfully wild set of shallow, man-made pools fed by a small, all natural, and very hot, waterfall. The pools stretch from the waterfall to the large and crashing Sloquet River. The ...
Read more
Garibaldi Lake is the centre and base for much of the hiking in Garibaldi Provincial Park. The Garibaldi Lake campsite is located on the amazing, turquoise shores of this massive and mostly still wild ...
Read more
Joffre Lakes Provincial Park is a gorgeous park with extraordinarily coloured lakes, waterfalls, stunning mountain peaks and ominous glaciers pouring into the valley.  Joffre Lakes is one of those incredible ...
Read more

Whistler & Garibaldi Park Best Hiking by Month!

In the(usually) deep March snow of Whistler you have an amazing array of snowshoeing options.  If you have not been to the Whistler Train Wreck, you have ...
Read more
April in Whistler is a wonderful time of year.  The winter deep freeze ends and T-shirt weather erupts.  The village comes alive with overflowing patios and ...
Read more
May is an extraordinarily beautiful time of year in Whistler.  The days are longer and warmer and a great lull in between seasons happens.  Whistler is fairly ...
Read more
June is a pretty amazing month to hike in Whistler and Garibaldi Park.  The average low and high temperatures in Whistler range from 9c to 21c(48f/70f).  ...
Read more

Hiking Gear Rental Whistler

Explore BC Hiking Destinations!

Whistler Hiking Trails

Hiking in Whistler is spectacular and wonderfully varied. Looking at a map of Whistler you see an extraordinary spider web of hiking trails that are unbelievably numerous. Easy trails, moderate trails and challenging hiking trails are all available. Another marvellous ...
Read more

Squamish Hiking Trails

Squamish is located in the midst of a staggering array of amazing hiking trails. Garibaldi Provincial Park sprawls alongside Squamish and up and beyond Whistler. Tantalus Provincial Park lays across the valley to the west and the wonderfully remote Callaghan Valley ...
Read more

Vancouver Hiking Trails

Vancouver is surrounded by seemingly endless hiking trails and mountains to explore.  Massive parks line up one after another.  Mount Seymour Provincial Park, Lynn Canyon Park, Grouse Mountain, Cypress Park and the enormous Garibaldi Park all contribute to Vancouver ...
Read more

Clayoquot Hiking Trails

Clayoquot Sound has a staggering array of hiking trails within it.  Between Tofino and Ucluelet, Pacific Rim Park has several wilderness and beach trails, each one radically different from the last.  The islands in the area are often Provincial parks on their own with ...
Read more

Victoria Hiking Trails

Victoria has a seemingly endless number of amazing hiking trails.  Most take you to wild and beautiful Pacific Ocean views and others take you to tranquil lakes in beautiful BC Coastal Rainforest wilderness.  Regional Parks and Provincial Parks are everywhere you turn in ...
Read more

The West Coast Trail

The West Coast Trail was created after decades of brutal and costly shipwrecks occurred along the West Coast of Vancouver Island.  One shipwreck in particular was so horrific, tragic and unbelievable that it forced the creation of a trail along the coast, which ...
Read more