Harrison Hut route

From the current discussion (Sept.-Oct. '08) on the VOC message board it seems that some work on the outhouse and trail of the Harrison Hut would be in order. Things to do and/or consider:

Planning

The VOC doesn't have a permit to build a trail (yet). First it would be good to establish the best location for a trail. More recon missions seem to be required to check the suitability of the following route options:

• Presently flagged route from the Barr Creek FSR to the bench below Pine Bump. This appears to be the best ski route. The FSR is in pretty rough shape with lots of alder and big cross-ditches on the upper two third of the road, hence the road is unsuitable for 2WD vehicles. Moderate clearance vehicles can make it about one third of the way up, whereas 4WD-HC vehicles have made it to within a couple of hundred meters of the trailhead.
• Same general route as above, but make a steep-ish traverse around 1650m to avoid extra uphill. For both routes it should be investigated if there are options to build a bridge (unlikely) or stepping stones (maybe) to assist crossing the creek draining the Magic Carpet Glacier. This route might be better if in a whiteout and a blizzard, rather than trying to follow cairns above the treeline. Bram and Matt P. tried this route in June '08 (partly on skis, partly bushwhacking), and it's fairly bushy. Will require a lot more work to get in acceptable shape than the high route below Pine Bump. The ideal route stays just above a burned patch of forest on the slopes southwest of Barr Creek.
• Follow the "old 1980's" route from the Meager S6 Hotsprings Creek Spur and a steep traverse northeast of Barr Creek to the hut. The road is 2WD to the end. Bram, Meghan and Madeleine walked this route in Oct. '08. This route is shorter and more direct than the presently flagged route, but takes more time because of the moderate bushwhacking (mostly while traversing the steep slopes above Barr Creek). The route crosses a couple of avalanche gullies on these steep slopes above Barr Creek. Building a trail here will involve a lot more work than on the presently flagged route. Roland walked this route a long time ago and claims to have seen signs of snowmobiles up there. While it is not a good idea to improve access for snowmobiles into the hut, it seems very unlikely that these machines can travel over such steep forested side hills. There is some old flagging along this route. If we would go ahead and build a trail here it would be good to check out the possibilities of building a bridge over Roller Coaster Creek (the one next to the hut, should be easy to build bridge; perhaps this bridge could also be used to access new outhouse in forest on E side of this creek) and check how hard the (bigger) Madhorse Creek is to cross (drains the Madhorse Glacier west of Overseer Mountain, some people call the creek draining the Magic Carpet Glacier Madhorse Creek). The latter creek was easy to cross in Oct. '08, but water levels were fairly low.
• There has been some discussion regarding the possibility of a route to the Hut from the South Creek FSR. This would have the major advantage that we wouldn't have to drive the road to Meager, which the authorities close in the winter due to avalanches. Nobody has actually gone in this way, so we don't know if this is actually practical. On the map, it is a long way. From the Pemberton Meadows Road (generally partly plowed in winter) it appears to be about 10km + 600vm to the end of the South Creek FSR. Supposedly the last bridge over South Creek is gone. From the end of the logging road it is at least another 13km + 1300vm through the main valley and up the South Creek Glacier to the Zygo - Frozen Boot col. From here it is 4km and 600vm down to the hut on the Roller Coaster Glacier. Perhaps the north fork of South Creek to the Overseer - Madhorse col could be an option as well (especially considering the main fork is in a very steep sided valley). This could be the easiest way to the hut in winter (1 long or 2 shorter days to go in), but might be too complicated (bush + glacier crossing + length) for summer approach.

We are now in a position to apply for a permit to build a trail, and to apply to MEC for money to build it. Do we want to do this? Do we want to work on it without a permit, which is illegal and won't get us any funding, but might save a few people from getting lost.

Note that at present the hut hardly sees any use in mid-winter. Use of the hut by backcountry skiers is limited to early winter (around Nov.) and late spring (around May-June) when the Meager roads are not snow covered. Main use of any trail on the Meager side will by people on foot who go up for hiking, scrambling and/or mountaineering in the summer and early fall, this should be kept in mind when choosing a location for the trail.

Pros and cons of Meager routes

Route	Length	Elevation gain/drop	Road	Avalanche danger	Creek crossing	Amount of bushwhacking	White-out navigation	Currently marked
Southwest side - high route (Pine Bump)	6.0km	950vm/375vm	4WD-HC to 1145m, 2WD to 830m (adds 4km, 315vm)	Minor on descent past pine bump	Wade creek draining Magic Carpet Glacier	Moderate	Open terrain starting past Pine Bump	Excellent route has recently been flagged
Southwest side - low route	4.5km	650vm/75vm	4WD-HC to 1145m, 2WD to 830m (adds 4km, 315vm)	Minor to none	Wade creek draining Magic Carpet Glacier	High-ish for 1km long sidehill	Minor open terrain in creek valley and up to hut	Some possible very old flagging
Northeast side (1980's route)	5.2km	775vm/0vm	2WD to end (945m)	Have to cross ~4 natural avi paths	Cross big creek draining Madhorse Glacier and small creek next to hut	High-ish for 1.8km long sidehill	No open terrain	Some very old flagging

Previous work

Nov. 10 - 13, 2007

For the first time in years, a group went to the Harrison Hut. They used the newly constructed (Oct. 2007) bridge over Meager Creek.
See TR on the VOC message board

June 20 - 21, 2008

Harrison Hut Recon June 2008
Door to the hut was finally installed. Some of the loose metal roofing was fixed with screws. Trail was flagged with blue flagging tape. Some of the alder on the road was cut down.
See also the VOC message board

Aug. 2 - 3, 2008

Pete and Kristen went up to the hut and did some more flagging of the trail, built some extra cairns on the traverse below pine bump and built a set of stone steps leading up to front door.
See TR on the VOC message board

Aug. 30 - Sept. 1, 2008

Annual mountaineering camp was held at Harrison Hut. A money drop box was installed, as well as some more work on screwing down the loose metal roofing was done.
See VOC message board

Oct. 12 - 13, 2008

Madeleine, Meghan and Bram hiked the route on the east side of Barr Creek to the hut, it was quite bushy, but not too bad.
See TR on the VOC message board, and Meghan's photos on the VOC gallery.