PHXTR August 23-25

The Plan: This trip was originally going to the Harrison Hut and staying for a week, but the forest fires closed the road west of Pemberton and pretty soon we realised that the Harrison trip wasn’t going to happen. So we decided that a trip to the Phelix Hut, a somewhat shorter hike and of somewhat shorter duration, would be an acceptable substitute if we could get more personnel. Just son Dave and myself would hardly qualify as a snack for the grizzlies that were supposed to be up there, and we had more work planned than would conveniently occupy two people. So when Lea said she was available, the trip was definitely a go. Once we knew we were going, son Kevin and his friend Edward decided that this would be a good place to spend part of their week-long holiday. We had five people, and Edward had an electric drill, important for the work we had planned.

-

We knew we wanted to leave Vancouver “the day before” and tent at the trail head. That way the driver doesn’t get all used up before the hiking starts, and we can start early in the morning while it is still cool. This worked well for Edward, because he needed the morning to replace the radiator on his Dodge Caravan. Anticipating a long line-up to cross the Lions Gate Bridge because of some idiocy regarding “bumps” on the bridge, we left town around noon, and after buying gas and some really bad milk shakes in Pemberton, arrived too early at Birkenhead Park and had to go down to the lake and waste an hour fishing and annoying a dog, otherwise we would be lying in the tents waiting for night to happen.

-

We slowly drove the Jeep up the rough road to the one-log bridge and ninja-camped at the usual spot. Morning, breakfast, etc. Hike up. Beautiful scenery, nice people.

-

At the hut we sprung into action. The two sides of the door frame weren’t parallel and the screws on the latch side didn’t actually go into anything so it was pretty easy to take out the screws and straighten the frame, and put the screws back in crooked so they went into something. The paint job on the door looked pretty OK so we didn’t re-paint. The screws on the strike plate went in very easily by hand; no power tools required. We power-drilled a million holes and installed the weather-strip. But where was the “sweep”, the part that goes at the bottom of the door to keep the mice out? It was nowhere to be found. Soon 2:30 rolled around and we realised that if we didn’t go and climb something, we’d have to do it the next day, interfering with sleeping in. So we took off for the Frodo-Gandalf col and after some bickering, climbed Frodo, except Dave and I got used up in the interminable rock garden leading up to the col and turned back somewhat short of the summit.

-

Back at the Hut we found that apparently nobody trusted anybody because we had all brought way too much food, but we did the best we could with it and went to bed. The mice were extremely noisy most of the night, but the hut was warmish. Outside there was frost on the ground.

-

The next morning I decided to tidy, and found the sweep! But not the screws for attaching it. Eventually we found some wrong-size screws and they worked very well. We fixed the wall around the door, painted some stuff, fixed the windows that wouldn’t stay open and modified them so they wouldn’t open so far and get un-fixed, attached some Lexan panels to the outhouse to frustrate the outhouse-eating marmot. Somebody had hauled up a couple of “romantic lamps” which had leaked oil all over the cooking counter, so we mopped that up and carried out the lamps and other junk, and one of the Coleman stoves which was deemed to be a fire hazard. We tidied a bit in the “cellar” and found a can of mixed dirt and paint, and carried it out. We have to stop throwing our garbage down the “cellar”, or it will become full and we’ll have to move the hut.

-

Summary: Trail is good. Hut is in good shape. New door is really good. Outhouse is better than good. Coleman lamp works. Couldn’t find the hand-cranked LED light. We need a new Coleman stove. We did a lot of work. Frodo was climbed. Some swimming was done. Edward should join VOC because he has an electric drill (and for other reasons). We saw no grizzlies, just a marmot with a cute baby, and a grouse the size of a chicken.