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Backpacking to lake o'hara!

Albertan ski girl

Angel Diva
SO and I spent these past few days hiking in to lake o'hara in yoho national park, and spending 3 nights at the alpine club of Canada's elizabeth parker hut. It was only 12 km in, but once we got above 2000m, we were on snowshoes!!! We had a great time exploring and had all the beautiful views and snow (in the middle of June!) all to ourselves :smile:
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Albertan ski girl

Angel Diva
I think I already told you how much I love that area. How do the huts work? Do you join the club first, and is it hard to get a reservation?

Hi, @Christy ! You don't have to be an ACC member to get reservations. However, the per night cost is higher (around $36 per person compared to $25 for ACC members). Additionally, if you become an ACC member you can reserve huts up to a year in advance, whereas non-members I think can only reserve 30 or 60 days in advance, depending on the hut. We're a family of 4 and like to use the hut system in all seasons, so we get a $100 yearly family membership, because it is worth it both to get the nightly discount, as well as the advance reservation time.

How hard is it to get a reservation? Well, it really depends. It depends on the time of year and the hut. This hut at Lake O'Hara - the Elizabeth Parker Hut - is actually so much in demand during the summer, that the reservations are done by lottery in the October or November of the previous year. The summer season at Lake O'Hara is from the third week in June to the 1st week of October. A lot of people want to use this hut because not only is it in a great location for hiking, but Lake O'Hara is also serviced by a bus up the 12 km access road during the summer season. So, with the bus, you only have to hike in 1 km to the hut in the summer. So, getting a reservation in the hut in the summer is hard. I think it is fair to say that the easier the hut is to access, the more difficult it is to reserve it.

If you are willing to hike or ski the 12 kms in to Lake O'Hara during the 'off-season,' (like we were) its pretty easy to get spots - because most people aren't willing to do that. That is not to say that you don't need reservations. But most of the other huts are ok to get in the summer if you plan a little in advance, as well as the winter. The Kokanee Glacier Hut is also really popular in winter for ski touring, so that is via lottery as well for the winter season.

We're staying at the Elk Lakes hut in August with friends - we reserved the whole hut in March, and it wasn't a problem. I'm overnighting at Bow Hut in July, to do a little bit of ice fields exploring, and I haven't even made the reservation yet. Many of the huts aren't a problem to reserve. There are also always cancellations - I just lucked out on a cancellation and got an overnight with a friend at the beginning of October at Lake O'Hara again.

If you have any specific questions, I would be more than happy to answer them :smile: Just let me know. I love the ACC huts, and I think they are a wonderful resource here. I would definitely encourage you to make use of them if you can.

For a complete description, check out:

https://www.alpineclubofcanada.ca/facility/
 

Jilly

Moderator
Staff member
GEez, the Bon Echo Hutt is about 20 min from the cottage. I've probably seen it, but didn't know what it was! Plus when I see ACC, I think Air Canada Center.......duh!
 

CarolB

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
SO and I spent these past few days hiking in to lake o'hara in yoho national park, and spending 3 nights at the alpine club of Canada's elizabeth parker hut. It was only 12 km in, but once we got above 2000m, we were on snowshoes!!! We had a great time exploring and had all the beautiful views and snow (in the middle of June!) all to ourselves :smile:

Hey @Albertan ski girl do you do any backpacking in the summer? I'd love to do Sunshine to Assiniboine sometime but don't know anyone to go with and solo might not be a good idea there with the Bears??
 

Albertan ski girl

Angel Diva
Hey @Albertan ski girl do you do any backpacking in the summer? I'd love to do Sunshine to Assiniboine sometime but don't know anyone to go with and solo might not be a good idea there with the Bears??

Dear @CarolB ! Yes, I do backpacking every summer! I haven't done the Sunshine to Assinboine route - but I'd love to. I've really wanted to stay at the Naiset huts for a long time! I don't think solo-ing is great, I wouldn't do that - but I'm not generally into hiking solo either. Actually, parks will sometimes limit hikers to groups of 4 on some routes depending on bear activity. We've done extensive backpacking all over AB, and (knock wood) haven't had any trouble with bears.

We've stayed at most of the ACC huts in AB, and in BC. This year, we're going back to Lake O'Hara, and we're also going to the Wapta, and staying at Bow Hut.

We almost went to Assiniboine this year, the ACC Edmonton section did a 3 day hiking stay there.

Anyway, PM me if you'd like to chat further!
 

CarolB

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Awesome! I'll PM you more later.

I've mountain biked into Assiniboine and stayed at the Naiset huts in... oh boy, here we go dating myself... the early 80s, back when you were allowed to Mtn Bike lotsof places. I've also hiked and heli'd in part way via the Banff Park side when I worked for Trail Crew but never backpacked it. Egypt Lake is the other one I'd like to do again to see if it's as good as I remember.

I've been flying down to Yosemite and hiking there as it's easier to get to the back country and I can solo as they don't have grizzlies and you're really actually never alone when you're in Yosemite so my non-hiking hubby puts up with me doing that.
 

Albertan ski girl

Angel Diva
@CarolB awesome! I'd definitely love a PM. There are still some places you can mtb - actually I've been really wanting to do the backpack to the Fryatt valley via mtb. I've never really backpacked anywhere but here in AB, BC and the Yukon - so bears are always around and I wouldn't really dream of being by myself.
 

CarolB

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Hi, sorry for the delay in messaging. Crazy week!

Yes, it's kinda crazy that I'm flying to California to hike when we have so many beautiful spots right here in BC and AB but Yosemite is super convenient and you're never really solo for long, especially if you're on certain trails. I'm going to try to do parts of the John Muir Trail that way. I just don't have alot of hiking buddies although the fella I did my last trip was fun and he might be interested in another trip.

I did tons of hiking in the early 80s when I lived in Banff and worked for Parks Canada in the Summer. I was mostly based out of Lake Louise in the Pipestone area. I also worked in the Skoki Lodge area for awhile. We did some work at Egypt Lake too. I never got into Back Country Skiing although I now wish I had that experience. Because we go to Mexico in the winter (me for 6 wks and my husband for 2.5 months) I don't have alot of time to take on another sport other than just regular skiing as I also work fulltime.

If you are interested in doing an Assinboine hike this fall (not sure how late it's practical to get in there though) or next year, or are doing another trip that you're willing to take on another hiker, I'd totally be in for it. I'm not really experienced but did pretty well on my 2 trips this summer, and pretty fit and I have decent equipment so hopefully wouldn't be a weak link.

So many sports to do and not enough time to do them! I guess that's a lucky problem though, right?
 

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