By Lyndsay Melcosky
Our group of 11 ventured to the Robson Hut for a 2 night stay on June 26, 2026. Most of us had never hiked the trail before and some of us had it on our bucket list for years. Hiking the trail in recent years was hindered by the pandemic, and then by trail closure and reconstruction due to flooding.
The hike to the hut was grueling and strenuous, at 21 km with 800-1000 m elevation gain. The weather was better than expected, we got less rain than anticipated. It was drizzly the first half of the first day, but otherwise it was mostly just cloudy. We were grateful that it wasn’t too hot with the strenuous climb and significant elevation gain.
The trip was buoyed by our trip leader, Klaudia’s enthusiasm. It was her first time leading a trip, but you wouldn’t know it. She brought so much light and wonder to the trip, her excitement is contagious. She invited everyone to bring our favorite candy from childhood and share stories about it, which was a great way for us to connect.
For some of us, signing up for a group trip was out of our comfort zone. Some of us had met before, but many of us had not. The group dynamic felt natural and relaxed, with lots of light hearted teasing and humour. Everyone felt welcomed. A potluck was held on Saturday night and on the last day, the group came together in a collaborative effort to leave the hut sparkling clean, similar to the condition it was in when we arrived.
Cris shared her extensive knowledge and self described “nerdery” about birds and plants. Bunchberry lined the side of the trail from the beginning to almost the very end, the lower part of the trail was defined by ancient western red cedar and young western hemlock saplings growing beneath the canopy, and thimbleberry shrubs led to the accursed devil’s club. As we gained a little elevation, Douglas fir was the dominant tree species between Kinney Lake and Whitehorn campground. Cris also spotted twinflower, pink wintergreen, star flowered false solomon’s seal, hellebore, foam flower and lots of yellow columbine, to name only a few. Heard along the way were Townsend’s warbler, Tennessee warblers, Wilson’s warbler, golden crowned Kinglets, American robins, and of course, both varied thrushes, Swainson’s thrushes and mountain chickadees.
There were not many mammals encountered on the trip. There was a resident porcupine near the hut and a couple pika in the alpine. Some of us saw a marmot on Saturday, and Inessa sighted a water shrew in the river at the Emperor Falls campground. Sarang had an anticlimactic bear encounter on the egress hike near Whitehorn, where the bear wandered off before he could capture it on camera or video.
The eldest member of our group, Ivan, shared his knowledge with us, a fountain of wisdom from years spent in the mountains. A model of healthy aging, he is an inspiration to the rest of us to continue to enjoy the outdoors well into our later years. Ivan still uses a backpack he has had since 1973, which lends credence to the expression “they don’t make things like they used to”.
Some of us went for a cold water dip in Berg lake, but our trip leader, Klaudia was the only one to go fully in. Klaudia firmly believes in the physical and psychological benefits of cold plunges, she says the cold water “takes the aches away and recalibrates [her] mind to a new level”. The rest of us made it only waist, knee, or ankle deep into the lake.
Attending hut trips with the Alpine Club of Canada (ACC) offers an opportunity to connect with like minded individuals to share the experience with. The ACC handles the logistics of trip planning, which is beneficial since it has become harder to book backcountry trips in recent years. Klaudia joined the ACC with the intent of soaking up more alpine and backcountry knowledge. She says the new connections she made on the trip has her excited for future years and more adventures to come. She also expressed gratitude for the experience.
Eva also expressed her gratitude for the adventure and described it as “an unforgettable trip”. She appreciated everything each individual brought to the experience, including mountaineering grit, a deep knowledge of the natural world, excellent candy choices, storytelling and pure positive energy.
I consider it a privilege to stay in the brand new Robson hut, which I would describe as luxurious, by backcountry standards. The trip provided me with much needed “mountain therapy”, I could have spent hours staring at Berg lake. Being in nature offers an experience of wonderment and awe, which is associated with many psychological benefits. I drove home feeling as though my nature prescription had been filled.
0 Comments