Another of the Alpine Club's workparties to repair and renovate another of their huts, this time the Stanley Mitchell Hut in Yoho National Park.This time, it was to replace several logs that were rotting, install a new kitchen and do a number of other smaller tasks needed to keep this historic hut (built in 1939) in good shape.
The Hut is very popular in summer and also in winter as a skiing destination so it sees a lot of use. I had a chance to work on the renovations during the first week of the project. Given that it was the last week of September, the weather was fantastic - clear skies, warm temperatures and the company of a number of ACC staff and several other volunteers made this a great week. It's always interesting to see people so willing to take time out of their busy lives to volunteer on these projects, work from sunup to sun down in the middle of the usual workparty chaos.
Of necessity, most of the hut somewhat resembled a war zone for most of the week. Logs, tools, discarded kitchen parts, generators, excavations around the hut.....
We were flown in on Monday and I hiked out on Saturday afternoon. It was a bit nostalgic, hiking out over the Iceline Trail. This is an area that we've hiked in for decades and there were many pleasant memories of other hikes. That and plus fall is my favourite season. Hiking in the mountains in the fall has to be one of the best ways to spend your time.
Pictures of the week can be seen at: http://picasaweb.google.ca/dave.mcc51/StanleyMitchellRenovationsSep2009#
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