Description
The Huckleberry Hut
Built early last century to work a mining claim on Spotted Horse Creek, the Huckleberry Cabin was restored by the Kootenay Section of the Alpine Club of Canada in 1963, with further restoration work done in 1985 and 1986. Today, the Huckleberry Hut is a cozy log cabin situated at around 1600 meters in the valley below Midday and Cabin Peaks. The Huckleberry Hut is very small. There are two narrow bunks (no foam mattresses) which will each sleep two, top to tail. There is also a fold-down table, wood stove and outhouse. Basic cooking utensils (pots, pans, cups, bowls, plates, cutlery, etc.) are stored in a cupboard. There is also a two burner Coleman propane cook stove and Coleman propane lantern (take spare mantels). You will need to bring your own 1lb propane bottles for the stove and lantern.
Summer and winter access to the Huckleberry Hut is via Porto Rico Road, 15 km south of Nelson off Highway 6. In winter, be sure to park with enough distance from the road so as not to impede local vehicles – the parking area is also a school bus turnaround. In summer you can drive up 3 km and park there. From here you take the lower (left) fork in the road up another 3 km (this section of road is deactivated but is passable in a narrow, high clearance 4X4) to a junction where an old road leads off to the left. Stay left, and walk the remaining two kilometers to the cabin. Allow one to two hours hiking time. Huckleberry is right on the trail but when completely covered in snow, can be easily missed.
In winter, ski up Porto Rico Road from the highway and take the junction as noted above. Allow three to six hours.
In summer, water is available from a stream that crosses the road about one hundred meters beyond the cabin.
Link to Bivouac.com page with WGS84 coordinates to Huckleberry Hut: http://bivouac.com/FtrPg.asp?FtrId=112
