Summer 2007 - The Alpine Club of Canada

A Rockies’ gal visits Bon Echo Hut
BY RUTHIE OLTMANN
What’s a Rockies’ gal doing in
Ontario anyhow? Actually, I
was attending family events
and visiting at the leisurely pace of two
months. Driving and camping provided a
good opportunity to assuage my curiosity
and check out a hut that isn’t in Canada’s
western mountains.
As the Alpine Club of Canada
Librarian, I have connected with people
such as Toronto Section member David
Brown who contacted me about putting
copies of Steve Adcock’s new guidebook,
A Guide to Rock Climbs at Bon Echo,
3rd edition, into the ACC library and
Canmore Clubhouse. I expressed an
interest in visiting Bon Echo Hut, and he
put me in touch with Geoff Hodgson, the
hut custodian for the weekend I wished
to visit.
Bon Echo Hut is situated just outside
Bon Echo Provincial Park, which has a
landscape dominated by one of the most
imposing natural phenomena in Ontario
– Mazinaw Rock. Th e granite cliff s
rise majestically out of Mazinaw Lake,
providing a very impressive focal point.
Th ey are home to more than 120 climbing
routes.
Situated on the edge of Mazinaw
Lake, Bon Echo Provincial Park is
divided by a spit of land. Th e narrow
Crossing the lake PHOTO BY RUTHIE OLTMANN
point dividing the lake is only 10 metres
wide and has occasionally been waded by
climbers with their packs held high above
their heads. Th e park campground is on
the west side of the lake and the cliff s and
hut are on the east side.
I had planned on staying overnight in
the hut, but on checking Keith Haberl’s
book, Alpine Huts, I found it doesn’t
off er sleeping accommodation. To stay
overnight I needed a tent, which I didn’t
have with me, as I was camping in my
minivan. Th e hut does have a fi replace
and the usual ACC kitchen, plus a sauna
near the lake. Also on the grounds,
Chapel Hut is a bit of a misnomer as it
really is a tool shed. Geoff assured me he
could ferry me back and forth across the
lake so I could camp in the park.
While waiting at the dock for Geoff , I
met Karen McGilvray, her 6-year-old son
Lucas, and Karen’s employee, Sam with
her daughter Twyla. Geoff arrived in the
ACC boat with his welcoming smile and
we made the trip across the lake.
Scattered throughout the woods
surrounding the hut are a dozen small
sites for tents, some with lovely views of
Mazinaw Lake.
Geoff was busy crossing the lake
throughout the evening, picking up
more climbers while I enjoyed chatting
with folks around the fi re pit, which
adds immeasurably to the ambience
– especially for a 6-year-old boy who likes
roasted marshmallows.
Later in the evening, with only the
lights across the lake to guide him, Geoff
took me back across.
Th e next morning I met Geoff at the
dock directly across from the spectacular
Mazinaw Rock. He was transporting
folks to the cliff s in the Club boat. As
the tourist sitting in the boat I learned
about climbing at Bon Echo, listening to
Geoff ’s enthusiastic commentary on the
diff erent routes. Crossing back and forth
from the hut to the cliff s with various
climbers all morning gave me a great
introduction as to how folks climb there,
as I absorbed the enthusiasm of those
die-hard rock climbers.
Bon Echo is not at all like the
Rockies, where I’ve been an ACC hut
custodian, and had time to climb or
hike. Th e Bon Echo Hut custodian has
Friendly folks at Bon Echo Hut
PHOTO BY RUTHIE OLTMANN
to spend his or her time ferrying people
from the road’s public dock to the hut
and then from the hut to the cliff s. Th e
unique part about climbing there is that
the climbers sit in the bow of the boat,
don their rock shoes, step out, and up
they go!
Th ere is a 1.6-kilometre portage
trail from the hut to Kishkebus Lake
that made a delightful hike, and I also
scrambled up a rocky knoll enjoying the
fall colours of the trees and Mazinaw
Lake. Also, Geoff took me to the public
dock at the narrows on the cliff side of
the lake and I hiked up the tourist trail to
the cliff top with a view of the lake.
Spending the evening in the hut
cooking dinner and chatting with the
climbers was entertaining. Karen, who
owns a climbing gym in Toronto, was
impressive. She and her climbing partner
Katherine are keeners. I also met Will, an
engineer in the Canadian space program
in Ottawa, as well as people from Toronto
and Montréal. I only met one fellow who
had climbed in the Rockies.
I had a wonderful visit and I found
Geoff to be an enthusiastic tour guide.
I recommend a visit the next time you
fi nd yourself in Ontario. Take a tent.
Boatman Geoff Hodgson drops people by the cliff
where they climb. PHOTO BY DAVID BROWN