Conrad Kain Hut in the Bugaboos in BC is one of the coolest and most tech-savvy huts that I have stayed at. It is operated by the Alpine Club of Canada (ACCC) and pre-bookings are required. I visited this hut with my friends Courtney and Andrea.
The Bugaboos is notoriously very busy in the summer months as it is known for its climbing. There is both an alpine campground and a hut. We visited it in September of 2018 and it was much quieter then and we were able to get a hut booking easily. Snow was predicted for the next day however we didn’t mind because we knew we would be warm sleeping in the hut.
The hut has electricity which is very bizarre because there is a small hydro electricity generator running off the creek that is situated near the hut. People were using a toaster in the morning which made me do a double-take.
Getting to the trailhead is a mission and it includes 50kms of dirt road driving. Once you are parked there are bins full of chicken wire as the area is full of porcupines who will nibble of your brake cables if you don't keep them out. We checked out everyone’s else porcupine-proofing techniques so we followed suit and did our best!
Even though the hike to the hut is only 4.5km there are about 700m of elevation gain. The views of the glacier are worth it though. There are ladders and chains to assist you with your climb and even though we were there too early for larches this would be an amazing area to visit during autumn.
The iconic green roof of the hut will appear and after some rock hopping you will be there in no time. Lots of wine and monopoly deal was played with the view of the glacier outside of the window.
We hiked halfway up to the campground situated in the alpine to get a better view of the glacier, the weather wasn’t great when we were there but the view was definitely worth it.
For further information and details on how to book the hut check out the ACCC website.