Watersprite Lake Hut

Watersprite Lake Hut, built by BCMC in 2017, is one of the newest backcountry huts in British Columbia. Last year, I joined a BCMC trail maintenance trip but never hiked to the lake or stayed at the hut. So in July, when I saw an opening for the end of August, I was super excited and booked the hut for two nights.

Due to COVID-19, I had to book the entire hut. I checked with Gaurav, and he was excited to join with his family. It would be Gaurav and Indrani’s first backpacking trip with their kids Kavya and Swara. Kudos to both of them for taking on this challenge and preparing for this trip. Gaurav and Indrani did several hikes with weighted backpacks, which helped on this trip.

Watersprite Lake Trail

We left home around 9 am, and after a short break in Squamish, we arrived at the trailhead around 12:30 pm. We drove up in Subaru Forester and Santa Fe and didn’t have any issues accessing the trailhead.

It was a bit tricky at one section, and we got down to get a better sense of the road. But, the cars had enough clearance and power to make it through.

It was raining quite a bit, so we took a break. After 10 minutes or so, it settled down to a drizzle. Given the rainy forecast for the rest of the day, we decided to start hiking.

The first km of the trail is flat and easy, and we crossed a couple of creeks. The next km is where I did trail maintenance last year, and it was fun to be back on this trail.

After about two km, we arrived at a junction and went right. The trail is well marked and easy to follow.

About 4.3 km into the hike, we were at another crossing over Demon Creek. We got to use the bridge that the BCMC team had just built on July 3. Hats off to Brian Sheffield and his team of volunteers for building this bridge.

Demon Peak Trail Junction Watersprite Lake Trail — Demon Peak Trail Junction

About 5 km into the hike, we were at a junction with the Watersprite Lake Trail going straight and the Demon Peak/Ridge trail going left.

The trail opened up, but we just had a partial view of the valley to our right due to the clouds.

The Last 2 Km

About three and half hours into the hike, we were at the start of the boulder section. As per the reports, this was the toughest section of the hike. Gaurav was very cautious as it was a challenging terrain to hike, especially carrying Swara. We took a short break and put on our jackets again as it started to rain.

Both Kavyas were in good spirits and were moving quickly, so I went ahead with them. After the boulder section, we were back in the forest, and it was a bit slippery in some areas.

The last half km was steep, but the kids did well and kept going at a steady pace.

At first sight of the hut, they got super excited and started running towards it.

The rest of the group joined us shortly, and it took us about five hours to get to the hut.

Over the last few years, I had heard a lot about this hut, and it didn’t disappoint. As you enter the hut, there is a kitchen area to the left, a wood stove in the center and tables/benches at the back. A small trap door leads to the basement with construction tools, material and a stockpile of firewood.

The loft above has two sleeping areas separated by a curtain – one for BCMC custodians and the other for guests. There are some foam pads that are strapped together and can be used as sleeping pads. The outhouse is at the back.

The hut also has a good collection of books and games that we enjoyed over the weekend. I especially liked the 100th-anniversary issue of “The Mountaineer,” which had articles on BCMC history and a selection of trip reports from 1907-2007.

Although I have stayed in a couple of huts before on climbing trips, it was my first time with family and friends. Everyone was happy, and the cabin was much better than what they had expected.

Gaurav appreciated the effort that BCMC had put in building the trail and the hut. Also, the fact that BCMC had thought of everything the guests would need for a comfortable stay and had made an arrangement for it. As simple as providing buckets to fetch water from the lake.

My favourite part – reading on my kindle at night next to the stove.

Watersprite Lake

We had some chai and snacks once we settled in, and then Gaurav and I went to the lake to get some water. From the cabin, it’s a short hike to the lake. The water was still, and it was amazing to see the reflection of the Watersprite Tower in the lake.

The next day, as the weather improved, we could see the rich turquoise colour of the lake.

Watersprite Lake - Demon Peak — Watersprite Lake – Demon Peak in the background

We did a short hike to the campsite on the other side of the lake. Camping here is free and first-come, first-serve. There were more tents compared to the previous night, and more people were coming in.

I was fascinated by the Watersprite Tower, so I hiked around a bit to see options to get up this peak. It seemed accessible from the back but looked much more committing than a hike or easy scramble. Not for today. Around lunch, we made our way back to the hut.

Once we got back, I realized there is a well-marked trail from the lake to Demon Peak. It would have made for a good hike on our second day.

Later, we got back to the lake in the evening and again at night. It was a good night for stargazing. We even got to see the reflection of some stars in the lake.

The next day, we got up a bit early and left the hut after breakfast. It took us about three and half hours to get back to the trailhead. The trailhead was a lot more busy compared to Friday afternoon.

Overall, it was a fun trip with family and friends. The Watersprite Lake is beautiful, and the hut is amazing. I think I will have a hard time convincing Kavya to stay in a tent on our next backcountry camping trip.