VOC HUTS

Wonderful trail and wonderful hut!  Madeleine S 

Hut is in great condition and tidy. There was some wood chips on the ground when we got in but this was easily swept up. We went on a Wednesday and didn't see a soul on the trail.
Myself and three friends did the trail via the VOC trail (Roe Creek / Winter trail). We had heard reports that the bridge had been decommissioned but when we arrived there was a beautiful sturdy bridge there. However there was a large water bar just in front of it and I wasn't confident that my car would make it so we parked at the decommission spot. Beautiful trail and it was easy to route find. Bugs were bad but I've definitely been in worse. Lots of flies and horseflies on the way up and then very determined mosquitoes at the hut. They died down at nightfall though and we had some beautiful star watching and saw two meteorites!! We loved all the reading materials in the hut and enjoyed reading the binder about the history of the Brew 3 - a fun and hilarious read. Thanks!
Aug. 16, 2023

Great trip  Sasha Soda 

Parked before the bridge at 700m in elevation on the roe creek road as it was too hard to drive any further after that with a Chevy volt 4wd all the other larger cars were also parked there too you would (jeeps would also have a hard time continuing they would have to be extremely jacked). FSR was easy to navigate, forest parts were abit overgrown from the flowers but its all good. For the most part trail was clear and easy to follow, hut and outhouse was clean when we got there and when we left. Lots of bugs out from sunrise to sunset then the bugs disappear at dark. Warm weather sleeping bag was fine outside in a tent by the hut. Saw a mouse by the outside bench area. There is a small patch of snow left by the hut. ponds near by if you need to fill your bottles. Hike up to brew peak was hard to navigate at times and kinda sketchy at parts but manageable. Its worth the extra short hike up.
Aug. 6, 2023

Trail is becoming overgrown  Anna Parrott 

The trail is becoming a bit overgrown in some parts and some of the markers have fallen off the trees or rocks. The hut is in good condition however the door to the firewood hut is broken and open. We didn’t use any of the stoves however those were a bit dirty and looked quite rundown. I also believe the stairs to the first bathroom were slightly broken. Other than that it was an amazing stay and lovely hut, thanks so much for the opportunity to hike this beautiful mountain!
Aug. 2, 2023

Hike up from Roe Creek for 1 night in the hut  Dennis K 

We hiked up from Roe Creek on July 22nd. We parked just before the bridge that crosses Roe Creek. There is a massive wash out, a few high-clearance vehicles managed a bit further. 2.4km in, there man-made obstructions and no way to carry on with any vehicle.
From the parking, it took us 4h to the hut. We hiked through meadows of over 2m tall fireweed. Plenty of streams and water along the way. The trail is in great condition. Sunny and hot. A few small patches of snow around the hut. Great time for a swim in the lake at the hut.
10 people stayed in the hut for the night with another 3 in a tent. Several other groups camped at Brew Lake and visited the hut during the day, evening and morning.
Observations: Hut is in great condition, everything in working order. The door of the wood shed seems to have been blown open at the hinges already a while back.
The next day, it took us 2h45m down to the parking, cloudy but hot.
July 23, 2023

great condition  Else Bosman 

The trail and hut were in great condition. Plenty of water and some snow left for drinking. The only thing in dire shape was the door to the woodshed. The door was dissociated from the hinges and is haging on with some makeshift contraption. it would take two new hinges and some screws to reattach the door to the shed.
July 19, 2023

Highly recommended  Sylvie S. 

July 14 - no snow on the trail. We parker right past the "heavily deactivated road" at Roe Creek. Half of the hike is on a forest service road with no shade. There is enough streams along the way to fill up your water bottle. The hut is simple and clean. We had the hut for ourselves. Loved it!!! The booking system is great!Outside toilet is nice and clean.

Beautiful views. Highly recommended as well as a swim in the lake! Thank you!
July 14, 2023

Perfect weather, perfect weekend at Brew Hut  Erin R 

Awesome weekend! Parked just before the washed out bridge (summer parking) and hiked in from there. A little over 4.5h to the hut (with heavy packs at a very relaxed pace with a few breaks). Trail very well marked/defined until the lake. Snow and occasional postholing started a little bit above the lake, but as a previous poster from the past week had mentioned, microspikes weren't too helpful. Spotwx forecast was spot on: shorts/t-shirts during the day and spent the evening in puffies and toques. Prob went down to 5 degree C overnight, as forecasted. Only saw a few other day hikers on the way up and there was just one other group at the hut, which was incredible for the July long weekend. The Brew Hut poo hut was very clean/tidy and not too nasty ... everyone's been following the instructions to remain seated for the full performance I guess. Re: wood - didn't pay much attention.. my guess is woodshed is 1/4-1/2 full. Loved reading through the VOC journals at the hut! Thanks VOC!
July 4, 2023

Bears in the area!  Jacob Aragones 

While approaching the roe creek bridge on the descent, I saw a large black bear and cub run into the woods heading south on the east side of the creek. Luckily she wasn't feeling aggressive. Also noticed a significant amount of fresh/ up to a week old bear scat along the entirety of the logging road to the trail head so it might be possible that they've been in the area for a while/may stick around. Just a heads up for those planning on going up.

Trail was muddy after leaving the forest but fine, snow started a couple hundred meters up the trail from the lake, maybe a 1ft deep at the most but melting fast. Certain areas could certainly use some love and maybe a chainsaw/Digging. No significant bugs to speak of, but I was only up in the area for a day.
June 28, 2023

Brew Hut thru Row Creek Trail  Jonathan F. 

Well marked all the way to the brew lake, trail condition is great. 2-3 feet deep of snow after the lake. No need for crampons or snowshoes. The hut itself is in good condition too.
June 25, 2023

It was great!!  Addy Burry 

The hut was in good order and mostly tidy. We loved the trip - so thank you!!
June 24, 2023

Trail in good shape, lots of snow hanging around  Morgan C 

Quick trip up to the hut after work. 4hours up, 3hours down from Roe bridge parking to hut, 10km ~1000m gain. Lots of snow after the lower lake, basically all the way to the hut but made it without snowshoes and minor posthole-ing. Hut is in good shape and trail is well marked. Lots and lots of mosquitos.
June 23, 2023

Trail in good condition, snow from just before the lake  Jill d 

Hut was in great condition. Snow starting from just before the lake. Fairly slush made for a little slow going but not too bad, spikes and snowshoes not of much help (some in the group used each and didn’t make much difference). To be clear, the bridge that was removed awhile back has indeed been put back in. I found lots of conflicting information about this so thought I’d say it here so everyone actually knows! Many park just before the bridge as the washout is huge, but passable if you really wanted to. Not much point since the washouts continue after the bridge anyway.
June 18, 2023

Shoulder Season Weekend - Hut Reconnaissance  Elias Bowman 

8 of us went up, 8 of us came back. Trail had no real issues, we could drive to the trail head before the bridge (49.990584, -123.190993). Big water bar just before the bridge - not drivable, and following the bridge the path is also not drivable. Water bars were essentially impassable, followed by big logs blocking the path. Turn for trailhead from road was easy to miss. Trail was snow free until the small pond, then snow was on and off, until hitting the alpine meadow where snow, lots of it. Snowshoes or skis ;) were essential. We observed no issues with the trail, no avy exposure. Took us 4ish hours up and 3 hours down with faf.

Hut was in good condition - One of the lower windows was broken, but we fixed it with some brute force. Issue with the chimney was documented and will be reported back to the VOC. Woodshed door wasn't closing great. Coleman stove is working, but out of gas. Sign on the door was worn down/hard to read.

Summited Keg and spring skiing was awesome!
May 28, 2023

Brew Mar 3  Graeme B 

Everything in good working order at the hut. Took about 5.5 hrs to get in on Friday March 3rd from the cat skiing parking. Wood shed was about 1/4 full and inside shelves were fully stocked with wood when I left.

Great skiing this weekend!
March 3, 2023

Lots of snow, hut is in good shape  Bryce M 

Stayed at the hut from Feb 28-March 3. The hike into the hut was very difficult due to all the recent snow fall. It took our group 3.5 hours from the Roe FSR to get in. In some wind protected areas, it snowed upwards of another 90cm during our time at the hut.
Everything is in good condition at the hut. Solar panel is clean and the LED light worked great. The wood shed was completely buried in snow, and we had to use our avalanche probes to find it. We dug it out twice during our stay. We restocked Brew Hut with fire wood, but the fire wood supply is down to less than 1/4. So please be conservative when using the wood stove.
We did not use the Coleman cooking stove, so cannot comment if it's working or not. We left lots of drinking water in the big pots and kindling ready for the next group. Avalanche conditions were a bit spicy, but overall, a great experience. We paid through the website.
March 3, 2023

Backcountry ski touring feb 20-22nd  Joshua Derasp 

A buddy and I headed to the hut from the 20th to 22nd. Parked 1km past winter parking lot (must be able to pull over far enough to let ski cat by 15ft or so!). This is about where the snow line is. trail up is long, easy to follow and took about 6 hrs (we are reasonably fast skinners). only 3 or 4 open creek crossings left at this point. On the way up, around 1300m, you skin past the bottom of a 30 ish degree face, lots of evidence of old wet and loose avy debris on these faces. On the way back out we did see some cracking/evidence of instability on these faces as well. no other signs of instability during out time up there. Hut was in good shape. Hard to tell how much wood is left because wood shed is covered in snow! Currently wood is pack to the bottom of the wood shed door. no issues with the wood stove and didn't use the gas stove. Left 20 dollars in the can for my buddy who's not a VOC member!
Feb. 20, 2023

All good  Peter O'Connor 

Hut was clean, trail was icy at parts but doable, snow was fairly crusty for most of it. Paid $30 to the cash box. https://photos.app.goo.gl/BX9qfA8KNBNoPeTG9

Also if you're looking for volunteers I live in Squamish and would be happy to help out with occasional wood hauling/maintenance/etc. I've been up to the hut three times now and I think it's great.
Jan. 30, 2023

Great Trip to Brew (Jan 27th - 29th)  Dylan Chernick 

About 5 Creek Crossings that required taking the skis off on the way up and down from Brew. Took about 9 hours to get to the hut from the Winter Parking lot with around 1 hour of combined breaks. Took about 4 hours to get down.

Hut was is good condition. There are about 5 or 6 blue mats that can be used for seating or sleeping. Had to dig out the woodshed to access wood to replenish the indoor stock. Do not rely on the stove, we tried to turn it on and couldn't get it to work. As mentioned previously, fireplace releases smoke at first but there is a string on the handle to tie and keep the fireplace shut while in use.
Jan. 29, 2023

Open Creek Crossings  Ben Koby 

10+ open creek crossings on roe creek fsr. Sledded to switchback with logs and skinned from there. Just under a 7 hour slog to hut. 10-20 cms of new snow fell from Sunday to Tuesday. Significant wind transport in the alpine with very poor visibility.
Jan. 17, 2023

Did not make it to hut on Jan 14  Sheena Liu 

On the schedule there are 15 people but actually it's only my husband and me that day. The group of 8 did not go to hut on Jan 13. The ice was melting during the day time on the road which made it very hard to walk. Before enter into the woods, there are total about 30 creek to cross and about 15+ was open.
the snow was pretty deep since there are no one before us for several days. My husband and me are not strong hikers so the deep snow made us not reached the tree line before sunset. After keeping hiking for 3hrs we decided to go back.
Jan. 14, 2023

Good trip to Brew Hut!  Brad Hayes 

7 hours in, 4.5 hours out. The logging road had many creek crossings that were fully open. We had to take skis off 10-12 times each way. Not much snow down low, but snow base was ample starting at around 1200m. Rained to 1200m, snow afterwards. Faint skin track from logging road to hut. Nice run down after leaving hut. Good snow from 1700m to 1400m.

Hut was in good shape! Lovely new outhouse (compared to my experience of a decade ago). Two things to note. The LED light for the hut was very dim, probably about 1/4 the light of a headlamp, so we used our headlamps. Also, the wood stove released quite a bit of smoke into the cabin every time we opened the door. Not sure why this was. This got better the longer we used the stove, but still released some smoke. Perhaps snow blocking the chimney but not sure.
Jan. 7, 2023

Deep snow / pack out your garbage!  Vincent Hanlon 

It took us about 7.5 hrs to the hut. Thin coverage near the parking lot, deep snow up high (40 cm in the most recent storm). There are 5-10 open creeks past the Roe Creek bridge that mean taking skis off a lot. Past the road, the route is not always obvious and trail markers are often hidden by snow or branches (plus blizzard). The way out took around 5 hours because we had to break trail downhill. We fixed the opening mechanism of a window at the hut and carried out a big pile of garbage and abandoned gear. Highlights included a quarter of a bag of pasta, a dog leash, and a 9 lb, 4-person Coleman summer tent. While we appreciated the additional exercise, there is really no reason to leave anything in the hut that you carried up!
Dec. 30, 2022

Love this zone - pack out your garbage/food!  Megan O'Brien 

Long ski in from the cat parking area - it took our group ~7.5 hours, breaking trail the entire way. Some of the water ditches still have exposed rock & water, making for a sporty ski out. Hut is generally in great shape. Some garbage and food was left by a previous group. Don't be noodles! Pack it out. We (sort of) got the stove running, but were very glad to have a couple backup stoves. Thanks to the VOC for this lovely little mountain haven!
Dec. 11, 2022

Amazing alpine coverage  Declan Taylor 

Dec 2-4, set a skin track through lots of unconsolidated snow. Trail was sharky below the lake but we skinned/skied from cars at the Powder Mountain lot. Coverage above the lake was fabulous and skiing was amazing.
Dec. 4, 2022

Only take Roe Creek Trail for access  Payton Pan 

Brew Lake trail is nealry impassable in the current winter conditions. Roe Creek trail is provides easy access to the hut, but even the winter parking now requires a sporty vehicle (drive over snow and ice). Forest service road is closed beyond this point, blocked by large rock mounds and felled trees. The hut is tidy and in good condition, plenty of wood, and the outhouse is well. Not quite enough snow to ski down fully from hut to parking if you care for your skis, but getting there. Brew Lake is frozen.
Nov. 11, 2022

Squished Winter Workhike  Sonia Landwehr 

Had one 4wd drive and a 2wd car shuttle 21 VOCers and their packs to the bridge but all others parked at the winter parking resulting in an 8+ hour approach. By Nov 7 2wd should not attempt further than the winter parking. In the end there were 26 people at the hut overnight which made for some creative sleeping solutions, I think we accidentally broke the record (this is a friendly reminder to check if there are any people signed up on the registration calendar before making hard plans, even though the hut cannot be reserved, 21 people is a good indicator that it will be packed). Got lots of snow overnight, it's definitely not a hikeable approach anymore so we were grateful for our snowshoes. Window has been fixed as of Oct 29, and the woodshed is now FULL as we chopped a lot that had been up there. That being said, please still use firewood sparingly. As mentioned in the previous report, hut could be less cluttered, I think a previous VOC trip left some non-perishable food items.
Nov. 5, 2022

Be prepared for winter!  Chris Simeoni 

Used the winter access . 5km from the hut you will reach snow. Once you hit the lake your in 1-3 feet of snow. Overnight the wind was howling and snowing. One of the windows doesn't shut properly in the cabin. Someone has rigged up a old sleeping bag preventing heat loss that works ok for the time being.I didn't want to risk breaking the mechanism on the window frame trying to fix it in tough conditions so I left it be. Bring extra clothes as it got chilly Overnight. The cabin was in worse shape than my last visit, seems people are leaving more random shit /items. I brought a few down to start the de-clutter. My nicest memory from previous visits were how "sterile",clean and clutter free it felt, compared to other cabins/huts. The wood storage shed is about half full. I'd suggest anyone with any free space in their bag to bring wood. Even 1 log per person would create a surplus at some point. That aside it's still a magical place . Thankyou VOC . Trip pics on insta @simi604
Oct. 25, 2022

Post Iron Chef  Lucy Luo 

Water
We were very surprised that there was no water at Brew, both of the lakes are completely dry. The nearest liquid water was in the upper basin above Brew Lake, about 700 or 800m back down the trail (here). There's an old snow patch about 400m from the hut that we used as well, but neither option is nearly as convenient as the lakes right near the hut. When we left there was about a cm of snow on the ground, so not enough snow near the hut for melting, though perhaps that will change this week?

Window
While up there we noticed that the window on the ground floor of the hut, furthest from the entrance, was not closing properly. The mechanism wasn't working so when we left we disconnected it from the window to be able to close it as much as possible, but the issue was that the mechanism was not working when it was still attached to the window (photo shared with upcoming workhike leaders. )
Oct. 24, 2022

Great Conditions at the Hut, Trail a bit Overgrown  Lara de Beer 

The hut was in great condition when we arrived. However the trail condition was a bit challenging at times. We opted to take the route from the Brew Creek FSR and found the signage/trail markers were not the best in sections of the trail and often had to stop, re-assess and find the trail. Three sections stand out the most which were:
1) Trail marker indicating when to turn off the FSR road onto the trail. We continued up the FSR for 300 m before realizing we were going the wrong way. The turn off on the left side was a quite easy to miss.
2) The boulder fields section was hard to navigate if we were on the trial. Cairns helped as there was minimal flagging tape or trail markers around.
3) Coming down we struggled to find the route out around Brew Lake as there were many "paths" made by people walking but we got a little turned around trying to find the way we took in to take out.
All in all still a 10/10 experience on the trail and at the hut.
Oct. 1, 2022

Beautiful day! Road is definitely rough but doable.  Tara Ryan 

It was a gorgeous hot September day! We packed to heavy so the trail seemed harder than it is. Definitely really dry and slippery at points from the loose dirt. Brew lake was in perfect shape for a brisk cool off. It was around 4.5 hours to the hut. We got a little off trail a few times but managed to find our way back to it with little detours. Some places are poorly marked but luckily it’s a hike with wifi to get back on track.
The hut was in great shape and we tidied up the books, shelves and wood piles too. It was fun to read some of the log book entries. Sounds like people have had quite the adventures finding the place esp in the winter!
Sept. 28, 2022

Hut in good condition  Jacob Fagan 

Hiked up via Roe Creek.
Roe creek deactivation limits access. We got half way up the deactivated road after the bridge in a truck, but didnt push on. Another truck got up to the first turn off. Need a high clearance 4x4 for the deactivated road. SUV wouldn't make it.
Trail up from Roe creek was in good condition up to the lake. Not the clearest route up to the 2nd lake and hut, but pretty difficult to get too lost.
Hut in great condition and quiet for a Saturday night. Great trip!
Sept. 24, 2022

Great condition! Sept 17-18  Aline Isabelle 

We had to park at the road deactivation sign right before the Roe Creek bridge and walk the rest of the way up the logging road to the trailhead, but the access to the trailhead was very well marked. The rest of the trail looked like it was newly cleared and freshly marked from a work hike that happened about a week ago (based on the logbook in the hut). No bugs this time of year, maybe because the wind was howling enough to rattle the roof.
Sept. 18, 2022

Hut is in great condition  Sourena B. 

The hut is in excellent condition, with a decent amount of firewood, and the outhouse is in good condition. However, both the FSR to access the trailhead and some parts of the actual trail or significantly overgrown.
Sept. 3, 2022

Party Boys  Nicole C 

The hut was amazing. The only issue we had was young men coming up with every kind of alcohol and drug to party. They were not happy when we wanted to sleep.
Aug. 28, 2022

What a Beauty!  Russell Joel 

Drove past the deactivation sign on Roe Creek FSR and made it to the log Barriers at the start of R200 , Dodge Ram 1500 with lift, not recommended but doable. 30 big cross ditches in total. Shorter wheel base high clearance 4x4 would be better or just walk and save your bumpers.
We Gave the Hut a clean upand did a temporary fix on the front step. The views from the hut are amazing. Pretty buggy up there but to be expected.
Thanks for the great stay.
Aug. 17, 2022

July 22-23, 2022  Morgan Cooper 

Driving:
Chance Creek FSR to Roe Creek Bridge: passable in 2WD with care, no problem in my 2009 Subaru Forester
Past Roe Creek Bridge: we did not attempt as it is full of water bars and has been deactivated right before the beautiful bridge (sigh...) but we did see a Toyota Forerunner that made it all the way to the cutblock

Hiking: TH is very very easy to miss (we did), a future work hike to clear underbrush and mark the right turn off the FSR. Trail is otherwise in OK condition, some minor bushwacking needed below treeline. Mosquitos were atrocious on the FSR and through the trees, better in the alpine. Didn't make it to the hut, lake is still mostly frozen. Patches of snow on the trail are minor before the lake, snow melt and creek runoff creates muddy and wet patches.
July 22, 2022