Julian Harrison Hut

Summer access: 1 full day
Winter access: rarely visited
Location: 50.52061, -123.43187
Hut fee: $10 per person per night

About Julian Harrison Hut
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About Julian Harrison Hut

Located near the northern edge of the Pemberton Icefield, this hut sits on a remote glacial outwash plain at 1725 m (built 1983). It sleeps around 15 people, and it is open to non-motorized, non-commercial users.

Overseer Mountain, Frozen Boot, and other peaks on the Pemberton Icefield are popular scrambling and mountaineering destinations from the hut. Mt. Meager, across the drainage to the north of the hut, is highly unstable and recently released one of the largest landslides in Canadian history. The area also has a large bear population.

The hut has a wood stove (winter use only) and an outhouse. Firewood should be used sparingly. Endangered whitebark pine trees surround the hut and must not be cut down for firewood. For more information, see the VOC Wiki.

How to get there

The access to this hut is long, and it can be confusing to navigate the road network, which is sometimes altered by intensive logging. As of spring 2021, the trailhead is accessed from Lillooet S FSR, which is closed to motor vehicles at km 2 from April 1 to June 15 and from September 16 to November 30 for grizzly bear conservation under the Wildlife Act. The road is also closed when high temperatures or heavy rainfall indicate high landslide risk. During winter, the road is generally covered in snow.

In summer, drive to the gate at km 23 and park. Do not block the road. Continue on foot or by bike along the Meager South Connector and use the GPS track (below) combined with satellite imagery or a recent map to navigate the logging road network toward the end of the 6C spur road at 50.5545, -123.4613. Watch out for logging traffic and operations, and beware of unstable landslide debris above the road (or in winter, avalanches). To rejoin the trail, follow the marked route toward 50.5527, -123.4562. The trail crosses the Barr Creek bridge and climbs through the forest to the hut. The total distance is 18.8 km and 1730 m elevation gain from the cars.

2021 Harrison GPS track

Last updated: Oct. 23, 2022

Conditions reports
New report
Conditions update September 2022  Chris Hood 

I hiked in on the old trail, with the trailbed essentially invisible beneath a thick growth of salmonberry and Devils Club. Lots of deadfall in the forest sections. The trail improves after the short road section and is in good shape after the new route joins in.

The hut is in great shape and is much appreciated in its present state. An extraordinary location that I hope to revisit.

The new trail is easy to follow-just needs a constructed bed in spots, but not critical.
Sept. 8, 2022

Hut, trail and road conditions all great  Katrina Strand 

We rode our bikes from 23 km gate to the trail head off of branch 6. The trail was easy to find and follow, in great shape (just a lot of bugs!). It took us about 4 hours to get to the hut. We stayed two nights at the hut and summited Overseer. A refreshing 'bath' in the river. Hut is in great shape too!
Aug. 6, 2022

June 16-17th 2022-Trail great condition  Joshua Derasp 

Bit late on the trail report but here it is.
Use this google maps as a reference https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1DhsNAPAfaXmqwjQnhCITFfD4FEE&ll=50.59060867044237%2C-123.42444939796314&z=14
Parked at the 23 km gate (note: 2 km gate is closed seasonally so check ahead of time).
followed meager south connector --> meager south fsr --> Road R01656
These FSR were in great conditions, would highly recommend biking them to significantly cut down hike time.
connector --> harrison hut trail
trails were in good conditions. Note: we missed the turn off on the way back and continued on 'Harrison Hut Trail on Logging Road'. This was also well flagged however, longer, would recommend against this approach.
snow line was patchy at 1100 m plus. consistent 1300 m onwards.
Hike in from 23 km to hut was roughly 8-9 hr at medium pace.
Hut was in great shape. Stayed 1 night.
June 16, 2022

Julian Harrison Hut Feb 11-15th  Jordan Uittenbogaard 

Hello VOC,

The hut is in excellent shape. I have no damage or repairs to report. We flew into the hut, and brought in a ton of firewood. There's plenty of wood left over and we never looked in the Home Depot nor used any wood in it, as well as 4L of white fuel with the lanterns full. There has been a few avalanches off the shoulder of Frozen Boot that will also provide ample firewood come spring/summer. We did a good clean of the hut and packed out additional garbage. People had left food, propane cylinders, and two cardboard boxes with random garbage. We saw multiple groups of sleders in the area, but we were the only ones skiing and staying in the hut. We spent countless hours reading your VOC journals and trip stories. We learned a lot about your club and appreciate all the work you do. I wish my university had a club like yours I could have been a part of. Cheers.
Feb. 17, 2022