Maybe useful as a guide to someone?
Bonnington Traverse Packing List
General Info / Logistics
The Bonnington Traverse is a 3+ Hut (Huckleberry Hut Optional) Traverse between Castlegar & Nelson.
Based on the hut bookings our rough schedule will be:
Traverse Day -> Ski Tour around hut day -> Traverse Day -> Ski Tour around hut -> Traverse
Ideally, getting on the trailhead for 9am latest on March 5th would be ideal. So start the shuttling process around 8ish. Having done (and bailed) on this traverse in the past, we should aim to be packed up and skinning around 8am on the traverse days.
We need 2 vehicles to shuttle the 5 of us. One parked at the Bombi Summit and one parked at Puerto Rico rd. They’re about a 40-min drive apart so we can drop a vehicle off on the morning of the 5th and squeeze in for the short drive to the other lot.
Food)
Food List
5x Dehydrated Meals | 10-15x Oatmeal Packets | 3-5x Ramen Noodle Packets |
6x lunch (I’m doing PB&Js) | 15x Bars / dehydrated mango | Trail Mix / Roni’s / Cheese |
5x Instant Coffee / Tea Bags | Chocolate (Key) | Popcorn Kernels / oil |
2x Mickeys of Gin | Lime Mio-for Gin + hot water |
Gear
This traverse is pretty straight-forward and doesn’t require anything more than your standard touring kit. I’ll be attempting to pack everything in my 42L Osprey Pack. It has a detachable lid so it can be made into a smaller pack for the hut-day touring rips. If you’re bringing a larger (60+L pack) I’d recommend bringing a smaller daypack that can roll up or fit inside.
I’ll be bringing the list below, but obviously you-do-you!
Gear List
Clothes/Hut | Touring | Electronics/Extra |
3x Socks / Gitch | Sunglasses | FA kit (1-2 between the group) |
1x Toque | Beacon,Probe, Shovel | Inreach (I can bring) |
1x Buff | Goggles | Phone or navigational tool |
1x Hat | Up Gloves, Down gloves | GoPro |
1x Down Jacket | Leather work gloves (key for chopping wood etc) | Speaker (I’ve got a small-one) |
1x Insulated Mid-Layer/vest | Multi-tool | Hut Booties |
1x Ski Shell | Repair Kit + Spare hardware for bindings / board | Radios (I’ve got 3x BCA -Kelvin has 2… so we got 5) |
1x Soft Shell or light shell | Lip-Balm | Headlamps |
1x Sleeping Bag (-4 – -10) | Water Bottle | Portable Charger |
1x Sleeping Pad | Repair Tape | Candles /Tea Lights |
2x Base Layers (one to ski with 1 to chill in the hut with) | Ski Straps | Lighter |
Deodorant, toothbrush/paste | Skin Wax | Toilet Paper/wet wipes/ Hand sani (1 roll each?) |
Ear Plugs (might be critical) | Tensor wrap/knee sleeves Snowpants | Book / Journal |
scoobs/mushies/xtra curriculars | Massage ball for feet? | |
Newspaper / Fire-starter | 1-2x for the group rags for cooking/cleaning | |
Mug (coffee and tea) w/ a lid for on-the-go is nice | Backup Stove (mentioned previously) |
** Pack with the thought that we may need to spend a night outside if we can’t find a hut/emergency situation comes up
**All huts will come stocked with a deck of cards, dice, games etc.
** All Huts come stocked with cutlery and plates etc. However, if you bring your own bowl and utensil then we almost have no washing / cleanup to do. Between the dehydrated meal (eat in the bag) if we bring a bowl, spork, and mug each, then we will be all covered.
Rough Schedule
The days aren’t massive but if there’s a lot of trail breaking and navigation they can take a long time.
Day 1: Revy -> Nelson
Day 2: Bombi Summit -> Grassy Hut
Distance: 9km Elevation Gain: 720m Elevation Loss: 40m
Day 3: Grassy Hut -> Steed Hut
Distance: 9km Elevation Gain: 760m Elevation Loss: 580m
Day 4: Tour around Steed Hut
Day 5: Steed Hut -> Copper Hut
Distance: 11km Elevation Gain: 500m Elevation Loss: 630m
Day 6: Tour around Copper Hut
Day 7: Copper Hut -> Puerto Rico Road -> Revelstoke
Distance: 16km Elevation Gain: 510m Elevation Loss: 1560m
What a wonderful trip, thank you Tyler, it was breathtaking. I loved the music, the video and especially the commentary 🥰 Nannie Jay
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