Members of the Kokanee Country Snowmobile Club (KCSC) and the Association of British Columbia Snowmobile Clubs (ABCSC) gathered at a location near Boundary Lake on Saturday to dedicate the new Terry Watt Memorial Cabin.
Started in the late summer last year, it was recently finished and named for the longtime club member, who died in February 2010, while he and others were planning the project. Watt was a strong advocate for the sport, raising awareness of the local club right up to the provincial level.
“He opened so many doors and so many lines of communication,” said KCSC president Dean Bala.
The cabin’s construction was a joint effort between KCSC — of which three members, J.D. McClure, Dave Kriese and Darryl Ringheim, were the project’s driving force — ABCSC and Recreation Sites and Trails BC (a branch of the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and the Arts).
The cabin has a kitchen area and loft for sleeping, with a wood supply ready to use, allowing for both recreation and safety.
“If you ever had a break-down, you could spend the night,” said Bala.
And while the snowmobile club operates it on behalf of its members, the cabin is unlocked and available for use by other outdoor enthusiasts, such as skiers, whom the club would like to have pay the $50 membership fee, which goes to support this and other projects.
“We would really appreciate it if people using it came to us and got a membership,” said Bala.
That also goes for any snowmobilers who want to join the club’s 80 members — numbers have dropped a bit in recent years, but Bala can see the group getting bigger, if only a little.
“I don’t think we ever want to be a Revelstoke or Valemount,” Bala said. “You’re not going to see a thousand snowmobilers here on the weekend.”
For more information on the Kokanee Country Snowmobile Club, contact Dean Bala at 250-402-3903.