Cyril G. Wates
Canadian Alpine Journal, Vol 29, No. 2, p. 277

The hut is named for Cyril G. Wates [1883–1946] and E. Rex Gibson [1892–1957], who made early explorations in the Tonquin Valley.

This third version of the Wates-Gibson Hut was built in 1959 after two previous structures in different locations were found to be inadequate for various reasons.

There is a seasonal closure in place for caribou conservation. No access to this backcountry area is permitted between November 1 and May 15.

As of 2023, here is a seasonal closure in place for caribou conservation. No access to this backcountry area is permitted between November 1 and May 15.

John Jacob Astor.

Referenced by Cyril G. Wates [1883–1946] in 1923.

James Monroe Thorington [1895–1989] visited the region in 1924:

Moat Lake is finely situated in the eastern hollow of Tonquin Pass and sends a stream to join with a northern outflow from Amethyst Lakes; and, in an expanse of willow-covered, marshy ground, drains both to Meadow and Maccarib Creeks.

The name was “suggested by the Topographical Survey due to its proximity to the Meadows Fire Ranger Station” — the Alberta-British Columbia Boundary Commission surveyors.

Named by association with Moat Lake.

Sir Sandford Fleming FRSC KCMG (January 7, 1827 – July 22, 1915) was a Scottish Canadian engineer and inventor. Born and raised in Scotland, he emigrated to colonial Canada at the age of 18. He promoted worldwide standard time zones, a prime meridian, and use of the 24-hour clock as key elements to communicating the accurate time, all of which influenced the creation of Coordinated Universal Time.[1] He designed Canada’s first postage stamp, produced a great deal of work in the fields of land surveying and map making, engineered much of the Intercolonial Railway and the first several hundred kilometers of the Canadian Pacific Railway, and was a founding member of the Royal Society of Canada and founder of the Canadian Institute (a science organization in Toronto).

By 1871, the strategy of a railway connection was being used to bring British Columbia into federation and Fleming was offered the chief engineer post on the Canadian Pacific Railway. Although he hesitated because of the amount of work he had, in 1872 he set off with a small party to survey the route, particularly through the Rocky Mountains, finding a practicable route through the Yellowhead Pass. One of his companions, George Monro Grant wrote an account of the trip, which became a best-seller.[9] In June 1880, Fleming was dismissed by Sir Charles Tupper, with a $30,000 payoff.[8][10] It was the hardest blow of Fleming’s life, though he obtained a promise of monopoly, later revoked, on his next project, a trans-pacific telegraph cable.[8] Nevertheless, in 1884 he became a director of the Canadian Pacific Railway and was present as the last spike was driven.

Canadian Pacific Railway