A Weekend at High Cabin

Alex and I have had our eye on High Cabin since we first explored Mount Cardigan last winter. It's located two miles up and sits a 1/2 mile from the summit. Back in the beginning of October Alex surprised me and  had booked a weekend at High Cabin. He had gotten one of the last open weekends for the winter as it generally books up very early. Initially I was concerned... some of the concerns being, temperature inside the cabin at night and our ability to carry in everything we needed, including wood! When we visited the cabin last winter we were able to duck in as the previous guests had left the door unlocked upon their departure. Recalling that it was toasty warm even on a frigid day,we figured we would survive! There was also some wood there (we assumed the group didn't use everything they brought) as well as some pots and pans & dishes. The cabin has a carry in carry out policy for everything you bring, I guess people choose to leave some things, too many things in my opinion!

So, our research and preparations ensued. My concerns quickly turned to excitement. One of our big preps was making a sled to carry up the wood and other supplies in. We looked online and learned how to make a pulk.

Saidie approved, and so did we. We put this thing through the wringer getting up there and back and it stayed in one piece. We used 1/2" PVC pipe and if we ever use it again we'll swap it out for 3/4" or 1" for a little more rigidity.

We arrived at Cardigan Lodge on Friday afternoon. Side note: Alex and I stayed at the lodge last year and had the best experience. Even if you are coming up to hike for the day you are welcome to go in the lodge, they have a small supply store to purchase any last minute items you may need for your hike, fill your water bottles, grab a snack etc.  Anyways, we checked in, got the combo for the door and for the propane in case we needed another tank and asked where we picked up the wood. The gentleman described it being under the deck on the side of the cabin, but that the box inside the cabin should be full. Wait, WHAT? There is wood already there? YES. This is something that AMC has yet to update on their website and something that reservations failed to tell us. A huge win for us because in hindsight, I'm not sure we would have made it!

We still used the sled to carry up our hiking boots, a box of wine, a pot and a pan. We set off for the cabin around 3:30 and with our two mile journey ahead of us, we expected to arrive at 5:30. We were wrong. While the sled glided effortlessly over flat terrain, figuring out how to move the sled over tricky terrain and getting it up steep parts was challenging and time consuming. I didn't remember the rocky parts of the trail, and that's probably because the snow pack was maybe, triple last year? I think we were working with a good base of 7"? and that might even be generous!

And so, we were still on the trail at dark. Some parts were too steep to skin up and resulted in carrying the skis. Alex did an amazing job hauling the sled up. I helped out where I could pushing it with my pole from the back (at least I like to think I was helping). We had been on this trail before so knew where we were going which helped ease my nerves as dark hit. The cabin is not difficult to navigate to, but there's just something about the darkness...

We struggled, we fought but worked together and made it to High Cabin just before 7pm. Alex quickly got the fire going, I got some water boiling and made us hot chocolate with peppermint schnapps.

 

I was so glad we had enough water to drink and cook with that night. Melting snow for water is not something I would have had the patience for after our journey there.

 

The cabin got so warm and cozy. We relaxed, drank wine, had a delicious meal and played cards. We have tried quite a few dehydrated meals and different brands. Mountian House has some great meals but this was our first time trying Backpatker's Pantry. Their Kathmandu Curry was a winner and one we will definitely buy again.

A new purchase since our last hut trip were a pair of Baffin Base Camp Booties. On our previous trip we brought our slippers that had a hard bottom, we wanted something a little lighter and more flexible to pack better. We also didn't want to break the bank. They seem very durable and while not a hard bottom they are tough enough to go outside in. They kept my feet super warm. I do wish they compressed down more to pack better. Alex used a compression sack with them and said it worked great.

The cabin has 12 wooden bunks with mattress pads. We doubled up on the pads which actually made sleeping very comfortable! The cabin stayed warm for most of the night, almost too warm. It did get chilly in the cabin in the early morning but it was manageable. At the warmest the cabin got up to 70 degrees and the coldest was around 50 in the morning.

 

In the morning we did a few chores including melting snow for water. We were hopeful the nearby stream would be running as ones about a 1/2 mile down the mountain were... but this one was frozen. Melting snow was time consuming as all the snow had debris in it from the trees. We had to melt and then filter. Luckily there was a coffee filter there, a little torn up so we put a paper towel in the and it worked just fine.

Later that morning we put on our hiking boots and micro spikes and headed  partway down the trail where we met friends coming up, David and Crew!

We went back to the cabin, grabbed our skis and went for a run down the Alexandria Ski Trail and skinned back up the Holt trail. Check out a movie David made of our run! The lack of snow was definitely a disappointment, but what's new on the East Coast. As we were almost back to the top we met up with Kristen, Bob and Sarah who were just arriving. 

We headed back to the cabin and got settled in. Everyone was so happy with the accommodations! That night we had a delicious pasta dinner. Drank lots. Played cards. Told ghost stories and had the best evening around the table in-front of the hot wood stove.

Alex and I saved a real breakfast for Sunday morning when everyone was there. We brought some Canadian bacon and pre-cooked bacon we had at home, as well as a dozen eggs cracked and stored in one of our Alex Bottles. This worked perfectly! Because you can open the bottle in the middle we wouldn't have to worry that cleaning it out would be difficult. The Alex Bottle was on Kickstarter and I learned about them through Protect Our Winters Instagram account, a cool company and definitely worth checking out. I get lots of compliments on mine! 

After breakfast we headed out to the summit of Mount Cardigan via Hurricane Gap Trail that runs next to the cabin. A quick 1/2 mile up led us to 360 degree views. It was unseasonably warm for January and a relatively calm day.

After some photos with the selfie stick we headed back down the side of the peak, which was the trail we thought we came up on. With a few wrong turns and back tracks we eventually found our way back to the cabin (good thing we had a map!). It just reminded me that even if your think your going out for a short hike up and back on the same trail, always good to be prepared.

After a quick clean of the cabin it was time to head back down to reality. We had a fun run down the Alexandria trail and back to Cardigan Lodge. The snow was actually better than the day before as it softened up a little bit with the warmer temps. Alex had what I hope was a fun run with the sled! It did some barrel rolls and we had to strap the gear back on, but only once.

We all had such a positive experience for our first time at High Cabin and talked about making it an annual weekend. Until next time High Cabin!

McNamara Hut

McNamara hut is part of the 10th Mountain Division Hut System. It sits at 10,360', is nestled in a small opening between surrounding pine trees & is 5 miles in from the nearest point of "civilization". It is an amazing place in the middle of no where, as I imagine all of the huts in this system are. 

A few years ago I can recall reading an article on the 10th Mountian Division Hut System and thinking "wow how cool is that." At that time I probably didn't  know what skins or touring bindings were, or what 30 liters meant in relation to a backpack. I also didn't have the slightest idea that going to one of those huts was a realty for me. Actually, just prior to our vacation to Aspen I still didn't think going to one of these huts was a reality. As I mentioned in a previous post I began doing some research and realizing that this was actually something that was doable for us!

A lot of our prep work started at home and we packed all our necessary supplies from back east (packs, sleeping bag, some food supplies) We did some final preparations the day before and had everything packed and ready to go by morning of. 

In My Pack:   (weighing in at 18 pounds)
Shovel
Probe
Down Jacket
Heavy wool socks
Ski Socks
Leggings
Long sleeve tech shirt
Slippers
Goggles
Ski Gloves
Headlamp
Sleeping Bag 
First Aid Kit
Rain cover for pack
3 L of water; 2 in Nalgene bottle and 1 in Platypus clipped to the outside of my pack
Jerky
Sandwich
Wine
Wine glass
Dehydrated meal
Instant oatmeal
Cliffbars (3)
Honeystingers (2)
Simple face wipes
Utensils
*Alex carried most of these core items in his pack as well, but carried the map, compass, cheese and sausage and some BarkThins for dessert (these were such a good find,  the dark chocolate coconut with almonds was delish and hit the spot for the sugar craving after dinner)

Wearing:
Shell (for the first mile, then strapped it to the outside of my pack)
Lightweight base-layer (see my 5 on Friday post!)
Beacon
Sunglasses
Buff
Light gloves
Insulated ski pants
Compression Smart Wool Socks
Tape on my heels (Breathable medical tape works great for us as a preventative measure. When we did our 1st skin in Aspen we both noticed some "hot spots" and had no issues for the trek up to the hut)
Ski Boots
Skis with touring bindings and skins

*The reason that I took the time to write the above out is when I am preparing for trips like this I am often uncertain of what to pack & what to wear! From my packed items I used just about everything. I had some leftover Honeystingers and cliff bars but that is to be expected. The thick wool socks, while bulky, were nice to put on at the hut at the end of the day. I always get nervous with my insulated ski pants while skinning, I never felt overheated with the vents open. *

Now, we were all set and ready to go! To start our journey we got dropped off at the upper parking lot or the "skier drop off" on the Hunter Creek Trail. This shortens the journey by about a mile. It can be difficult to navigate to, but we felt it would be worth it. With excitement and just in awe of the beauty and our surroundings we started off on the trail. We crossed the 10th Mountain Division Bridge, just as the directions said that we would. On the other side none of the trails has been broken yet, so we stopped to figure out which way to go. Between reading the directions  from the 10th mtn. website (they are pretty detailed) pulling out the compass and looking at the map, nothing was adding up. It actually took us little while, a few arguments & some choice words to realize that we had just backtracked and the directions, of course, start from the trail head, not the upper parking lot. Once everything made sense again, and we were back to where we got dropped off ( a 1/2 a mile later) we began the directions from there, and with a few spot checks as we got going, we were now headed off in the right direction. It took me a good 10 minutes to recover from being angry that we had gone the wrong way, but finally I could get back to the feeling of amazement. The feeling of adventure, the feeling of absolute serenity and being surrounded by such beauty and extreme peacefulness. This. was. amazing.

We had perfect weather for our hike in. Clearing skies that eventually turned to blue. The sun illuminated every snow flake that had fallen on the ground and made it sparkle. We continued up the first section of the trail, a winding wide cut road that lead us to the first clearing or meadow, the Lenado Gulch. 

 

 

 After passing through Lenado Gulch you come to another much larger clearing with some hills, Van Horn Park. We could see that some had skied down here not too long ago.

 

 

 

We has been trailing a gentleman from the start and we could see him about 100 yards ahead of us when we entered the park. In the photo above it looks as though the trail goes up hill, but it actually winds left. At this point we took out the map, read the directions, and I actually used the compass in the iphone that gives latitude and longitude as well. Using the coordinates we were able to pinpoint our location on the map and know that we were headed in the right direction. A good peace of mind. The trail was broken before us, but I could see in this area how it would be tricky to know where to go if you were breaking the trail. As we continued through the park we met some skiers coming down from the hut. They had told us that they got a foot of snow up there last night and the skiing at Bald Knob was great. One of their team was also hauling a sled down, which left us with a really nice packed trail the rest of the way. When we got to the top of Van Horn park we took a break for lunch. Turkey, avocado, spinach, hummus wraps which I made that morning. 

 

 

The snow was so deep on the side of the trail you would sink in up to your knees. We packed down an area and sat on our skis. The sun was directly facing us it felt so warm and relaxing. It was hard to get motivated to move again, but knowing we had a little less than 2 miles remaining we were eager to get to our destination. We entered back into the woods for the remainder of the trip. Again, feeling so stunned with the amazing beauty of everything around us. 

About a mile after lunch I started to feel really fatigued. Every step now felt like a chore, my pack was uncomfortable and I just wasn't feeling great. I thought my lunch would have carried me through a little further than that! But with some water and energy chews I started feeling better. 

Our trek up using Fit Bit Surge and uploaded to Strava

Now, with the anticipation of being less than a mile away I began getting really excited, every step was no longer a chore but now enjoyable again. Around every bend I wondered if I would see the hut or smell the wood burning stove. The anticipation and excitement really kept me going. And then, finally! You really can't see the hut until you are there. We saw a clearing, and when we got to the edge of the clearing to the left was the hut. In was the most picture perfect setting you could imagine.

Sitting on the deck with the gentleman who we had trailed the whole way up, Pat. Funny enough he was from Newburyport. He had started a fire and gotten some water melting. We were the second ones to arrive.

 

Exploring the hut was fun. You walk into a large first floor with two large dining tables on the right, a wood stove and seating area on the left. Straight in, the kitchen with a bedroom off o the left, and a back door to the woodshed and outhouse. Upstairs is a large sleeping area with a small bedroom as well which we were lucky to get!

Around the hut is a great area for back country skiing called Bald Knob. An open field with trees scattered through out that is a mile skin to the top from the hut. From the research that I did before hand I thought that we would actually be looking at the field you ski in from the deck, but you look at the tree covered face of the mountain.

Looking at the map, we were also confused because it looked like you would have to leave the hut, hike a mile up, ski down then hike back up to come back down the other side to get back to the hut. Nothing that I read prior stated this was the case. After some debate, we figured the only way to know was to find out for ourselves. We were SO tired, but we couldn't come all this way and actually not ski! We headed out and having known that the people in the hut  the night before us had skied it, followed their tracks. Again, I could see how this would be a tricky area to navigate if you were breaking trail.

 I made it .75 miles, just to the top of the field before the trail dips back into the trees to the peak of Bald Knob. I was so tired, it was getting dark and I just wanted to SKI. After skinning up we now knew that it was just a run down and it would take us right back to the hut. We snapped a few pictures and enjoyed some fresh powder.

 We got back to the hut just at dark & two others had arrived on snowshoe, we would be the only ones at the hut for the night. Alex and I relaxed by the wood stove, drank lots of wine, ate lots of cheese, had a meal of chili (just add hot water!) and were in bed by 8:30pm. 

 In the morning we took our time getting up, did some chores around the hut, read some books that are kept at the hut and had a breakfast of instant oatmeal and instant coffee (I love my coffee and love it strong, and Starbucks Via actually hits the spot)

It was so hard to leave this beautiful place, I would have loved to stay all day and for another night, but Alex actually had to catch a flight to Boston that afternoon. It took us about an hour and a half to get back down. We had beautiful weather yet again. 

When we got back to the bottom we called high mountain Taxi to pick us up when we got there and it was no problem. No doubt this hut trip was a highlight of our vacation in Aspen, and maybe one of my favorite adventures to date. 

5 Takeaways form this trip:
1. If you are looking for a first time hut trip, McNamara hut is perfect
2. Pre taping heels (or any blister prone area) can be a savior

3. Don't be afraid to take up a little space in your pack with some indulgences (wine or a wine glass), they can make all the difference in your stay
4. Know how to read a map and use a compass
5. Study your route, take notes, be as prepared as you can!


Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed. I am looking forward to another hut trip this weekend, but this time on the east coast!