Hut Trip

I have wanted to do a hut trip since last year, when i was unable to go on one. This year JP took the initiative to get one going and reserved our spot at the Fritz Hut of the Benedict Huts. I was so excited... and we still had 1.5 months before we started the journey. The day finally came on February 26th as we took care of last minute packing and drove to the trail head which was just outside aspen city limits. The journey began on a beautiful sunny Colorado day.

This hut is not particularly known for its access to backcountry skiing so JP and I hauled a sled and an inner tube up the 5 mile trek in fresh snow we received two days prior. Others, Jeff, Mollie, and Zach, had and/or rented ski gear. JP nor I had the necessary ski gear so we snowshoed.

The climb was a bit more difficult than I had anticipated, but fun and exciting none the less. Cruising during some portions while struggling at others. It took somewhere around 5 hours before we arrived at the hut (pictured above). The last half mile before the hut was a brutal uphill battle that separated the team. As we met back up at the hut we all rejoiced and celebrated by relaxing. Getting to know the hut and all its amenities was the first task. Getting a fire going to warm up the hut and melt snow for water were among the first tasks. It such a good feeling being away from it all, no worries other than when we were going to eat and who was going to go outside to collect snow for melting. After settling in and grabbing a snack to replenish the many calories burned we headed outside to explore around the cabins. The bathroom, or toilet, was amazing (pictured right). Two large glass walls for one to ponder the vastness of the Rocky Mountains. Beautiful! There was so much snow we could practically walk onto the roof of the cabin, but there was another 5-6 feet of snow on the roof so we had to cut out steps. We wanted to watch the sunset from atop the roof to get the best view. We succeeded.

The pine marten pictured in the middle was a local and showed his face several times. Notes inside of the cabin made us aware of his nature of eating any food he can get his paws on, thus we had to take certain precautions when storing food in the cold room.

As you may imagine the sledding was a lot! of fun. we built kickers into the endless powder and had hours and hours of fun.

A hut trip or any variation of being in the middle of nowhere with a few good friends has become a new hobby. summer/winter, colorado/wisconsin, boys/girls... it does not matter, much fun will be had. I cannot wait for future trips into the wilderness!