The last four days were amazing. It is still up for debate that they ever existed. Luckily, a two hour car ride home after four days of hiking and playing in the snow without a shower is pretty good evidence. Livin’ the dream life.
So it happened, on Tuesday morning, after a quick breakfast, a two hour drive, an epic go-pro dance off and a ceremonial shot of Buffalo Hunt. The twelve of us strapped skins on our skis, our packs on our backs and set off on a 2,000 vertical foot, 4.5 mile hike from the Camp Hale trailhead to the Jackal Hut. Jackal Hut is one of the 30 back country huts belonging to the 10th Mountain Division. It resides at a lofty 11,660 ft and has excellent views of several 14ers, the Climax Mine and some gorgeous sunrises and sunsets.
We arrived exhausted with aching backs and sore legs, but our spirits lifted when the sun started to set.
The 10th Mountain Division, based at Camp Hale during WWII, was trained how to hike, climb, ski and survive in the harsh mountain terrain. Then they shipped out to fight in the mountains in Italy, in some of the worst conditions soldiers experienced. Most of the original 10th division were not originally service members, but ski bums and back country junkies employed by the military for their outdoor skills. In 1980, a veteran names Fritz Benedict handful of volunteers got together to re-create the hut system that the soldiers used for training here in the Rockies. Today, we use them as back country huts, cozy cabins from which we can enjoy some great hikes, make some good turns and maybe best of all, take in the view. 
A great place to drink coffee and cuddle with friends!
It was also an excellent location for some homemade ski jumps and yummy birthday shots!
Cheese plate #1,546,789, or part of the reason my pack weighed 48 pounds (lets not leave out the box of wine, 3 pounds of bacon and the birthday cake).
Birthday dance-off with snow-a-ritas!
Bros hangin’ on the poop deck.
Skins hangin’ on the drying rack.
Jonjon, showing us some extreme shovel sledding!
Our gray jay buddy! 
Ian, spearheading the bacon and epic oatmeal fiesta…
..right before the mid-morning siesta. 
And then we had another fun afternoon of jumps and smiles!
The definition of happiness as Jeanne and I perfect the art of shovel sledding! Ski boots or slippers? That is the real question. Unanimously, it was slippers.
Broom jumping, right before Dave broke the broom with a karate ski kick.
After some awesome, sunny days full of dancing, singing, sledding, skiing, laughing, some insane eating, birthday celebrations, napping, reading, meeting new friends and generally enjoying our lives (some cat-like, some explorer-like), we woke up to some fresh powder and prepped our gear for a snowy descent back home.
Starting the hike out by tromping through some powder.
The skiing (and riding) was glorious on the way down.
The garbage barge arrives!
Jon and Ian, packed in and ready for the journey back to civilization. Jon is ready for a shower. But maybe we’ll stop at the Crazy Mountain Brewery in Edwards first…
And to quote our dear friend Katie Sou, “Ain’t no party like a hut trip party ’cause a hut trip party don’t end.”
and_the_cat 
[…] last few weeks have been a whirlwind. From hut trips to marathons and a constant battle with various ailments, I am finally getting things under […]