Cabin Fever: Wake Up Where the Action is at These Five Backcountry Getaways

AMC Outdoors, January/February 2006

There's only one way to be the first person down the mountain: sleep there. No electricity? No running water? No problem. When it comes to fresh powder, it's all about location. Here are five cabins that give new meaning to the word rustic--priced to accommodate the most pennywise backcountry adventurer--but situated in places so jaw-droppingly beautiful they'll make you feel like royalty.

Starks Nest, Mad River Glen, Vt.

Backpackers hiking Vermont's 270-mile Long Trail have nicknamed Starks Nest- a one-room cabin perched atop 3,662-foot General Stark Mountain the "Taj Mahal" after its spiffy renovation a few years back. Screens in the windows and a fireplace were among the mentionable improvements lacking in the predominantly open-air shelters scattered along this long-distance trail. But this isn't the only reason Starks feels like sacred ground. The view from the deck- of the Green Mountains, the Adirondacks, and the Whites- is often palatial. And in case weather temporarily inhibits your sight line, there's sufficient corroborating evidence attesting to the beauty of this area: trail journals going back five years to peruse; a bulletin board where ski and backpacking information is frequently posted; and framed magazine articles hanging from the wall.

Despite the fact that this a shelter owned by the Mad River Glen Resort, there's no need for reservations or payment when staying here. You should, however, have a desire to arrive early- and with a sleeping pad. There's room for about 20 people on the floor and no way to call ahead to reserve a spot. Some strap on snowshoes and romp for a mile or two from Appalachian Gap to get here; others come up on the last chair of the ski lift (raveling the same route as the garbage buckets full of wood do every dawn). Come the following morning, it's all downhill.

Mad River Glen 802-496-3551 www.madriverglen.com Cost: free Maximum capacity: 20

Stone Hut, Mount Mansfield, Vt.

Powder hounds take note. There are two ways score one of the 153 available nights at the coveted Stone Hut near the top of Vermont's 4393-foot Mount Mansfield: win the lottery (this year, there were 150 entrants and about 30 spots awarded); or call on November 5 where the remaining spots are filled first come first serve in a matter of hours. What's so special about the Stone Hut? For starters, you- and 11 of your friends if you want to share- will be the only ones up atop of the tallest mountain in the state. Sled down Nosedive, an old downhill racing starting spot, in the afternoon. Snowshoe a mile to the Chin by moonlight after dinner. Ski fresh tracks at first light or take an old route down the mountain like Bruce Trail that looks more like an old hiking trail than a ski run. Built by the Civilian Conservation Corp in 1936, spare Stone Hut has cathedral ceilings, a wood burning stove that sits in the fireplace, and drying racks for gear. With double-paned windows, stone walls, and lots of insulation, you needn't worry about being cold. "You can practically heat the place with a candle," says Park Ranger Aaron Jacobs who helps manage reservations through Mount Mansfield State Forest.

You can ride the ski lift to the hut up until 4 pm. Otherwise, hike or skin 1.7-mile Hazelton Trail to get there. The most difficult slots to get are in January and February. Willing to roll the dice on snowfall? Book for late November where reservations are a bit easier to come by. Mount Mansfield Stowe, Vermont 802-253-4010

www.vtstateparks.com/htm/stonehut.cfm Price: $150/night Maximum Occupancy: 12 

John Rand Cabin, Mount Moosilauke, N.H.

Membership in the venerable Dartmouth Outing Club (DOC)- the oldest and largest collegiate outing club in the countryÑmay have its privileges. But you don't have to take any oaths to stay in the DOC's John Rand Cabin, one of seven such college-owned cabins scattered across New Hampshire that are open to the public. Form your own club of up to eight adventurous souls and make tracks for this spot, a half-mile from Ravine Lodge (erected in the 1930s to advance the competitive sport of skiing in the U.S.) on the east side of Mount Moosilauke, 46 miles from Hanover and, in winter, two miles in from the parking lot. Upon reaching this one-room log cabin, feel free to slip off snow-covered shoes in the vestibule as the floor (and walls) are insulated.

The five-mile Al Merrill Ski Loop is likely what brought you here and should you choose to continue along in a counter-clockwise direction on skis, you'll be graced with a winter glide that's more downhill than upÑand a series of small streams to cross. After that, pick between a number of routes that will take you- by ski or snowshoe- to the top 4,802-foot Moosilauke where unobstructed 360-degree views await, weather permitting. From here, head back to your cabin. Click on your headlamp and thaw while pouring over a copy of Woodstove, a DOC periodical featuring expedition reports and essays, and educate yourself on what other rustic cabins may find their way onto your future syllabus.

Dartmouth Outing Club www.dartmouth.edu/~doc/ (603) 646-2834 Cost: $15 per night Maximum Capacity: 8

Bryant Cabin, Bolton Valley Resort, Vt.

Swanky suites await at Vermont's Bolton Valley Ski ResortÑthat is, if you're willing to drop a few Benjamins. But who needs swanky when you can bed down surrounded by some of the sweetest high country skiing on the mountain for a fraction of the cost? Bryant Cabin tucks away in the woods 1,000 feet above the Nordic Center: a 12-by-15-foot shack with a loft that sleeps six and offers little more than a dry sink in the way of amenities. No light. No water. No outhouse. Limited cooking (more like warming) can be done atop the wood-burning stove. But when you've got 6,000 acres of backcountry skiing around you, little time will be spent indoors. You're close to Joiner Brook, the longest vertical descent in the state; "During the right conditions," says Art Herttua who works at the resort's Nordic center, it's a blast to ski.

Then there's the warm up Nordic loop almost within spitting distance that brings you full circle often inside of 30 minutes. Plus, you'll find the mother of all cross-country ski trails within striking distance: the 300-mile Catamount Trail, billed as North America's longest cross-country ski trail. And at $40 per night, Bryant Cabin lets you keep the big bucks in your pocket without dwarfing your adventure.

Bolton Valley Resort Bolton Valley, Vt. www.boltonvalley.com 802-434-3444 Cost: $40 per night; $14 trail pass Maximum Occupancy: 6

The Warming Hut, Windblown Cross-Country Ski Area, N.H.

Maid service does not come in to turn down your bed in The Warming Hut at New Hampshire's Windblown Cross-Country Ski Area. You shoulder a backpack, clip in to your skis or snowshoes, and go. Three quarters of a mile down the trail with Mount Monadnock [CK]looming in the distance and you're there: a 320-square-foot, rough pine shack where a pair of skis nailed over a green door mark the entrance. Plunk your boards down on the deck. Light up the kerosene lamps inside. Load up the wood-burning stove with logs from the wood shed. Unfurl your sleeping bag in the attached bunk house. Then pump some water into one of the cook pots and slide it over the flame of the gas stove. Pull out a packet of hot chocolate from your pack and settle in for the night. From 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 a.m., the warming hut is yours.

After that, however, you may get a knock on the door from day-trippers looking to get toasty before moving on. "If you're running around in your jammies after 9:00," says owner Al Jenks, "you're on your own." It's best to just rise, shine, and get a move on. After all, there are 25 miles of trail out there to enjoy. You can rent cross-country skis, backcountry snowshoes, or even ice cleats on the premises if conditions permit. Need to be pampered? Have your luggage brought in by snowmobile. That's living large at Windblown.

Windblown Cross-Country Ski Area New Ipswich, N.H. Rates: $50-150/night Maximum Occupancy: 6 603-878-2869 www.windblownxc.com/

Carter Notch Hut, White Mountains, N.H.

Whether or not you believe the rumors that Carter Hut is haunted, there's a certain mystique to this White Mountains winter crib. After all, the stone structure (circa 1914) is the oldest, continually used building in AMC's hut system. Tucked away beneath two 4,000-footers at 3,288 feet, Carter Hut remains encrusted in ice and swaddled in swirling snowdrift s for much of the winter. There are days when caretakers must shovel out holes in the snow to let light through the windows. Though solar panels and wind turbines power the main hut, flashlights are necessary for trips to the compost toilets and separate bunkhouse (which sleeps 40).

Take an easy snowshoe trek along the 19-mile Brook Trail- or hit five-mile Wildcat Ridge Trail for some seriously steep plummets. Skate on one of two remote lakes at 3,800 feet within a golf swing of the hut amid stands of spruce and birch. Th en join hardy souls huddled around the wood stove and listen to ghost stories about roofsteps footsteps of the late caretaker "Red Mac" MacGregor, who vowed to visit the hut in the afterlife. "It's a snowshoeing paradise," says AMC visitor services director and former hut caretaker Chris Thayer, "a quintessential winter haunt."

Appalachian Mountain Club 603-466-2727 www.outdoors.org/lodging/huts Rates: $25-$28/night Maximum Occupancy: 40