AMC Lonesome Lake Caretaker Claudine Aoun.
And then there was one.
When the autumn leaves fall and the last of the hut Croo heads home, that’s when the caretakers arrive. While Croos work in groups to service AMC’s High Mountain Huts during the White Mountains’ peak hiking and tourist season, caretakers go solo.
Three AMC huts stay open on a self-service basis through the winter: Carter Notch, Lonesome Lake, and Zealand Falls. Six caretakers, two per hut, alternate weeks in the backcountry, watching over their hut and assisting guests with information and a bunk for the night. While huts are equipped with wood-burning stoves, caretakers typically only run them between 4 pm and lights out. That means temperatures indoors, especially when there aren’t other bodies around, hover in the 30s. There’s limited cell service and electricity, and typically only one water source — either an outdoor well or augered hole in a frozen lake.
Outsiders’ views of the job range from mystified to romanticized. Who would want to spend their days in relative isolation, shivering cold? On the other hand, who hasn’t dreamed of leaving it all behind, at least temporarily, for a cabin in the woods? When AMC asked its followers on social media for their questions about winter caretaking, one stood out: Does it ever get lonely?
Armed with your queries, I met with all six caretakers, including a night at the fittingly named Lonesome Lake Hut. I came expecting conversations about seeking solitude, chopping firewood, and convening with nature.
I was wrong.
While isolation comes with the territory, caretakers were quick to point out it wasn’t the defining feature. For every silent night, there was a weekend of full bed counts.
“I pretty much had full counts every weekend. And then I consistently had a few people every night during the week. So, I pretty much was never alone,” said Zealand Falls caretaker Emily Long.
Instead, caretakers spoke of the connections made with their guests, and each other. At a meeting with Huts Manager Bethany Taylor, the energy was loose, the group excited to be together again. Half of them were coming down from the mountains, the others returning from a week off. Taylor and Carter Notch Caretaker Peter Boyer chatted about a hut check (when caretakers inspect the huts that are closed for the season) with “perfect weather.” Morgan Haldeman showed off pictures of a roommate’s Maine coon cat with an unnatural ability to open doors. Claudine Aoun, my host at Lonesome Lake, was about to trade a headlamp for the bright lights of New York City.
They also spoke about the guest interactions that struck a chord that week, and throughout the season. Some, like a school group that loudly played off-key acoustic guitar, were light. Others ran deeper.
“Two guests independently showed up at the same time… an older gentleman and a younger boy. We all talked through the night about where we were in life, our different experiences, and where we were going,” said Aoun.
Winter in the White Mountain backcountry isn’t for everyone. The conditions are unpredictable. The potential for danger is undeniable. That’s attracted a special cohort to the trails.
“The fact that people are choosing to use their free time to go out and have this experience and be really engaged with it even when it’s not necessarily fun or relaxing all the time has been really awesome. I’ve had guests from seven years old to in their 80s,” says Long.
“Everyone who comes through the door is an interesting person with a world behind them. Sometimes the hut is a great place to share that,” adds Boyer.
Come see for yourself. Stand on the frozen waters of Lonesome Lake – far below Franconia Ridge, high above seemingly everything else. When you get chilly, head to the hut and swap a dollar bill for a hot cup of tea or cocoa. If the caretaker is in, say hello. Don’t be surprised if you’re alone. Don’t be surprised if you’re not.
Read on for more from the caretaking team and watch “Ask a Winter Caretaker” for their answers to questions from AMC community members like you.
The view of Franconia Ridge from Lonesome Lake. Francis Curtis, AMC Photo Contest.
AMC Lonesome Lake Hut. Caretakers only burn wood in their stoves for a few hours a day. Photo by Emily Davenport.
Emily Long on working alone
I think, for me, it’s kind of the independence and the empowerment of working alone. Having to problem solve and figure things out for yourself and feeling like by the end of the season I’m one of the people who knows this space the best and knows how everything works and can fix a lot of the things that are going on and help other people make use of this space. I think that’s been a really big growing opportunity for me, and I really love that.
Peter Boyer on wildlife encounters
They are few and far between, but they’re really meaningful… Even when I am the only one in the [Hut] — it could be days on end where I’m the only one in. One of the reasons I don’t feel lonely usually is that I just know there’s lots of life out there too. All these little animals living their lives, surviving under the snow, above the snow, in the trees. Somehow, they do it. And many of them are on their own, just like us caretakers. Knowing that they’re out there is kind of a comfort and that helps sustain.
Morgan Haldeman on a memorable guest experience
This was around Thanksgiving time. I had a full hut. Everybody’s doing Friendsgiving. It was great, but people kept trying to feed me, which is fine. That’s very sweet of them. But we do bring up our own food, and so I’m trying very hard to use my own food. But every time I look away and I come back, there is a plate of food on my little desk. I’m stuffed. I’m dying. My stomach is done with this, like I cannot move.
There’s a couple of gentlemen sitting at a table, and they’ve been cooking different meals every night. They’d been there a couple nights. And that night they made pineapple upside down cake. Well, they’re sitting there playing cards with another couple of guys and they call me over. I think that they’re about to hand me cards because I kind of wasn’t doing anything at that point. I was like ‘Oh, they’re inviting me to play the game.’ So, I put my hand out.
Rather than a deck of cards, and this is after my blanket announcement of ‘please stop feeding me,’ I get a piece of pineapple upside down cake placed in my open palm. Just right in my open palm. I had no say in this matter and that was just a very memorable experience. It was delicious. Those guys were awesome.
Rachel Craig on the location
The best part of the job is the location. Lonesome Lake is a magical place. Just getting to wake up, and look out, and see Franconia Ridge every single day is pretty breathtaking. And then being able to see that same awe in people that hike up every day makes it even greater.
Peter Boyer on the caretaking experience
I gave [my cousin] a call from the rock. The one place we get solid cell reception is on a big rock out in this boulder field. And I was talking to my cousin. Just describing how amazing this experience is and how I love it so much. He said, ‘I just realized, you’re having this wilderness immersion experience.’ I said, ‘Of course, that’s exactly what it is.’ But there’s so much more to it too.