Over the weekend I participated in my very first hut trip. Along with fourteen others, I hiked around six and half miles (from 8,620 ft to 11,180) up to the Eiseman hut on Saturday morning and afternoon. Most of the trip we wore snowshoes on our feet as there is still a ton of snow up in the mountains. We managed to accomplish this strenuous hike, with large and heavy packs on our backs, in around eight hours. This includes the time we spent lost off of the trail. Thankfully we were well prepared with plenty of snacks and water, along with GPS units, two-way radios, and maps. We all arrived with no major injuries just many blisters, aches, and pains.

In each of our packs were sleeping bags, minimal extra clothing, and lots of food for dinner that night along with breakfast the following morning. After leaving the cars at 8am, we all arrived within a half hour between 3 and 3:30. After that we popped open a few celebratory beers, relaxed and tried to stretch out our painful muscles. We then prepared a great dinner, and afterward held a friendly euchre tournament with sides of whiskey and wine. It was a great way to spend the evening hours.

The following morning, after breakfast, we packed up all of our bags, cleaned up around the hut, and then started our descent back toward the cars. The hike back was mostly downhill, besides one section of strenuous hiking, and we actually managed to follow the trail the entire way this time. The scenery was beautiful as we had a couple inches of fresh snow covering everything. The trip down only took three and half hours and was pretty relaxing for the most part.