Barnard Hut

Although managed by the 10th Mountain Division, Barnard Hut is a Braun Hut, and therefore quite different, and much smaller than a traditional 10th Mountain Hut. Barnard Hut is cozy, sleeping only eight people on a single level.

The hut is accessed from the top of Ajax Mountain, so the elevation gain is minimal. We started our ski in around 9:00 and had good weather. We made it to the hut in decent time, stopping to soak in the views along the way. We enjoyed the sun on the porch all afternoon, and the clouds began to roll in as the sun was setting.

The remaining members of our group made it just after the sun went down, and we all enjoyed a warm dinner before going to sleep. The next day, we awoke to a fox on the porch. We watched him for some time before trying to cook breakfast and realizing the fox must have stolen our Nalgene of eggs. We had put the Nalgene in the snow the previous day, so it stayed cool, but we forgot to move it into the wood storage closet that evening. The eggs were gone. The fox lingered on the outskirts of the woods and watched us search for the Nalgene for over an hour before disappearing into the forest.

We finally gave up on the eggs and decided to get on with our day. We toured up to a saddle above tree line and took in the gorgeous views before heading back to the hut for an afternoon of sledding. That evening, I spent time reading through old log books and seeing that encounters with foxes had been commonplace at this hut for decades. I felt fortunate to have shared a special moment with the majestic, wild animal - even though that trickster pulled one over on us by stealing our breakfast.