Little Wild Horse and Bell Canyon

The desert calls to me throughout the year. The red rock, warm sun and isolation are hard to beat; and so I find myself in the desert several times each year. Those of you who know me, know that I almost always get rained on when I go to the desert, and this trip was no exception.

In spite of ourselves

We'll end up sittin' on a rainbow

Against all odds

Honey, we're the big door prize

We're gonna spite our noses 

Right off of our faces

There won't be nothin' but big old hearts

Dancin' in our eyes

-John Prine

We camped just outside of Goblin Valley, in the rain, and we witnessed a spectacular full rainbow that made the rain entirely worth it. When the sun came out in the morning, we decided we had better take advantage of the weather window and hike the two slot canyons we had traveled to explore, Little Wild Horse and Bell Canyon.

The canyon hike makes a perfect loop full complete with excitement and adventure. I will definitely be back to explore more canyons at a later date.

Just Fritzin' Around

Every winter, we plan an epic trip to one of the 10th Mountain Division Huts. This winter, we went to Fritz Hut.

Fritz Hut is located just outside of Aspen, Colorado - a short jaunt from home. We started our skin up at 9:00 am. The first portion of the trail is gradual and lovely. The second portion is long and steep. I was grateful to have skins on my cross country skis; without skins I would've been hiking up.

After 5 tricky miles we arrived at the hut. We quickly made a fire and began preparing appetizers. We were lucky to find an old guitar at the hut, and we enjoyed singing (poorly) and playing the guitar into the night.

The next day we woke up early and headed out to go exploring. We ventured up Bald Mountain, which was an easy skin-up and a fun ski down - especially on cross country skis. The remainder of our afternoon was spent sledding, throwing snowballs and drinking hot chocolate on the porch.

The ski down consisted of cramping legs, a powerful snowplow stance and an inevitable broken pole. I tried to ski the remainder of the downhill with only one pole, but struggled to keep my balance. I ended up walking the remaining mile and a half to the car.

Harry Gates Hut

Hut Trip Tip: When overnighting in an isolated mountain chalet beware of guests "exercising" with hatchets! 

I've never been on a winter hut trip nor had I spent any time in a 10th Mountain Hut ever, so when the opportunity to venture to Harry Gates Hut presented itself early this winter, I jumped at the opportunity!  Eight of us woke up early on December 14th and began our trek up to the hut. 

The trail climbed quickly into an aspen forest before spitting us out onto a 4-wheeling road that's used to access the hut during the summer months. We arrived at the hut in the late afternoon, cold, sore and tired! The inviting hut quickly made us feel cozy and comfortable, and we were quickly ready for cocktail hour. 

We all pitched in to whip up a delicious spaghetti dinner complete with garlic bread and salad. Surprisingly we even had some leftovers. We spent the night playing games, sharing stories, laughing and stoking the fire. Just before bed we decided to head outside and celebrate our journey by lighting sparklers and dancing around in the moonlight (it wasn't nearly as weird as I just made it sound)! 

In the morning, we made a huge breakfast consisting of eggs, bacon, veggies and bagels before cleaning up the hut and beginning our hike/ski/snowshoe back down to our cars. It was an adventure for sure that already has us all thinking about which hut to venture to next winter!