Colorado Hut-to-Hut Adventure – Day 4 – 9/11/12 – 10thMountain Hut – 7 Miles
Another night of light sleep, a little too warm (who wouldhave thought we’d be hot out here?) and I woke with the now-familiarheadache. Getting up and moving aroundwas the best medicine (along with ibuprofen and a cup of hot tea). And there is something about brushing yourteeth and spitting over the railing of a log cabin while looking at a sprawlingmountain range that just makes you feel better, too.
Today we’re moving on to a new location. The hut departure checklist includes washingall dishes, restocking firewood, closing all the windows, turning off the solarpanel switches, sweeping the floors. This is for all those people who want to see Jeff sweeping – yes, he is multi-talented.
We also had to pack out all of our trash, including emptywater jugs. 
By 8:00 a.m. we began our brisk walk down the steep, dusty,loose-rock jeep road that can be used to reach Jackal Hut…but I wonder if evena jeep can handle some parts of it. Iwas glad to have my hiking poles for four miles of this. 
Walking through the paint-by-number landscape that we hadbeen looking down upon for the past two days
Camp Hale on the valley floor
Yellow aspens
Can’t get enough
At the bottom we intersected the main road at Camp Hale,about two miles from where Mike’s van was parked. Here he mysteriously told us to wait, that hehad tried to arrange some more “hut fairy” magic. He ducked behind a small grove of trees andemerged with that mischievous grin and a bicycle! He pedaled the remaining two miles to the vanwhile we chilled by the roadside and then retrieved us to begin the next phaseof our adventures.
Mike the “hut fairy” is always coming up with a new surprise
At a picnic table we repackaged food for our next segment,four days total. “Real” food includedfrozen chicken, frozen ground beef patties, fresh veggies and pasta and ricefor suppers. We were all loadeddown. Jeff even carried a two-pound bagof frozen peas. My favorite was abutter-flavored spray that we used on nearly everything.After packing up, we drove back over the Tennessee Pass toaccess another section of the Colorado Trail/CDT. Our hike started off in a light drizzle. Mike gave instructions to us scavenger huntstyle, just enough clues at a time to get us to the next landmark. This isn’t really my style – I like to havethe map and all directions ahead of time – so I had to trusthim. That trust waivered a few timesover the course of the next few days, but since I’m writing this from thecomfort of home you know it all turned out okay. And yes, I hope to go hiking with Mike in thefuture if he’ll let me.
Soon we turned off of the CDT onto across-country ski trail marked with blue diamond blazes nailed onto tree trunks20+ feet high. Every ski trail is markedwith blue diamonds so it’s really important to have good compass skills whencross-country skiing here (which I will never do) so that you know where youare. Mike made us work to find the markers,sometimes quite a distance apart and hard to spot. The terrain varied from wide open to boulderfields to sparse tall trees and a couple of unnamed ponds. What does it look like when the snow ispacked six feet high and the lakes are covered up?
Lily Lake
Where to now?
Clouds increasing, time to hurry up
We climbed some short, steep sections that would becalled molehills back home but were hard for me with a loaded pack. Although my legs didn’t feel quite as heavyas the previous day, my lungs were still bursting, but I worked to suck itup. I only whimpered once or twice. I don’t think the one-mile-per-hour speedbarrier was broken.
Are we there yet? Bymid- afternoon the drizzle turned to rain. Everyone picked up the pace, not really knowing how much farther it wasto 10th Mountain Hut. Therain turned to sleet as we crossed a large meadow…and is that a building Isee?? I put my head back down, breathinghard and teeth chattering, and powered myself across the open terrain…uphill,of course.
At last, at last, thank God Almighty, we’re here at last! And other people are here, too, three folks from Washington,D.C., John, Joni and their young adult son Charlie, and they have a fire goingin the wood stove! Hurray! Such a great feeling, to get out of cold wetclothes and sit down by a warm fire. I officiallylove hut hiking.
Time to split some wood for the fire 
What has Cathy found?
Now Mike can relax and settle inThe next couple of hours were spent chatting with our hutmates, swapping hiking stories. Weprepared our supper in separate groups – ours was a delicious one-pot creationof peppers, rice, ground beef and the last of our baby spinach, plus PepperidgeFarm cookies for dessert. Our newfriends made ‘smores in the wood stove and shared roasted marshmallows with us –YUM. During a round of Scrabble with theD.C. folks I realized that they play often, unlike me, because I gotcreamed. Meeting and hanging out withnew peeps was great fun and more indicative of the hut experience during thewinter months. I wonder how much I wouldlike a hut filled to capacity day after day. Yes, I am spoiled.
Cathy and I settled into one of the side bunk rooms at 10:00p.m. bedtime, a late night for hikers after a long day. Tomorrow’s weather is not looking too good.
“Talk to God and listen to the casual replyRocky Mountain High”~John Denver
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