With a group of friends (both old and new), Lisa and I hiked 6.8 miles and 2800 feet up to Margy's Hut - one of the 10th Mountain Division huts scattered between Vail and Aspen. We spent two nights in the hut with 12 other folks, dining on great food and enjoying wood-fired heat and solar powered lighting. On Sunday, some of us hiked up to Mt. Yeckel, others took to sledding!
Roy and Carlos getting ready
Howard and Tory
Robyn and crew getting ready
Hitting the trail
Carlos and Shawn prepare for the hike
Howard hooks up his sled
Brian and Lonny, hitting the trail
Carlos, Tory, Roy, and Susan
Taking a break for lunch halfway up the trail
Lisa takes a second to relax her legs
Lisa, Brian, and Carlos
Roy arrives at the hut
Lisa measures the depth of the snow - about 3 feet deep!
Close to the hut, the trail meanders through an open field
We finally stumble onto the hut - 6.8 miles and 2800 feet up from the trailhead
The solar storage system panel at the hut
The view from the hut
A curious fox visits the hut
The fox - searching for snacks...
The Williams Mountains southeast of the hut
The sun hits the trees above the hut
Castle Peak (left) and the Elk Mountains at sunrise
Sunrise outside the hut
Above the hut
It stank to high heaven, but the view from the outhouse was quite nice
Robyn out for a morning stroll
Jay and Shaun
Doug and Tory pumping water
Lonny and Lisa examining maps
Lisa, Doug, Shaun, and Brian - enjoying the fire
Waiting for breakfast
Brian and Tory
The upstairs bedroom
The view from the hut
Jay and Susan
Doug and Robyn examine a fresh bucket of snow in the melting pot...
...that nearly overflowed the pot
View from the hut
Prepping to hike and sled
Brian, gearing up for a hike up nearby Mt. Yeckel
Lonny
The group From left to right: Joy, Roy, Lonny, Jay, Doug, Carlos Brian, Susan, Howard, Tory, Brian, Lisa, Robyn, and Shaun
Howard and the spectacular view from Yeckel
The Maroon Bells and Aspen Highlands
Brian, Jay, Howard, and Carlos
Doug ready for another run
Roy, Lonny, Jay, Robyn, and Carlos and the fake summit of Yeckel
Carlos, Howard, Brian, and Jay
Carlos, Brian, Robyn, and Jay
Joy and Doug
Shaun, flattening out some of the bumps on the sled run
Joy on the sled
Shaun and Brian
Brian
Joy, after a wipeout
Brian - sledding
Brian - sledding
The back of the Sawatch range surrounding Mt. of the Holy Cross
The Elk Range from Mt. Yeckel
Brian on the summit of Mt. Yeckel
Tory on the summit of Mt. Yeckel
The Elk Range above Aspen from Mt. Yeckel
Howard and Lonny...getting friendly
A Gray Jay, looking for food near the hut
Roy napping after the hike
Robyn, Lonny, and Lisa playing Gin
Scrabble and Hearts
Icicles from the hut
The solar array on Margy's Hut
Robyn, Lonny, Brian, Brian, Roy, and Jay
The hut and the view
Jay, Robyn, Howard, and Roy
Shaun packs snow for the melting pot
Sunset from the hut
Jay and Shaun
The view from the hut window
Tory, Susan, and Carlos
Robyn and Lisa
The Williams Mountains at sunset
The outhouse
Brian and Joy enjoying the sunset
Tory and Shawn enjoying the sunset
Howard, relaxing with a margarita
Lisa
Brian and Lisa doing dishes
Carlos, Robyn, and Lonny
Brian and Lisa (and Robyn in the background)
Lonny
Jay, preparing for the hike down
Preparing for the hike out
Robyn
Prepping for the hike out
Lisa
Doug, Tory, Susan, and Brian
Brian
Lisa and Brian
Tory and Susan
Lisa
The group - back at the trailhead Left to Right: Robyn, Jay, Doug, Roy, Brian, Tory, Joy, Susan, Howard, Shawn, Carlos, Brian, Lisa, Lonny
