This was our first trip to a cabin in Custer Gallatin National Forest and Toklat's first cabin trip. Normally each winter we like to plan a weekend down at Old Faithful with friends, but the cost of doing that has gotten more and more expensive in recent years. Corrie knew about these cabins and suggested this as a change of pace. You have to book the cabins like 6 months in advance, so by the time it rolled around we almost forget that we booked it. There are a few ways to reach with cabin, but we decided to go the short way which is a hiking trail. That doesn't always guarantee an easy ski, which it wasn't in places. Near the trailhead I actually took my skis off because it was steep, icy, and full of rocks. Once you get out from under the trees, the trail improved and not too much longer we arrived at the cabin.

20220115-jwf-0553NPS / Jacob W. Frank

Since it was only a couple miles in, we decided to drop our packs and explore around the area. There seemed to be a few trails and roads to choose from, so we decided to head north west from the cabin on a trail, so that we could save the longer ski along the road for tomorrow. The trail climbed out of the forest and for a short while we had some great views back towards the Absarokas and Paradise Valley.

20220115-jwf-0564NPS / Jacob W. Frank 20220115-jwf-0572NPS / Jacob W. Frank

The next morning we woke up, ate breakfast, and headed out to explore.

20220116-jwf-0590NPS / Jacob W. Frank 20220116-jwf-0593NPS / Jacob W. Frank 20220116-jwf-0600NPS / Jacob W. Frank

This time we skied along the road to the northeast of the cabin. When you first leave the cabin there is a short descent before you steadily climb for a few miles.

20220116-jwf-0613NPS / Jacob W. Frank 20220116-jwf-0621NPS / Jacob W. Frank 20220116-jwf-0626NPS / Jacob W. Frank 20220116-jwf-0630NPS / Jacob W. Frank 20220116-jwf-0639NPS / Jacob W. Frank

Once we got to what appeared to be the top, we decided to ski back to the cabin because our friends could only stay one night. Best thing about skiing uphill all day usually means that you have to ski back downhill. It was a lot of fun to see Toklat get after it.

20220116-jwf-0646NPS / Jacob W. Frank
20220116-jwf-0680NPS / Jacob W. Frank

Back at the cabin we grabbed a group shot, and then hung out on the porch the rest of the afternoon having drinks in the sun.

20220116-jwf-0606NPS / Jacob W. Frank 20220116-jwf-0702NPS / Jacob W. Frank 20220116-jwf-0715NPS / Jacob W. Frank 20220116-jwf-0722NPS / Jacob W. Frank 20220116-jwf-0732NPS / Jacob W. Frank

The next morning we enjoyed the peachy sunrise before taking care of cabin chores and then heading back to the trailhead.

20220117-jwf-0738NPS / Jacob W. Frank 20220117-jwf-0747NPS / Jacob W. Frank 20220117-jwf-0755NPS / Jacob W. Frank 20220117-jwf-0761NPS / Jacob W. Frank

The trail was in a little better shape on the ski out since it was still early and we were able to crust cruise.

20220117-jwf-0775NPS / Jacob W. Frank 20220117-jwf-0780NPS / Jacob W. Frank

Trip notes: This cabin was very similar to many of the other cabins that we have stayed. Small, one room, decent for two people and cramped for four. I also think the forest is planning some work on the cabin so they will be taking it offline for a bit. Hopefully once they are done with the rehab, the cabin will be in better shape than when we visited. It wasn't terrible, but it definitely needed some TLC. Overall fun trip any time you go to a cabin!