Hey everyone,

Last weekend, we stayed at the Maxey Cabin in Hyalite Canyon. My cousins drove in from Cheyenne the day before to join us. After a quick lunch at Red Tractor Pizza in town, we headed to the trailhead. The ski to the cabin is short—about 0.6 miles—so we used a pulk sled and made a few trips to haul all our gear up.

Custer Gallatin National Forest Maxey Cabin: skiing into the cabNPS / Jacob W. Frank

After settling in and getting the drinks flowing, two skiers arrived at the cabin around 6:30 p.m. That’s when I realized I had marked the wrong dates on the calendar—our reservation was for March, not February. Since February has exactly four weeks, the dates lined up perfectly, leading to the mix-up. The other group had the cabin reserved for the entire weekend, but they kindly offered to return in the morning so we’d have time to pack up. That meant we had two days' worth of food and alcohol to finish in just one night!

The next morning, we woke up to 4–5 inches of fresh snow. I took some time to capture photos of the cabin blanketed in white. The cabin consists of three structures: two for sleeping and one for wood storage. Only one of the sleeping cabins has a wood stove, so if you're staying in the unheated room, you either need a very warm sleeping bag or should limit the group to the four beds in the main cabin

Custer Gallatin National Forest Maxey Cabin: morning after a snoNPS / Jacob W. Frank Custer Gallatin National Forest Maxey Cabin: morning after a snoNPS / Jacob W. Frank Custer Gallatin National Forest Maxey Cabin: morning after a snoNPS / Jacob W. Frank Custer Gallatin National Forest Maxey Cabin: wood shed with fresNPS / Jacob W. Frank Custer Gallatin National Forest Maxey Cabin: after a snow stormNPS / Jacob W. Frank Custer Gallatin National Forest Maxey Cabin: views from the deckNPS / Jacob W. Frank Custer Gallatin National Forest Maxey Cabin: group photoNPS / Jacob W. Frank

While the girls were making breakfast, the boys made a quick trip to ski the first load of gear back to the car. After breakfast, we cleaned up the cabin, took some photos of the interior, and skied the rest of the gear back to the car.

Custer Gallatin National Forest Maxey Cabin: inside viewsNPS / Jacob W. Frank Custer Gallatin National Forest Maxey Cabin: inside views extraNPS / Jacob W. Frank

The views outside the cabin are stunning, especially with a fresh blanket of snow. Most of the ski to the cabin winds through the trees, but a few meadows open up along the way, offering incredible views of the canyon.

Custer Gallatin National Forest Maxey Cabin: skiers on the trailNPS / Jacob W. Frank Custer Gallatin National Forest Maxey Cabin: views along the traNPS / Jacob W. Frank Custer Gallatin National Forest Maxey Cabin: morning views fromNPS / Jacob W. Frank Custer Gallatin National Forest Maxey Cabin: skiers in the meadoNPS / Jacob W. Frank

After grabbing our day packs from the car, we set out for Palisade Falls. From the Maxey Cabin Trailhead, it’s just under 2.5 miles one way to the base of the falls.

Custer Gallatin National Forest Maxey Cabin: skiing into the cabNPS / Jacob W. Frank Custer Gallatin National Forest Maxey Cabin: skiing to PalisadeNPS / Jacob W. Frank Custer Gallatin National Forest Maxey Cabin: Palisade FallsNPS / Jacob W. Frank

The weather was perfect—until we reached the falls, where the wind suddenly picked up. We only stayed for a short while before retreating into the trees, where we found shelter from the wind and stopped for lunch before skiing back to the car. On the way back, we made one last pass by the cabin to wave goodbye.

Custer Gallatin National Forest Maxey Cabin: skiers heading backNPS / Jacob W. Frank Custer Gallatin National Forest Maxey Cabin: trail from the cabiNPS / Jacob W. Frank Custer Gallatin National Forest Maxey Cabin: views from the meadNPS / Jacob W. Frank

Trip Notes: Our trip to Maxey Cabin marked our eighth stay in a cabin within Custer Gallatin National Forest. While the views from the cabin are fantastic, it was our least favorite for a group stay. Compared to other cabins, it felt a bit cramped and lacked many basic supplies, like a cook stove and utensils. That said, the wood "spoons" I carved to eat our chili actually worked pretty well!