Hut-to-hut adventures: Ski, eat, sleep. Repeat
Casual skiers and advanced thrill seekers are following new trails
The world’s most famous hut-to-hut trail system also is one of the most difficult. The Haute Route traverses the Swiss Alps and requires great fitness and back-country experience. The trip has become a pilgrimage for hardcore adventurers, so popular that the huts are jammed nightly, but it remains daunting to more casual fans of winter recreation.
The good news is that the Haute Route spawned a global interest in hut-to-hut winter travel, and today, trail networks with rustic accommodations along the way can be found wherever there is snow, including several in the United States.
The concept and appeal are simple: You spend a day outdoors in the wilderness getting exercise and enjoying magnificent surroundings, then have shelter without having to return to a car or civilization, staying multiple days at one hut while doing day trips, or touring from point A to point B using multiple huts along the way.
Several winter-focused hut networks have been built around the country in recent decades, the newest being a user-friendly system in Maine. The Maine Huts & Trails system was meant for both average cross-country skiers using classic gear (the relatively simple skinny skis used on groomed tracks) and those on snowshoes, which require little more expertise than knowing how to walk. More adventurous guests can do longer daily distances and pack heavy loads, while those seeking a cushier winter getaway can opt for less mileage and have their gear transported by snowmobile.
The system is well-mapped and easy to navigate, but private guides and scheduled tours are offered as options. The network also is available to mountain bikers, hikers and canoeists in summer.
“Thanks to the Appalachian Mountain Club and Maine Huts & Trails, you now have the unique opportunity to spend the day in the pristine Maine wilderness skiing through snowed-over pines on well-marked, often groomed trails. Then you get to spend the night at spanking new huts or revamped historic sporting camps where a tasty dinner is served,” says Steve Jermanok, founder of Boston-based boutique travel agency ActiveTravels.com.
Maine Huts & Trails is a non-profit organization that promotes peoplepowered recreation in the state’s Western Mountain region. Assembling the land, permissions and funding took decades, and the first hut, Poplar, was built in 2008. The newest is Stratton Brook, 2 years old, and today the system includes four back-country huts connected by 80 miles of trail, with eight more huts planned.
The huts are very comfy compared with some of their brethren around the world, with a log-cabin aesthetic, rustic hand-hewn and cozy leather furniture, heat, power and hot water. They were built to be eco-conscious, using solar power, wind turbines and Biomass wood furnaces. Accommodations include a mix of private and communal bunk rooms, all heated (to 50 degrees). Guests provide their own sleeping bags, pillow cases and towels. The huts are described as off the grid, but the only real impact of this is the absence of Wi-Fi. (Many parts of the trail network have cell service.)
Each hut has a live-in staff and serves a communal dinner at 6 to overnight guests. Partnerships with local farms and purveyors provide sustainably raised meats, fresh vegetables and grains, mostly Maine-produced. Craft beers, cider and wines are extra but reasonably priced, while all meals are included in nightly rates. Day users of the ski trail network, which is free and open to the public, can stop in and purchase lunch or snacks.
With its well-marked trails, no avalanche danger and huts that are positively posh compared with those in many other places, Maine Huts & Trails is a perfect first-timers’ choice for a back-country adventure. While it is approachable, this is still remote wilderness, with gorgeous views and plenty of escapist solitude.
“What was really important to our founder was that the trail system be accessible to everyone of all abilities and to give people the opportunity to experience the wilderness even if they haven’t been in it before,” says Carolann Ouellette, the organization’s executive director. They succeeded.