Author: Alex Bevington
General area: Red Mountain
Trip start date: 2020-08-15
Number of nights: 2
This is a quick little trip report abount hiking up to Red Mountain cabin with two little kids aged 8 months and 28 months old.
COVID-19
We were the first group to go to the cabin since it was closed for COVID-19. We had the task of updating some signs on the trail with the new rules of 4 person max for the cabin, closed for day-use, and sanitize the cabin yourself. Lot’s of new rules, but hey, we are very grateful that the cabin is open for overnights!
So many bugs!
We drove into Penny and found the most bugs that we had ever seen! I opened the door briefly and the car was instantly full of mosquitos. The kids were not impressed! I promissed the team that the bugs would be better up at the cabin near treeline… ooo was I wrong!
Kids love hiking
We wrapped the kids up in their full-body rain suits – the astute observer will notice that there was no rain – the rains suits were for the bugs! We made the other mistake of not anticipating this many bugs and only brought some “light” kid friendly bug spray that smelt like peaches.
The kids napped most of the hike, it took us almost 7 hours to hike to the cabin. Lot’s of innefficient breaks trying to get snacks, breastfeed and get the silly energy out – all while feeding the mosquito frenzy with our flesh!
Our kids love to go on hikes. They just look at the nature, talk about what they see, and sing songs. Well maybe only the toddler does! The 8 month old just sleeps, really.
The key to success is having snacks and drinks nearby (i.e. in every pocket!) and having diapers and wipes nearby for quick diaper changes in mosquito land.
Lot’s of animal tracks
Our eldest daughter (2yrs) loved calling out: “Come here bear! Come here moose!”… to which I would respond: “Go away bear! Go away moose! This is grizzly habitat afterall and we don’t want to disturb our hosts.
Bugs at the cabin, too
My promise of a bug free cabin experience was wrong. We didn’t notice for a while but there are tiny little holes in some of the window screens, and the cabin was pretty warm so we had the windows open. And the bugs fed on us at night. The kids, however, were so tired that they barely noticed.
We ventured to the alpine above the cabin on the single track hiking trail that leads some of the way and then sort of disappears in the alpine wonderland. That is where the horse flies found us. The wind was completely absent and we sat there in the sun getting chomped on by a whole new predator unable to work on our suntans.
Making a to-do list for the cabin
This cabin sees a lot of use in the winter and we had an important job to make a list of all that needed doing before the winter. In the coming weeks the PGBRS will need to resupply the firewood and propane and bring up some goodies for the winter. Also, the bottom logs of the cabin are showing some serious wear. I think a foundation replacement is going to have to happen.
Such a special place. Big thanks to all those who have worked so hard to keep it running over the years!
