Posts Tagged ‘hike’

The Hut

Thursday, May 14th, 2009

The Hut 05-11-2009 3-56-00 AM The Hut 05-11-2009 4-44-07 PM

Our next adventure came pretty quickly.  Biddy and Colin lent our services to their neighbor Bridget down the road in exchange for a night at The Hut.  The Hut is exactly what it sounds like–a small hut that Bridget built and rents out to backpackers, travelers, and whoever else wants to spend the night in an amazing spot overlooking the mountains and hills of the Mt. Bruce area.  What a spot!  A short but steep hike brings you up to The Hut and I imagine that if you have any troubles you feel like you leave them all behind when you get there.  It’s a beautifully constructed place with everything you need–wood stove, outdoor bath, comfy bed, coffee, bottle of wine, steak, etc.  Oh wait, we brought the wine and steak, but this place is so great it feels as if the wine and steak came with it!  We had to mention The Hut here because it’s such an awesome place and anyone passing through the area should check it out.  And, we really enjoyed the short bit of time that we spent working with Bridget.  And the venison sausage was great!  Thanks Bridget!

The Hut 05-11-2009 3-13-20 AM

Black Mesa, OK

Sunday, January 4th, 2009

Oklahoma’s high point is not what we in New Hampshire would call a “monadnock” The highest point in Oklahoma isn’t really a point either, but sits atop Black Mesa—a mesa that crosses into both New Mexico and Colorado. Apparently, the highest point on the mesa isn’t even in Oklahoma but in Colorado. However, if it sounds like we’re knocking Black Mesa, Oklahoma and its 4,973 feet of grandeur don’t be fooled—we loved it! It was a sweet 8 mile round trip hike to the top, passing through beautiful country. This really did feel like No Man’s Land, and we couldn’t believe that we actually saw two other hikers on the return part of the hike. But, what was most memorable about this hike was the wind. An incredibly strong wind that never let up and an unbelievably sunny sky gave us both a pretty good wind/sunburn (step one of the winter tanning mission!). There’s a monument up on top of the mesa indicating the high point which must have been found with a very precise measuring tool. While there may not be a peak to summit here, I will say this—at least the people of Oklahoma are smart enough to not build a snack shack and auto road up to their highest point.