Cabins to try
The Inland Northwest has a wide range of options to cure your “cabin fever.” Solitude and vacancies are more likely midweek. Here’s a sampling.
Rendezvous Huts
What: Simple unplumbed, wood-heated cabins rustic but comfortably equipped with kitchen gear, firewood, propane cooking stoves and lamps, sleeping bunks or pads for 8-10 people.
Where: Near Winthrop on Methow Valley Sport Trails Association groomed ski-trail system.
Details: Ski 5 to 9 miles on a groomed trail system into one of five huts with options ranging from skate-skiing to snowshoeing and backcountry telemarking. Great views of peaks above and valley below. Snowmobile shuttle service available to carry in food and gear for extra fee. Haul in water or melt snow. Outhouses. Used by mountain bikers during summer. Note: Heifer Hut expanded and remodeled this year.
Reservations: Required.
Cost: Price packages range from as little as $25 per person to $175 a night for exclusive hut use.
Contact: Rendezvous Outfitters in Winthrop, WA 98862; telephone (800) 422-3048; e-mail huts@methow.com; Web site www.methow.com/huts.
Snow Peak Cabin
What: Rustic log cabin sparsely equipped with bunks, wood-heating stove, Coleman cooking stove and pots. Sleeps about six.
Where: Colville National Forest on Kettle Crest south of Sherman Pass.
Details: Popular with snowshoers and especially backcountry skiers, who don packs and skins and ski in six miles from Sherman Pass. A wilderness-like experience. Melt snow for water. Outhouse. Visitors should be familiar with travel in avalanche terrain and come equipped with transceivers and shovels. Used by hikers and equestrians during summer.
Reservations: Required. Apply in December for lottery to get choice weekends. Some weekdays always available.
Cost: $30 per night for entire cabin.
Contact: Republic Ranger District, (509) 775-7400.
Ripple Ridge Cabin
What: Primitive forestry cabin with wood stove, table and bunks
Where: In British Columbia near Stagleap Provincial Park off Highway 3 at Salmo-Creston Pass.
Details: Ski or snowshoe backpacking style about 2 miles from Salmo-Creston Pass (elev. 5,854 feet) to rustic cabin suitable for up to 10 people.
Reservations: First-come, first-served.
Cost: Free.
Contact: B.C. Ministry of Tourism, Sports and Arts in Castlegar, (250) 365-8600.
Wing Ridge tent shelters
What: Large wall tents with wooden floors, bunks for 12 people, wood stoves, firewood, white gas lanterns, propane cook stoves, cooking utensils, and deluxe sleeping pads.
Where: At high elevation (7,220 feet) on edge of the Eagle Cap Wilderness in the Wallowa National Forest near Joseph, Ore.
Details: Popular with backcountry skiers and snowshoers who trek in about two miles backpack style to backcountry comfort, complete with a wood-fired sauna. Bring your own food or pay for options to have cooks and backcountry guides. Avalanche gear required. Latrine.
Reservations: Required
Cost: Start at as little as $35 per person a night with options for guided groups.
Contact: Wing Ridge Tours, (800) 646-9050; www.wingski.com.
Caribou Mountain Lodge
What: Luxurious two-story lodge, with solar electrical power, easily accommodates 10 people.
Where: High in the Selkirk Mountains 10 miles north of Sandpoint.
Details: Meet at trailhead, drop off food and gear for operators to shutting in by snowmobile, then ski or snowshoe in about seven miles to lodge in scenic setting with great access to powder slopes and Selkirk Crest. Lodge is for self-guided groups. Travel into high country beyond lodge requires backcountry experience and avalanche gear.
Reservations: Required.
Cost: $900 for three or four days to $1,500 a week.
Contact: Caribou Mountain Lodge in Sandpoint, (208) 255-2333; e-mail remmetter@povn.cmo; www.cariboumountain lodge.com.
Bull River Guard Station
What: Historic Forest Service cabin built in 1907 but modernized with electric stove and heater; sleeps eight in three double beds and two single beds.
Where: North of Noxon on East Fork Bull River, Kootenai National Forest.
Details: Winter visitors normally would have to ski or snowshoe a mile from the county road, but low snow levels this year allow vehicle access. Has kitchen utensils. No water available. Outhouse.
Cost: $55 a night for entire cabin.
Reservations: Required through National Recreation Reservation Service, (877) 444-6777; www.ReserveUSA.com.
Contact: Cabinet Ranger District in Trout Creek, Mont., (406) 827-3533.