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| Silcox Hut's exquisite main living/dining area. |
There are holiday gifts, and then there are holiday gift experiences. Our family has always been big on experiences over things. A number of years ago, our son and his then girl friend (now wife) gave us a Christmas gift certificate to stay at Silcox Hut. Silcox Hut, you might ask? What's that? Let’s start with Timberline Lodge.
It’s said that Oregonians like to think of Timberline Lodge on Mount Hood as their collective home. And what a home it is. Built during the Great Depression as part of the WPA projects, the lodge is the state’s most meaningful and remarkable building.
Yet Timberline does not stand-alone. One thousand feet above the lodge, a mile above timberline at 7,000-foot elevation stands a miniature version of the lodge. The stone and timber Silcox Hut was built in 1939 by the same laborers and craftspeople that created the lodge. And that’s where we were headed.
The original purpose of the hut was the upper terminus and warming station for the Magic Mile Chairlift, the second oldest chairlift in the United States. It sheltered climbers and skiers for twenty-five years, and then fell into disrepair to the point that it looked like demolition would be the hut’s fate.
But in 1985, the hut was put on the National Register of Historic Places and Friends of Silcox Hut was established as a non-profit group to restore the building. The restoration and adaptive re-use of the hut garnered numerous awards including recognition by the American Institute of Architects.
Lucky for us and any other group that find themselves in this little treasure. Groups (12 person minimum Sunday-Thrusday and 16 on the weekends and holidays) can rent the hut, settle in for unsurpassed stargazing, have dinner catered from Timberline’s superb Cascade Dining Room then bunk down in, well, bunks. And we did just that. A host is always present to show you the ropes, and if you’re lucky, tell some pretty good tales…generally about climbing Mount Hood. Serious mountain climbers still use it as a stop for hot cocoa or tea before their ascent of the state’s most climbed (and treacherous) peak.
The hut’s main level on the second floor is the living area that is a miniature of the grand lodge even featuring the “Timberline Arch” in the roofline. A big fireplace, hand-carved wooden tables and chairs make for a not exactly “cozy” gathering spot, but a beautiful one. This is where the family style dinner is served featuring veggie or meat lasagne, salad, vegetables, rolls etc. along with coffee tea and desert. It’s BYOB if you want wine. A hearty oatmeal breakfast is served here in the morning.
The night we were there it was crystal clear, incredibly cold outside and just plan stunning. We walked around the hut with snow crunching under our feet picking out the lights of Portland to the northwest and our home town of Bend over 100 miles away to the south. What a place to count the stars and your blessings.
When we were ready for bed, we crawled into our bunks (each of the six rooms is outfitted with bunkbeds---one with queen-sized bunks) and fell into a sound sleep. We were awakened by climbers in the wee hours of the morning, stopping before they made their ascent. We stayed in bed!
You can bring your own sleeping bags or enjoy their bedding for an additional $20. The package includes meals, transportation up and back to the hut either via the chairlift of snow cat. There are very nice "dorm style" bathrooms. You can also ski while staying at the hut.
I've written about Silcox Hut in
Great Lodges of the National Parks and
Only in Oregon, so if you're interested in more, check out those books at
www.greatlodges.com or straight to amazon.com. Just writing about it again makes me want to get together family and friends and head back!
LOOKING FOR SOME OTHER LITTLE LODGES? I'll post those later this month, so keep on checking my blog!
There’s something incredibly intimate about staying at the National Park Inn in Mt. Rainier National Park. The 25-room National Historic Landmark is part of the Longmire Historic District that includes the Longmire Museum, and the 1928 National Park Service Administration Building, which is now a Wilderness Information Center. The district is a wonderful example of national park “parkitecture.” But what might be best about the Inn and its setting is that it seems so small against the backdrop of 14,411 foot high Mount Rainier. The massive stratovolcano can dwarf just about anything!
